Statewide publication spotlights Mountain Home

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The city of Mountain Home is the feature of a recent article in a statewide publication. The article, titled “My Sweet Mountain Home,” is featured in the August issue of AY (About You) Magazine.

The author, Joe David Rice, begins the article by writing about how the city got its name. According to the legend, Colonel Orrin Dodd owned a plantation formerly known as Rapp’s Barren. Slaves on the plantation reportedly called the estate “My Sweet Mountain Home.” Rapp’s Barren went by the wayside in 1857, and Mountain Home was adopted with the establishment of a post office.

Rice says the town’s transformation into a tourist destination began in the 1940s with the construction of the Bull Shoals and Norfork dams. President Harry Truman came to Mountain Home in July 1952 to dedicate the public works projects, but the federal government had more construction in the Twin Lakes Area. Three years later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened the Norfork National Fish Hatchery near Salesville, and it has become the most popular tourist attraction in Baxter County hosting nearly 250,000 visitors per year.

In addition to fishing, the area offers other outdoor activities. Bull Shoals-White River State Park is located in Lakeview, with the James A. Gaston Visitor Center in Bull Shoals. Big Creek Golf and Country Club is located on the west edge of Mountain Home, and it has constantly been ranked among Arkansas’s top golf courses.

Rice’s article also features the formation of “The District.” Legislation was passed by the Arkansas General Assembly last year, and Mountain Home was the first town in the state to create an entertainment district. It’s an eight-square-block zone where adults can purchase beer, wine or a mixed drink from a bar or restaurant and consume the beverage while wandering through the district from 4:30 p.m to midnight.

Education is another important part of Mountain Home. Arkansas State University-Mountain Home opened nearly 25 years ago, and it serves approximately 1,300 students each semester. For the last six years, the local school has been recognized as one of the country’s top community colleges by the Aspen Institute, and Wallethub ranked ASU-Mountain Home among the nation’s top two community colleges in 2018 and 2019.

Rice is also inviting the readers to check out other tourist destinations near Mountain Home. He mentions the Jacob Wolf House in Norfork, Blanchard Springs Caverns near Fifty Six, the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View and the ghost town of Rush located south of Yellville.

To view the full article in AY Magazine, click here.

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