On October 30, 1951, the Campa Brothers Circus was performing in Mena, Arkansas when a lion killed 9-year-old Maria de la Campa — a tragedy still marked by her grave in Mount Calvary Cemetery that reads “KILLED BY CIRCUS LION.” Less than 24 hours later, on Halloween morning, one of their trucks wrecked en route to Mount Ida, releasing two leopards, two black bears, several monkeys and a polar bear into the Ouachita countryside. Montgomery County Sheriff Wilbur Tidwell organized over 100 armed men to search the rugged, rain-soaked hills — one leopard was killed that day, the second the next morning — and by November 1 the story made The New York Times. The strangest escapee, the polar bear, was reportedly shot two days later by an area farmer, who shared the meat with locals. One black bear and one monkey were recovered alive and the fate of the others was never fully accounted for — a gap that later fed Arkansas black panther folklore.

This episode of 1836, continues the counties of Arkansas series, by exploring the history of Columbia County, Arkansas. From its Indigenous roots and creation in 1852 to the railroads, oil discoveries, and educational institutions that reshaped its communities. Along the way, discover notable places, figures, the tragic Macedonia firefighting disaster, and hometown traditions.

#Arkansas #History #Podcast #Magnolia #Columbia

In 1871, a young man was accused of horse theft and hauled to jail in Van Buren, Arkansas. Arrested by a U.S. deputy marshal, he faced a serious felony charge alongside two accomplices. Whether he posted bond and vanished or broke out of the Van Buren jail through the attic, he never stood trial. This is the little-known chapter of the future lawman’s life, drawn from court records and the conflicting accounts of his escape. This is the story of Wyatt Earp in Arkansas - the story you haven't heard. #Arkansas #History #Podcast

Bonnie and Clyde are remembered for Texas and Louisiana, but their trail also ran through Arkansas. In this episode, we follow the Barrow Gang from a kidnapping near Waldo to a badly burned Bonnie hiding in a Fort Smith tourist camp, a small grocery robbery in Fayetteville, and the Highway 71 shootout near Alma that killed Marshal Henry D. Humphrey. We separate documented history from local folklore, and we end with the stolen Arkansas license plate that was on the "death car" when the outlaws were ambushed in 1934.

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Maurice “Footsie” Britt was a Carlisle farm boy, a Lonoke valedictorian, a Razorback, and a one-season Detroit Lion before World War II turned him into one of the most decorated soldiers of the war. With the 3rd Infantry Division he fought in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, earned the Medal of Honor north of Mignano, and lost his right arm to a German tank shell at Anzio. He came home, built a business, and served as Arkansas lieutenant governor from 1967 to 1971. This episode follows the farm kid from Carlisle through the football field, the Italian mountains, and the State Capitol.

#Arkansas #History #Podcast #Razorback #Veteran #medalofhonor

This episode of 1836 continues the Counties of Arkansas series with the story of Cleveland County—a quiet, pine-covered south-central Arkansas county whose history reaches far beyond its population of about 7,500. Created in 1873 as Dorsey County and renamed in 1885 for President Grover Cleveland, it was shaped by the bloody Civil War action at Marks’ Mills, a hard-fought county-seat battle won by railroad town Rison, and the timber and cotton economy that sustained generations. The county also claims connections to two American legends: Johnny Cash, born near Kingsland, and Paul “Bear” Bryant, born in the nearby Kingsland-area community of Moro Bottom. From sawmills and iron deposits to the annual Rison in the Fall festival, Cleveland County’s story is a distinctly Arkansas tale of war, railroads, rural perseverance, and unexpected national influence.

This episode of the 1836 podcast continues the Governor’s or Arkansas series. In 1861, as every other dissenting delegate caved to pressure, Isaac Murphy stood alone and refused to vote for Arkansas's secession — a decision that cost him his home, threatened his life, and set him on a path to becoming the state's first Reconstruction governor. This is his story, from Pennsylvania schoolteacher to Arkansas's most unlikely political survivor.

#Arkansas #history #podcast

George Maledon, known as the Wild West's “Prince of Hangmen,” was a German-born immigrant, Union Civil War veteran, lawman, and federal-court jail guard whose name became tied to the executions conducted during Judge Isaac C. Parker’s era. Though later legends claimed he personally hanged more than 80 men, historians cannot verify the exact number; what is certain is that Maledon participated in and supervised executions at Fort Smith’s federal gallows before later operating a grocery store and touring with an exhibit built around the court’s dark history. Regardless of the unsettling question of how much of the “Prince of Hangmen” was history, and how much was legend - his name will forever remain attached to the trapdoor.

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