It is remarkable that Arkansans so eagerly participated in the celebration of American independence in 1876, the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The state was still reeling from the disastrous decision to join in the Confederate rebellion, the recent Brooks-Baxter War had dragged Arkansas' blighted image to new depths, and the state faced a staggering debt of $12 million.
It was Arkansas Gov. Augustus H. Garland, a moderate Redeemer Democrat, reluctant secessionist, and prominent lawyer, who on Feb. 1, 1875, called upon the Legislature to make "a reasonable appropriation" to fund an Arkansas presence at the Exposition. Although he cited many benefits from participation, Garland was especially hopeful this national celebration would help heal the self-inflicted wounds of the Civil War.
The Centennial Exposition would offer many benefits, Garland wrote, noting: "It will contribute largely to remove the asperities engendered in past years between the people of the north and south and to strengthen our love for the union." Garland faced a dubious Legislature, and it took a while before funding in the amount of $15,000 came through.
Gov. Garland appointed Hot Springs physician George W. Lawrence and Little Rock lawyer George E. Dodge to serve as Centennial commissioners. Both were financially able to spend the immense amount of time needed to plan and oversee the Arkansas exhibit.
The commissioners appealed to Arkansans through newspapers to support the Centennial, and numerous editors urged local participation. When a letter to the Arkansas Gazette criticized the Centennial appropriation as a "wrong done the taxpayer," the editor responded with a forceful defense, terming the spending "a good investment."
Commissioner Lawrence made clear his hope that the Centennial Exposition would give Arkansas a boost, help raise the state's profile, improve the state's image, and perhaps most importantly, encourage a sense of expectation and momentum.
"Arkansas," Lawrence was quoted as saying, "has slumbered already too long!" He continued, "With sad dreams she has slept the 'Rip Van Winkle sleep' and now is the time, the propitious time to awaken ..."
Lawrence and Dodge established an advisory board to promote the Centennial and help locate Arkansas products to be featured in the state exhibit. A 12-member Centennial board of finance was named -- which included a few Republicans.
Arkansans did not rush forward to donate money or submit products for exhibition. As late as Jan. 24, 1876 -- five months from the opening of the Exposition-- the chairman of the Pulaski County centennial board complained of the lack of public response.
Board chairman C.S. Collins set a two-month deadline for collecting outstanding specimens of agricultural produce, "valuable clays and other minerals," "specimens of mechanical ingenuity" and "proficiency in the arts and sciences, or of natural curiosities."
A Philadelphia firm was hired to design the Arkansas Pavilion, and it came up with a surprisingly large and whimsically appealing plan for an eight-sided building of metal and glass construction. The structure was completed by the official opening of the Exposition on May 10, 1876, but another two weeks were needed to install exhibits.
Commissioner Dodge was pleased with the structure, calling it "the best building for the intended purposes." He was also pleased that Arkansas women had contributed an 11-foot-high, three-tiered cast iron fountain. Placed within an octagon-shaped basin in the center of the building, the fountain was the "central adornment" of the pavilion. (Today it can be seen in the front yard of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock.)
Dodge thought female visitors to the pavilion would be pleased to see "a cozy parlor" which had been "furnished with taste and elegance." Men also had a "gentlemen's reception room," and no doubt both sexes would appreciate "the modern toilet comforts."
Once opened, visitors to the Arkansas pavilion saw elaborate displays of agricultural products, including shocks of wheat standing higher than four feet. Commissioner Lawrence loaned his sizable collection of Arkansas minerals for exhibit. A large counter made of Arkansas woods displayed several publications on Arkansas, some of which were in German.
Over 8 million people attended the Centennial Exposition, about one in eight Americans. Among the Arkansans attending were Louis Katzenberg and Jennie Mandlebaum, a Little Rock couple who left for the Exposition on the same day they were married.
The newlyweds likely visited the Arkansas Pavilion -- which was centrally located -- where they might have seen a woman from Helena who was making amazing sculptures from butter. Caroline Shawk Brooks became something of a sensation during the Exposition, attracting large and amazed crowds. She was soon asked to move from the Arkansas exhibit to the main exhibition hall.
Caroline Brooks, an Ohio native, moved to a farm near Helena after marrying Samuel H. Brooks. She had a natural talent for shaping butter into quite remarkable sculptures, claiming that although she attended college, she had no training in art.
As you might expect, Brooks faced a challenge in keeping the butter cool during the sculpting process. She worked in a shallow pan which sat in a larger tray filled with crushed ice. Transporting her work to buyers must have been a challenge.
Brooks usually chose her subjects from classical mythology, though she also sculpted images of George Washington, Napoleon, and other luminaries. After the Centennial ended, she took her show on the road and never returned to Arkansas.
It was not just Arkansans who were taken with the state's pavilion. The Boston Evening Journal thought the Arkansas Centennial made a "strong showing." Noting that the Arkansas Legislature appropriated only $15,000 for centennial activities, the newspaper judged: "It was not enough, but a great deal has been done with it ..."
Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. Email him at [email protected].