Italians settled 30 miles from Little Rock in 1915 and called the community Alta Villa. It was later renamed Little Italy. Many Arkansas places have connections to the Catholic Church. (Courtesy LittleItalyArkansas.com)
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Little-known places in Arkansas have Catholic origin

Names of towns and cities can tell us a lot about Arkansas’ past. 

Many places have stories to tell, whether about geographical features, early settlers, famous politicians or military leaders or the places where early settlers came from. And many Arkansas place names reflect the faiths of early settlers, including Catholic settlers, who proclaimed their faith by giving distinctively Christian names to their new homes.

Arkansas has long been a predominantly Protestant state, and this can be seen especially in the hills and mountains of the North and West. In these rugged areas, when settlers moved in, the first large building erected was frequently a place of worship. 

As towns grew up around the churches, they often took on the names of those churches, as travelers in the Ouachitas and Ozarks may notice in places like Mount Zion, Shiloh and Little Flock. Settlers also used names of biblical places for their new communities, as can be seen in the towns of Siloam Springs, Damascus and Palestine.

But it is important to recall that the first European explorers of Arkansas were Catholics. The 1541-1542  DeSoto Expedition, in search of wealth, included two Dominicans, a Franciscan and several secular priests. Hernando De Soto is said to have erected at least one large cross, but the Spaniards left behind no place names. 

In 1673, the French explorer Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit, with his associate Louis Joliet, a fur trader, briefly visited Arkansas and is said to have bequeathed the name of St. Francis to the river that still bears that name and, indirectly, to the county as well. Probably Marquette was moved to think of St. Francis of Assisi as he canoed through the lush forests of the Delta.

The first Europeans to come into what is now Arkansas in significant numbers were French Catholic trappers, explorers and eventually soldiers at Arkansas Post, established by Henri de Tonti. The trappers did not themselves establish permanent settlements, but they gave Arkansas a rich trove of names for rivers, creeks and bayous, especially in the southern part of Arkansas. 

Often these names marked notable animals found nearby, such as eels (L’Anguille Creek) or buffalo (Bayou de Boeuf, or Buffalo Bayou), but it is likely that up in Independence County, both the Bayou Cure and the town of Curia were named in honor of a visiting priest. 

After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the French garrison at Arkansas Post was replaced by American soldiers, and French trappers were pushed out by English-speaking planters. While most of these settlers were Protestant, the Randolph County town of O’Kean, which grew up after the Civil War, was named in honor of Father James O’Kean, who served St. Paul Church in Pocahontas on his rounds of the area.

After the Civil War, state politicians actively recruited Europeans to come settle in Arkansas. In response, many Italian immigrants rode the rails into Arkansas and settled in Yell and Logan Counties, where they planted vineyards that are now producing wines. 

Some of these new Arkansans saw — or wanted to see — that the rolling hills reminded them of their beloved homeland, and in particular the mountain where St. Benedict had founded his first monastery, and so they established the settlement of Subiaco. In nearby Conway County, Italian immigrants established Catholic Point at about the same time.

In Southeast Arkansas, many Italian immigrants discovered that their working and living conditions were far less idyllic than had been advertised, and so they pulled up stakes and headed north and west. Some of these intrepid souls stopped just on the other side of Little Rock where in 1915 they established Alta Villa, later renamed Little Italy. Others continued on into Washington County, and the now-burgeoning Tontitown in Northwest Arkansas is a memorial to that historic figure.

What can we say about the many rivers and towns that have “saint” in their names? Some appear to be obviously Catholic in heritage, such as St. Patrick in Washington County, or the Madison County towns of St. Paul and St. Peter. But other saint names come from different denominations, like the Methodists whose St. James Church became the center of that Stone County town. The settlement of St. Charles was named by its founder, wealthy farmer Charles Belknap, who was probably Episcopalian. 

The two towns of St. Joe and St. Vincent seem to have been named by early settlers who had come from those towns in Missouri and Pennsylvania. The history of other place names, such as St. Clair, St. John, St. Mary, and St. Thomas may well have had Catholic origins, but the disappearance of records over the years makes that only guesswork.

The religious heritage of Arkansas is on full display in the names of many of our towns, cities and rivers, and the Catholic participation in our state’s history is there, also, for residents and travelers to celebrate.

Daniel Boice is the director of the library at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and a member of St. Mark Church. His recently published book, “Naming Arkansas,” recounts stories of some of distinctive place names in the state.

CORRECTION: Italians established Catholic Point in Conway County. The correction was made in this online version.

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