Big Buffalo Valley Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Big Buffalo Valley Historic District, also known as the Boxley Valley Historic District, is notable as a cultural landscape in Buffalo National River
. It comprises the Boxley Valley in northern Arkansas, near the town of Boxley. The valley includes a number of family-operated farms, primarily dating between 1870 and 1930. The farms are situated on either side of the road that parallels the river, Arkansas Highway 43. Many of these farms are still operated by the descendants of the original homesteaders. However, of fifty residences in the valley, thirty were vacant in 1987, at the time of historic designation.
Structures in the valley have been classified into three historical phases:
The district includes Villines Mill
, listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Buffalo National River
The Buffalo River, located in northern Arkansas, was the first National River to be designated in the United States. The Buffalo River is slightly more than in length, with the lower flowing within the boundaries of an area managed by the National Park Service, where it is designated the '. The...
. It comprises the Boxley Valley in northern Arkansas, near the town of Boxley. The valley includes a number of family-operated farms, primarily dating between 1870 and 1930. The farms are situated on either side of the road that parallels the river, Arkansas Highway 43. Many of these farms are still operated by the descendants of the original homesteaders. However, of fifty residences in the valley, thirty were vacant in 1987, at the time of historic designation.
Structures in the valley have been classified into three historical phases:
- The Old-Ozarks-Frontier phase, comprising the period of the 1830s to the 1870s, focusing on settlement and homesteading, with a continuing tradition of log construction extending to the 1930s.
- The Cosmopolitan-Ozarks phase, from circa 1895 to 1950, in which a more urban style was used for housing, with large barns and the appearance of specialized buildings for shops and services.
- The New-Ozarks-Frontier phase, from 1950 to the present, with a suburban design influence.
The district includes Villines Mill
Villines Mill
Villines Mill, also known as Boxley Mill or Whiteley Mill, was originally built circa 1840 by Abner Casey in the Buffalo River valley, in what is now Buffalo National River. After becoming known as Whiteley Mill, the mill was at the center of a Civil War skirmish known as the "Battle of Whiteley's...
, listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
See also
- Buffalo River State Park Historic DistrictBuffalo River State Park (Arkansas)Buffalo River State Park was an Arkansas state park, established in 1938, that was absorbed into Buffalo National River when the Federal park was established in 1972. The area is now known as Buffalo Point...
- Rush Historic DistrictRush Historic DistrictThe Rush Historic District is a zinc mining region of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. Now located within Buffalo National River, the district includes ruins dating from 1880 to 1940...
- Parker-Hickman Farm Historic DistrictParker-Hickman Farm Historic DistrictThe Parker-Hickman Farm includes the oldest standing log structure in Buffalo National River. The farm was homesteaded in the 1840's by settlers from Tennessee. It embodies an agricultural landscape with farmstead, extant fields , fencerows, roads, cattle gates, garden and orchard plots, wooded...