| WELCOME TO SMACKOVER, ARKANSAS |
| Smackover proudly claims the only center of the road traffic light in the state of Arkansas and it is also mentioned in the Congressional Records. |
CHAMBER OFFICERS
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President - Dr. Garrett Roy
1st Vice President - Greg Davis
2nd Vice President - Benjy Hildebrand
Secretary/Treasurer - Rhonda Ray
Chamber Manager - Tommie Fleming
SMACKOVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
| ADDRESS: 710 Pershing Hwy. PO Box 275 Smackover, AR 71762 |
| E-MAIL ADDRESS: smkovrcofc@sbcglobal.net |
| TELEPHONE: (870) 725-3521 |
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All across America there are hundreds of stories of "boom towns" that
appeared virtually overnight. Money poured in off every highway, trail,
river and creek causing a small hamlet whose only claim to fame was a
saw mill and a railroad water stop to be flooded within a sea of
humanity. Smackover, nestled in the deep piney woods of South
Arkansas and Union County is the "boom town" that never died and its
incredible story is one that will be told for generations to come. No
movie script could be as colorful, as exciting, or as authentic as you
find on the streets of Smackover.
The area was originally settled by French trappers and hunters in the
mid-18th century and by 1806, two years after the Louisiana
Purchase, a census indicated as many as one hundred people lived
along the Ouachita River from Fort Miro (Monroe, Louisiana) to Ecore
Fabre (Camden, Arkansas.) As a result, landmarks and bayous
assumed colorful French designations such as Lapile, Champagnolle,
LaBeouf, Parageethe, Tulip's Cache, Chemin Couvert and sumac
Couvert.
When land grant settlers settled the Smackover area in the early
1830's, Sumac Couvert (meaning covered in dense sumac vegetation)
was quickly Anglicized to Smackover.
The small hamlet was startled from its blissful existence by the
discovery of one of America's largest oil reservoirs in 1922. It was
pandemonium, pay day, and let the good times roll all punched on a
single ticket as a laughing gas atmosphere abounded. Within six
months the little town grew to a seam-splitting 25,000 and its
uncommon name would quickly attain national acclaim.
Smackover was a boomtown in the purest sense and would claim a
permanent place in the annals of petroleum history as thousands of
drill bits discovered oil with a 95% success rate from 1922 through
1925.
And they came, youngsters fresh from the family farm, seasoned
veterans of countless booms, and fortune seekers from every walk of
life. They came packed into railroad passenger cars, hanging from
windows and perched precariously on the tops of cars. During the
first five years of the Smackover oil boom, 600 million dollars poured
into South Arkansas from petroleum development.
Today, Smackover has settled down dramatically, but the oil boom
lives on in its original architecture, down home working values and its
innovative and creative people. Today, although the shadows of a
mineral boom still linger, Smackover has been transformed into a
modern city of substance.
The petroleum industry still plays a major role in Smackover's
economic outlook with oil still being produced in tidy amounts.
appeared virtually overnight. Money poured in off every highway, trail,
river and creek causing a small hamlet whose only claim to fame was a
saw mill and a railroad water stop to be flooded within a sea of
humanity. Smackover, nestled in the deep piney woods of South
Arkansas and Union County is the "boom town" that never died and its
incredible story is one that will be told for generations to come. No
movie script could be as colorful, as exciting, or as authentic as you
find on the streets of Smackover.
The area was originally settled by French trappers and hunters in the
mid-18th century and by 1806, two years after the Louisiana
Purchase, a census indicated as many as one hundred people lived
along the Ouachita River from Fort Miro (Monroe, Louisiana) to Ecore
Fabre (Camden, Arkansas.) As a result, landmarks and bayous
assumed colorful French designations such as Lapile, Champagnolle,
LaBeouf, Parageethe, Tulip's Cache, Chemin Couvert and sumac
Couvert.
When land grant settlers settled the Smackover area in the early
1830's, Sumac Couvert (meaning covered in dense sumac vegetation)
was quickly Anglicized to Smackover.
The small hamlet was startled from its blissful existence by the
discovery of one of America's largest oil reservoirs in 1922. It was
pandemonium, pay day, and let the good times roll all punched on a
single ticket as a laughing gas atmosphere abounded. Within six
months the little town grew to a seam-splitting 25,000 and its
uncommon name would quickly attain national acclaim.
Smackover was a boomtown in the purest sense and would claim a
permanent place in the annals of petroleum history as thousands of
drill bits discovered oil with a 95% success rate from 1922 through
1925.
And they came, youngsters fresh from the family farm, seasoned
veterans of countless booms, and fortune seekers from every walk of
life. They came packed into railroad passenger cars, hanging from
windows and perched precariously on the tops of cars. During the
first five years of the Smackover oil boom, 600 million dollars poured
into South Arkansas from petroleum development.
Today, Smackover has settled down dramatically, but the oil boom
lives on in its original architecture, down home working values and its
innovative and creative people. Today, although the shadows of a
mineral boom still linger, Smackover has been transformed into a
modern city of substance.
The petroleum industry still plays a major role in Smackover's
economic outlook with oil still being produced in tidy amounts.