World War I had less impact on the state of Arkansas than the Civil War or World War II. Still, World War I did deplete the young male population of the state for a time, brought new institutions into the state that continue to the present time, and gave many Arkansans a new view of the world and of Arkansas's place in an increasingly connected world community. View more
The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies has many manuscript collections that offer unique glimpses into the state's history. These collections contain correspondence, photographs, and other original materials documenting the experiences of Arkansans during the Great War. View more
The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies maintains an extensive collection of digitized records which document the history of the state and its people. View more
Audio recordings of interviews with American veterans about their first-hand experiences of being drafted to, trained for, and engaged in battle during World War I. View more
The Butler Center offers a large collection of materials related to World War I, including letters, photographs, microfilm of enlistment and discharge records, and other primary materials related to Arkansans who served in the Great War. The research room also houses a large number of secondary sources and subscribes to a wide variety of online databases that provide easy access to millions of military records and other resources.
Highlights of the collections include letters from a WWI Marine as well as correspondence from a soldier who served in a balloon company; many materials related to Camp Pike (now Camp Joseph T. Robinson); and materials related to Eberts Training Field, which was located in Lonoke County.
The Butler Center provides online access to selected portions of our collections. These featured collections represent a dynamic sampling of Arkansas history. Included are audio/video clips, digital images of photographs, letters, and other documents as well as educational resources such as lesson plans.
Researchers may also view searchable inventories of our manuscript collection holdings. To access the full range of our resources, we invite you to visit our research room in the Arkansas Studies Institute building.
