Columbia County, located along the southern border of Arkansas and resting just above Louisiana, was created in 1852 from portions of four surrounding counties. Blessed with abundant natural resources-including timber, petroleum, natural gas, and bromine-and teeming with wildlife, the county’’s roots of ancestry and industry run deep. The Cotton Belt Railroad once distributed the superior long-staple cotton produced locally, which was used to weave the finest broadcloth west of the Mississippi. Columbia County is also known for the healing mineral waters of Magnesia Springs, which are now part of Logoly State Park. Today, the thriving Southern Arkansas University offers more than 60 degrees in four distinct colleges and is the only school in the world with a Mulerider as a mascot. Columbia County is surrounded by a tremendous expanse of great natural beauty and has produced a cornucopia of characters and storytellers; the authors hope to introduce them in these pages.
