Community

The small community of Paris, Arkansas is known as The Gateway to Mount Magazine, which is the highest point in the state and one of the highest points between the Alleghenies and the Rockies. Paris with a population of 3,532 (2010 census) is one of two county seats in Logan County. Coal mining flourished as the main industry until the 1960’s. Today the town’s economic base benefits from the presence of manufacturing facilities producing parts for the automotive and aerospace industries. Farming and ranching remain among the largest trades but tourism got a boost with the construction and opening of a 60-room world-class lodge and guest cabins on the top of nearby Mount Magazine drawing an estimated 400,000 people a year to the area.

The Caulksville / Ratcliff Branch office is centrally situated at the crossroads of Highways 22 and 23. Highway 23 South will take you to Booneville. A stone’s throw north on the same state highway is Ozark. Traveling east on Highway 22 is Paris and west is Charleston and then Fort Smith. The 2010 census credited Caulksville with 213 residents and Ratcliff with 202. Nearby is the County Line Sale Barn and Flea Market which is held each Wednesday. The County Line School District which serves the area has the distinction of its campus being located partly in Logan County and partly in Franklin County.

Booneville, Arkansas, located at the intersections of Highways 10 and 23, is nestled between the Ouachita and Ozark mountains. It is the county seat for the southern district of Logan County. With a population of 4,082 (2010 census), Booneville may be best known for the Arkansas State Tuberculosis Sanatorium established in 1909 about 3 miles south of the town. Due to effective drug therapy for tuberculosis, the sanatorium closed in 1973 and is now the campus for the Booneville Human Development Center, a state-run residential program for adults with developmental disabilities.

Waldron, Arkansas is the county seat for Scott County, Arkansas and located in the midst of the Ouachita Mountains. The city had a total population of 3,618 as of the 2010 census. Waldron is the home for the Scott Theatre which is the oldest operating movie theater in the state of Arkansas. Timber and poultry are the major industries in the county. The largest employer in Waldron is a major poultry processing plant. In June and October, bluegrass fans flock to Waldron for festivals at the Turkey Track Bluegrass Park which feature major bluegrass acts from across the U. S. Camping, hiking, boating, fishing, and hunting are popular activities in the area.

 

In 2016 a branch was added in Franklin County, with the opening of First National Bank at Ozark, followed by the addition of a Johnson County branch in 2017, First National Bank at Clarksville. Incorporated in 1850, Ozark is adjacent to much of Arkansas wine country, and once home to Cherokee and Osage, and frequented by French fur trappers. Situated on a bend of the Arkansas River, the name Aux Arcs was first given to the area by French settlers, then later simplified to “Ozark”. Clarksville is the Johnson County seat, and home to the Johnson County Peach Festival and University of the Ozarks. Spadra was the first Johnson county seat because it was convenient to steamboat lines on the Arkansas River. However, when stagecoach and train transportation became more common, land routes from Fort Smith and Little Rock were directed along higher elevations through Clarksville. Subsequently Clarksville grew and became the de facto county seat in 1833 due to severe flooding at Spadra. Clarksville was established by survey in 1836.