The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the CALS Roberts Library and the CALS DIY Memory Lab recently launched a new initiative designed to help Arkansas faith communities preserve and interpret their historical records. Supported with funds from the Mellon Foundation, the Religious Community History Seminar brings together ten diverse faith communities from across central Arkansas to explore archival preservation,

Although it is not as prominent as the Baptist or Methodist Churches in Arkansas, the Episcopal Church with its fifty-plus congregations holds a significant place in the history and culture of the state. Recently the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies has made its collection, the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas records (BC.MSS.10.27),

On September 3, 2025, a man named Vernon Patton was attacked by a black bear in Franklin County, an attack that ultimately proved fatal. An Arkansas Times article on the subject speculated that this attack “may be the state’s first since before the Civil War.” This was based upon a statement made by Keith Stephens,