Booneville Democrat AR

Booneville, AR, home of the Stephens Media Group's Booneville Democrat, sits comfortably nestled in a valley between the Ouachita and Ozark mountains. Its population of nearly 4,000 souls is among the friendliest people on earth. Touting itself as "A Good Hometown," this peaceful place could be called the perfect setting to raise a family. The history of Booneville is long and varied. Although many people think that the town was named after Daniel Boone, in fact it received its name from Capt. Benjamin Bonneville, an Army officer stationed at Fort Smith, AR. Bonneville was a close friend of Walter Cauthron, who opened a store in what was then Crawford County, AR, in the early 1800s. When Cauthron established a settlement and built a log structure east of Booneville Creek on the old Magazine road in 1828, he originally intended to call it Bonneville. But an error in spelling resulted in the recording of the name as Booneville. The location of Booneville changed several times over those early years. From the original location the town was moved to the ford of Booneville Creek on the old Magazine road. By the 1860s it had moved farther north along the creek to Slate Bluff, now known as Veterans Park. In 1899 the first issue of the Booneville Democrat came off the press. H.T. Hampton, the founder and original publisher, had slogged across Booneville Creek in a wagon loaded with his family and belongings a short time before that first publication. On Aug. 1, 1968, the Booneville Democrat, along with the job printing operation and all the equipment was purchased by the Donrey Media Group. In 1910 Booneville was selected as the site for the Arkansas Tuberculosis Sanatorium. Located 3 miles south of the city, the facility became known as one of the finest centers for treatment of the disease in the world. The year 1955 marked a milestone in the history of Booneville when the Ace Comb Company, a division of Amerace Hard Rubber Company, located a plant in the city. This industry was just what the town needed, providing hundreds of jobs for local and area residents. In the 1970s and '80s a period of expansion and change began to take place in the community. New public facilities, including a new library, the Marcelle Phillips Park and a new senior citizens center, were constructed. Wolverine Toy (now known as Today's Kids) and Magnetics, both divisions of Spang Inc., along with DPM, a meat processing plant, all made Booneville their new home. The Booneville Democrat, the town's oldest business, remains a proud member of the Stephens Media Group and looks forward to being an active part in the future of our community.