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Kingston, Arkansas, Collection, 1917-1931

Photocopies of published material and photographs, 1917-1931

Manuscript Collection 1215

INFORMATION ABOUT KINGSTON, ARKANSAS

Kingston, Madison County, Arkansas, situated in the heart of the Ozarks in North Arkansas, was known nationally in the 1920s as a country life project.  Rev. Elmer J. Bouher, under the direction of the Brick  Presbyterian Church of Rochester, New York, was the leading force behind the Kingston community development, "The Kingsplan."  The development included projects such as the construction of the Kingston Community Church; a community building, "The Institute," which housed the Kingston grammar and high school; and the Health Center.  Rev. Bouher retired in 1929.  He was succeeded, for a short while, by Otto E. Rayburn, who was then the school superintendent.  Due to the financial difficulties, "The Kingsplan" experienced a sharp decline in 1930s.  By the 1940s, the Kingston Community Church and The Institute buildings were torn down.

See also the Robert Myers Collection (MC 893).

INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Ellen C. Shipley of Fayetteville, Arkansas, donated the Kingston, Arkansas, Collection to the Special Collections Division on August 26, 1992.

The Kingston, Arkansas, Collection contains photocopies of selected articles pertaining to Kingston, Arkansas, published in the Brick Church Life magazine, 1920-1929; a booklet 100% American: The War Story of a Country Church by Elmer J. Bouher; photocopies of articles by Otto E. Rayburn; and other printed material.  It also contains photographs of the Kingston Community Church, a 1926 photograph of Otto E. Rayburn with the Kingston High School graduating class, and other group photographs.

Processed by Vera Ekechukwu, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries,
Fayetteville, Arkansas, in October 1998.
 

CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION (1 box)

Box 1

 1. Brick Church Life magazine, 1920-1929.
 2. 100% American: The War Story of a Country Church by Elmer J. Bouher, n.d.
 3. Miscellaneous articles and published material, ca 1920s.
 4. Photographs, no. 1-10.


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