Cane Hill [Paperback]

During the mid- to late 19th century, Cane Hill was a thriving community centered on agriculture, industry, religion, and education.

It was also the home of many Arkansas firsts. Founded in 1827 by Cumberland Presbyterians from eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, it was Washington Countys first permanent settlement, predating nearby Fayetteville (1828).In 1834, residents founded Arkansass first public school and library.That school later became Cane Hill College, one of the states first institutions of higher learning and the first Arkansas university to admit and graduate women.The town also witnessed the Trail of Tears and a Civil War battle.Today, the town is home to an amazing collection of historic architecture, including 16 properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Bobby R. Braly is executive director of Historic Cane Hill, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charged with preserving the town, and a descendant of the towns early population. His great-grandfather, an orphan train rider, was adopted by the Braly family, whose roots in Cane Hill date to the 1830s. Bralys son Huxley is the fifth generation to call the town home. Images for the book have been selected from the Cane Hill Museum, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, and local families.You want to read something local?Well, grab off the shelves Cane Hill, a locally produced photo book from Bobby Braly of Cane Hill (he is the head of Historic Cane Hill Inc.) and the folks at Arcadia Press.The photographs in the book, many unseen before, are wonderful old scenes of early Cane Hill, and Braly, a trained archaeologist and historian, fills in all the gaps in this wonderful story of one of the oldest settlements in Arkansas.Herald Leader