Property research resource guide, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
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through a special order (SO). There are two types of reports: The Assistant Commissioner’s
monthly reports, September 1865-December 1868, are arranged chronologically and are
consolidated from reports of subordinate officers and agents. Those reports are arranged by
state for 1865 and initial of station office after 1865.
Contained within these records is also a register of abandoned and confiscated lands for
Arkansas arranged alphabetically by county and last name of the former owner.
The United State Postal Service Records, Post Office Department Reports of Site Locations
[MG02097-02122]
The State Archives has a copy of the United State Postal Service Records for Arkansas from the
National Archives and Records Administration, dating 1789-1971. The second series is
documentation related to post office site locations for 1852-1945. Documentation for post
office site locations can be helpful for researching the history of properties and structures
because many rural communities, no longer in existence, were identified by the nearest post
office. It is also helpful if structures were used as a post office as a secondary purpose, (the
structure may have primarily been a store). The documentation includes its local name, the
name of the post office, a description of the location (range, township, and section), and its
distance to other post offices. It also includes small plat maps that show the location of the post
office and any trails, railroads, roads, landmarks, or structures that better describe the post
office’s location. The post office site location documentation is organized by county then
alphabetical and chronological by location. The Archives also has a copy of From Memdag to
Norsk: A Historical Directory of Arkansas Post Offices, 1832-1990, by Russell Baker, that
provides a geographic description of former post offices in Arkansas, their date of operation,
and notes regarding where mail was rerouted to after a post office was closed.
Research Room Library
The Arkansas State Archives has an extensive collection of books and printed material on
family, military, state, and local history in its research room. Topic include published family
histories, African- American history, cemetery listings, indexes for county records, obituary
listings, church histories, and much more for Arkansas and surrounding states. Material in the
research room also includes an extensive collection of books on folklore, music, artisanal and
industrial skills and traditions, and religious practices. Various printed journals containing local
and American history can also be found in the research room. The location of these resources
are found in the online catalog on the State Archives’ website.
The Family Maps series of books can be found in the library. These county specific books
include patent maps from the Bureau of Land Management with a road map and map for
roadways, waterways, modern and historical communities and cemeteries. The books also