Prior to the 1921 discovery of oil in nearby El Dorado, Smackover was part of the declining timber and cotton industries. With the discovery of oil in El Dorado on January 10, 1921, the area boomed with geologists looking for more.[2]
The search for oil was then directed north towards the small town of Smackover, near the Ouachita River fault line. On July 29, 1922, the Richardson Number 1 well on the land of Charles Richardson, four miles north of Smackover erupted with new-found oil. Within a year of this discovery, the sleepy town of 100 had boomed to over 25,000.[3]
Though not a leader in oil production, the ten-county area is still producing oil today.
Features
The museum contains a 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) main exhibition center, operating replicas of oil machinery, a re-created boom-era street scene in Smackover, and a 10,800 square feet (1,000 m2) collection/archive center.[3]
^Staff (May 20, 2015). "Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources". Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
^Bridges, Kenneth (December 21, 2017). "Oil Industry". Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
