Big Buffalo Valley Historic District, Historic district in the United States of America
Big Buffalo Valley Historic District is an area of historic farms and settlements in northern Arkansas, near Ponca along the Buffalo River. It covers more than 8,000 acres with dozens of old buildings, including farmhouses, barns, stores, a church, a school, and prehistoric sites from around 6000 BC to the early 1900s.
The first Euro-American settlers arrived here in the 1830s and built simple log cabins that remained in use into the 1930s. After 1895, larger homes, sawmills, gristmills, and stores appeared, serving the growing community.
The name Boxley Valley traces back to early settler families who built their farms along the road to the river, and many homes feature two front doors, an old custom in this region that visitors still notice today. Some of these log structures show the practical building traditions that families passed down over generations.
The farms are scattered along Highway 43 near the Buffalo River, and you can see some buildings from the road. An interpretive area nearby shows structures built by the Villines family and a building from the Works Progress Administration program of the 1930s.
Elk graze in the valley during early mornings, a rare sight most visitors do not expect. Some of the prehistoric sites include caves and springs used by different groups over thousands of years.
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