african american soldiers

Manuscript Collections

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Arkansas Aviation Historical Society collection

This collection contains Arkansas aviation research materials collected by the Arkansas Aviation Historical Society. Of particular note are hundreds of photographs from Eberts Field. A large portion of the collection also contains files about inductees to the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame from 1981 to 2010, as well as other submitted nominations.

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Camp Pike and Camp Robinson collection

This collection contains documents, a photograph album, building plans and memorabilia related to activities at Camp Pike/Camp Robinson during World War I and World War II. The photograph album contains images of Camp Pike, base activities, recreational events, and locations in the Central Arkansas area. A majority of the images portray the base hospital, including pictures of patients, nurses and other hospital personnel, with an emphasis on the work of the reconstruction aides (physical therapists). DIGITAL CONTENT

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vocational training
Camp Pike newspaper collection

This collection contains digital images of newspapers published at Camp Pike during the World War I and a magazine article about the construction of Camp Pike. DIGITAL CONTENT

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Captain Eugene C. Rowan court-martial collection

This collection contains documents belonging to Capt. Eugene C. Rowan relating to his arrest for refusing to obey an order regarding drilling of black troops alongside white troops at Camp Pike, Arkansas.

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camp pike nurses
Howard G. Cochran World War I letters

This collection contains letters written by Howard Cochran to his family in Iowa while he was stationed at Camp Pike, Arkansas.

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Joseph W. Cooper papers

This collection contains correspondence and other documents related to the Joseph W. Cooper family. Many of the documents are related to Cooper's military training and World War I service as a supply officer with the 19th Balloon Company. Arriving in France eight days before the signing of the armistice, Cooper spent most of his time stationed in and around Bordeaux before returning to the U.S. and being honorably discharged on May 29, 1919. After the war, Cooper started an insurance career and worked in Nebraska and Arkansas. Additional items in the collection relate to his wife, Ruth Moore, and their two children, Joe Jr. and William "Bill." DIGITAL CONTENT

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....to mother
Carl B. Davis World War I letters

This collection contains letters written by Carl Davis to members of his family while he was stationed at Camp Pike, Arkansas, during World War I.

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Henry Godt letters

This collection contains letters written during World War I to Colene Willis by her future husband Henry Charles Godt.

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Curtis Jones World War I collection

This collection contains correspondence between Curtis Jones and his wife Jessie as well as some correspondence to and from other members of his family and friends during Jones's military service during World War I.

DIGITAL CONTENT

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Curtis Jones World War I collection addendum

This collection contains correspondence between Curtis Jones and his wife Jessie as well as some correspondence to and from other members of his family and friends during Jones's military service during World War I. It also contains ephemera and a few photographs

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Jones Family World War I letters

This collection contains letters written during World War I to Lelia Jones Morgan by her brothers William Earl and Paul, and by Paul's wife Dorothy.

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John P. King World War I letters

This collection contains sixteen letters written by John P. King of Springdale, Arkansas, mostly while he was serving with the army during World War 1, and one letter written by his sister.

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Maxwell Lyons Sr. papers

This collection contains materials related to the military service of Maxwell J. Lyons Sr., including numerous letters written by Lyons about his struggle to start a military career and during his World War I service with the 6th Marines. Lyons was stationed in France for most of the war and remained with the Army of Occupation in Germany until 1919. He was awarded the Silver Star, as well as the Croix de Guerre and Fors a Guerre from France. The remainder of the collection is made up of other related correspondence and military documents, photographs, and a scrapbook. DIGITAL CONTENT

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Lee Minor World War I letters

This collection contains letters written by Lee Minor, primarily to his wife while he was stationed at Camp Pike, Arkansas, during World War I.

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Pulaski County military affairs photograph collection

This collection contains photographs related to Pulaski County military affairs.

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Standefer family World War I letters

This collection contains letters written during World War I by brothers Sam and Edgar Standefer to their family. DIGITAL CONTENT

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War Camp Community Service photograph album

This collection contains an album of photograph from Camp Pike and West 9th Street in Little Rock, Ark., during World War I. DIGITAL CONTENT

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World War I photograph collection

This collection contains photographs related to Arkansas's participation in World War I.DIGITAL CONTENT

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World War I Research

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 Digital Collections

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.

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Contact Us

Butler Center for Arkansas Studies
401 President Clinton Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201
501.320.5700
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