Celebrating Buffalo River Country

Ken Smith’s Buffalo River Country photography exhibition at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History through December 31, 2022.

Sandra Cox Birchfield, Communications and Marketing Manager, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, Springdale, Arkansas

It is an Ozark ritual. Wait for a good rain. Load up the canoe or kayak. Then head for Ponca for a five-hour float to Kyles Landing. The not-so-faint-of-heart may set their sights on Woolum, a 50-mile ride from the Ponca launching point.

The nearby trails lead deep into the Arkansas Ozark mountains to bluffs, some creating natural shelters, and scenic overlooks. The bursts of reds and yellows in the fall can be breathtaking. Experienced hikers might journey into one of the wild caverns off the beaten paths, while others may prefer those that have been developed commercially and bear intriguing names like Hurricane River Cave or Mystic Caverns. In his 1967 book, The Buffalo River Country, Kenneth L. Smith brought awareness to the watershed and its surrounding hills. Published by The Ozark Society, Smith’s photographs, maps, and travel narratives played a role in the society’s mission to get the Buffalo designated a national river, the first to be granted the distinction in the historic 1972 event.

On the 50th anniversary of the Buffalo National River, the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, Arkansas, presents the photographic exhibit, Ken Smith’s Buffalo River Country, which features 24 images with 22 from Smith’s 1965 exploration of the Buffalo River watershed. The collection highlights the beauty

of the Buffalo National River and the work of the many dedicated people, including Smith, who advocated the need for its preservation and exploration. The exhibit is on display at the museum through December 31, 2022.

The Shiloh Museum will also offer several related events throughout the year as well as those organized by the University of Arkansas Humanities Center and the University of Arkansas Libraries. They will include programs by the Center for Arkansas Spatial Technologies, Pryor Center for Oral and Visual History, Arkansas Archeological Survey, and Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts.

FROM SCENIC TO CURIOUS

Ken Smith’s Buffalo River Country celebrates the picturesque bluffs, waterfalls, scenic views, buildings, and people. A few feature curiosities, like the photograph of a large rock perched on a narrow cliff, as if it could fall at any moment, or the explorer inspecting the remnants of a rock building inside a bluff shelter.

In addition to the photos, the exhibit features a 12-minute video of Smith as well as artifacts, including one of Smith’s Leica cameras, his Olympia portable typewriter, pen and ink illustrations, a report for the Nature Conservancy about the Clark Creek Watershed in Newton County and tools he used for building trails for the Buffalo National River in 1985.

WHERE THE BISON ROAMED

One of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 states, the Buffalo National River flows 150 miles eastward beginning in Newton County in the Boston Mountains across the Ozark Plateau, connecting to the White River, just barely crossing the Baxter County border.

People have inhabited the area dating back as far as about 10,000 years, starting with the Paleoindians, who emerged at the end of the ice age, followed by native nations, such as the Osage, Cherokee, and Shawnee. By the 1800s, Europeans settled the region.

American bison once thrived in both Arkansas and Missouri, including along the present-day Buffalo National River, which is believed to be how the

Ken Smith used two Leica cameras to shoot images of his 1965 Buffalo River trip. The items shown here is the one Smith used for shooting color slide film. In front of the camera is Smith’s Weston light meter.

waterway got its name. (Though they look similar, true buffalo are native to Africa and Asia. Bison, however, are found in North America and Europe).

The area provided a flood plain allowing for industry, agriculture, and recreation. In the 1900s, discussions to dam the river for hydroelectric power and flood control continued for decades. When legislation was introduced in the 1950s, conservationists statewide combined forces. Dr. Neil Compton, a Bentonville, Arkansas, physician, spearheaded the formation of The Ozark Society in 1962 with Smith as a founding member. Its mission was to save the Buffalo River from damming.

A BILL IS INTRODUCED

In 1967, J. William Fulbright and John L. McClellan, U.S. senators of Arkansas, introduced legislation to make the Buffalo the country’s first national river. Five years later, Congress voted in favor of the measure by giving 135 miles of the 150-mile Buffalo national status. President Richard M. Nixon signed the bill on March 1, 1972 -- exactly 100 years to the day of when President U.S. Grant signed a bill creating Yellowstone National Park, the first in the national park system.

The Buffalo National River today includes 94,293, including trails, totaling more than 100 miles, for both hiking and horseback and three management districts with park headquarters in Harrison, Arkansas

It also remains one of Arkansas’ most popular attractions. In 2020, when a global pandemic raged on, about 1.5 million people visited the Buffalo National River and spent $66.3 million in nearby communities, according to a National Park Service report.

The Ozark Society exists today, with seven chapters statewide, by serving as advocates for “the preservation of wild and scenic rivers, wilderness and unique natural areas.” Smith has continued to write other books, including The Buffalo River Handbook.

“WATER IS CLEAR, SWIFT AND DEEP”

The Buffalo National River remains a source for spiritual and creative awakening for many. Noted Arkansas folk singer Jimmy Driftwood recorded an album titled Beautiful Buffalo River. Thomas Hart Benton, an artist known for his dream-like depictions of rural life in the 1920s and 1930s, was drawn to the Buffalo, which inspired his sketches and paintings. As an instructor with the Kansas City Art Institute, he took his students there to see it firsthand.

“The water is clear, swift and deep with wonderful reflections of light,” Benton told The Kansas City Times in 1940. “There are great rock bluffs and hilly cornfields of the sort that encourage stories about men falling off their farms. The roads are red clay. There are all kinds of trees, blooming dogwood, red bud and beautiful plant life.”

This is Buffalo River Country.

The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History will host an evening event for SEMC2022. We can’t wait to see the Buffalo River Country Exhibit!

Photo by Dan-Marian-Stefan Doroghi