Booneville Chamber of Commerce
What to know
The cities of Booneville and Magazine are nestled between the
majestic Ozark mountains to the north and the Ouachita mountains
to the south where you will encounter an area of unbelievable beauty.
Booneville is a treasure chest of natural splendor. You’ll find a wealth
of engaging ways to enrich the lives of you and your family. Whether
you’re just visiting Booneville, moving the family here, or settling in
for retirement, life in Booneville is what you make of it - slow and
easy or exciting and interesting.
The vast natural vistas make Booneville ideal for a relaxing lifestyle.
For a livelier experience, you can fish, swim, canoe, camp, hunt,
geocache, rock climb, hike, and even hang glide. Put simply, you
really can stop searching and start living! Booneville was founded in
1828 by Walter Cauthron,
one of the early explorers of
the Arkansas Territory. Cauthron
built a log cabin and a store along
the Petit Jean River, providing
the start for one of the oldest
townships in western Arkansas.
Two theories prevail regarding the
naming of the town. One has that
Cauthron originally named the
town “Bonneville” after is friend
Benjamin Bonneville. The other
theory holds that the town was
named in honor of Daniel Boone,
a friend of the Logan family for
which Logan County is named.
Booneville’s economy was
historically based on the
railroad and then later
the Arkansas State Tuberculosis
Sanitorium. However, the town
has currently evolved into a diverse
economy of small businesses,
farms and light industry.
From the beginning,
education was important
to the town of Booneville.
In 1874, as a response to needs
for higher learning in western
Arkansas, the Fort Smith District
of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, authorized the
establishment of the Fort Smith
District High School in Booneville.
Upon its closure in the early 1900’s,
a group of citizens formed the
Booneville Education I
n 1898, the Choctaw, Oklahoma,
and Gulf Railroad, acquired
by the Rock Island Railroad,
constructed a line between
McAlester, Oklahoma, and Little
Rock (Pulaski County) that passed
through Booneville. Booneville
was designated as a division point
for crew changes. For the next
seventy-five years, the railroad
was a major factor in the town’s
economy.
In 1898, the Choctaw, Oklahoma,
and Gulf Railroad, acquired
by the Rock Island Railroad,
constructed a line between
McAlester, Oklahoma, and Little
Rock (Pulaski County) that passed
through Booneville. Booneville
was designated as a division point
for crew changes. For the next
seventy-five years, the railroad
was a major factor in the town’s
economy.!
majestic Ozark mountains to the north and the Ouachita mountains
to the south where you will encounter an area of unbelievable beauty.
Booneville is a treasure chest of natural splendor. You’ll find a wealth
of engaging ways to enrich the lives of you and your family. Whether
you’re just visiting Booneville, moving the family here, or settling in
for retirement, life in Booneville is what you make of it - slow and
easy or exciting and interesting.
The vast natural vistas make Booneville ideal for a relaxing lifestyle.
For a livelier experience, you can fish, swim, canoe, camp, hunt,
geocache, rock climb, hike, and even hang glide. Put simply, you
really can stop searching and start living! Booneville was founded in
1828 by Walter Cauthron,
one of the early explorers of
the Arkansas Territory. Cauthron
built a log cabin and a store along
the Petit Jean River, providing
the start for one of the oldest
townships in western Arkansas.
Two theories prevail regarding the
naming of the town. One has that
Cauthron originally named the
town “Bonneville” after is friend
Benjamin Bonneville. The other
theory holds that the town was
named in honor of Daniel Boone,
a friend of the Logan family for
which Logan County is named.
Booneville’s economy was
historically based on the
railroad and then later
the Arkansas State Tuberculosis
Sanitorium. However, the town
has currently evolved into a diverse
economy of small businesses,
farms and light industry.
From the beginning,
education was important
to the town of Booneville.
In 1874, as a response to needs
for higher learning in western
Arkansas, the Fort Smith District
of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, authorized the
establishment of the Fort Smith
District High School in Booneville.
Upon its closure in the early 1900’s,
a group of citizens formed the
Booneville Education I
n 1898, the Choctaw, Oklahoma,
and Gulf Railroad, acquired
by the Rock Island Railroad,
constructed a line between
McAlester, Oklahoma, and Little
Rock (Pulaski County) that passed
through Booneville. Booneville
was designated as a division point
for crew changes. For the next
seventy-five years, the railroad
was a major factor in the town’s
economy.
In 1898, the Choctaw, Oklahoma,
and Gulf Railroad, acquired
by the Rock Island Railroad,
constructed a line between
McAlester, Oklahoma, and Little
Rock (Pulaski County) that passed
through Booneville. Booneville
was designated as a division point
for crew changes. For the next
seventy-five years, the railroad
was a major factor in the town’s
economy.!