1. In 1861, the Confederacy established a military post at Fort Smith in Arkansas, as it was a strategic location along the borders of Missouri and Indian Territory during the Civil War.

2. On February 8, 1900, Arkansas governor Jeff Davis signed the "The Southern Religious Liberty Association Bill," making it legal to teach the Bible in schools without sectarian prejudice.

3. In 1939, the Arkansas state legislature authorized a special election to approve a constitutional amendment to permit pari-mutuel betting on horse racing in Hot Springs; however, the amendment was defeated by voters later that year.

4. On February 8, 1950, the University of Arkansas admitted its first black law student, Silas Herbert Hunt, after he filed a lawsuit against the school that ended years of segregation in Arkansas public higher education.

5. In 1964, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the construction of the Bull Shoals Dam on the White River in Arkansas, which became one of the largest concrete dams in the world and a major source of hydroelectric power for the region.