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Little Italy, Arkansas

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Established initially as Alta Villa by the Italian immigrants who settled there in 1915,[2][3] Little Italy is an unincorporated community in Pulaski and Perry counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas.[1] The culturally rich and historically significant village is located in high terrain along Arkansas Highway 300 amidst the northeastern foothills of the Ouachita Mountains bestriding Wye Mountain, Kryer Mountain, and their vale.[4]

Little Italy, Arkansas
Unincorporated community
Little Italy, Arkansas is located in Arkansas
Little Italy, Arkansas
Little Italy, Arkansas
Location of Little Italy in Arkansas
Little Italy, Arkansas is located in the United States
Little Italy, Arkansas
Little Italy, Arkansas
Little Italy, Arkansas (the United States)
Coordinates: 34°56′15″N 92°35′10″W / 34.93750°N 92.58611°W / 34.93750; -92.58611
CountryUnited States
StateArkansas
CountiesPerry
Pulaski
TownshipsWye Township
Big Rock Township
Elevation
[1]
692 ft (211 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
72016
72135
Area code+1 (501)
GNIS feature ID51290[1]

For the original Italian families of Little Italy, their belief in God and devotion to the religion of their homeland was of utmost importance. Priests traveling by way of locomotive from Little Rock initially celebrated Mass for local devotees at a schoolhouse in the nearby community of Ledwidge. St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church was officially established in Little Italy in 1922 once a building more suitable for worship and consecration was erected. Since its inception, the church has remained an integral part of the community's identity and activity.[5][6]

Also central to Little Italy's identity is its history in the winemaking industry as well as its renowned status as a safe haven for the purchase and consumption of unadulterated alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. At its height, the community boasted four commercial wineries and two taverns.[7]

In 2015, as part of a multi-decade heritage preservation endeavor, Little Italy's residents unsuccessfully sought to become an incorporated municipality.[8][9][10] As part of that same effort to preserve and promote its history and culture, members of the community founded a heritage society in 2018[11] and opened a heritage museum in 2019.[12] With similar sentiment, Little Italy marks its important anniversaries with homecoming events and celebrations.[13][14][15] Since 1927, its residents also host an annual Italian festival[16] highlighted by a spaghetti and sausage dinner featuring original, intergenerational recipes.[17][18]

See also

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Other historically Italian settlements in Arkansas

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Catholic Point, Arkansas
Sunnyside Plantation, Arkansas
Tontitown, Arkansas

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Little Italy, Arkansas". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "Alta Villa Families". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Digital facsimile of original photograph circa 1916. Retrieved July 26, 2024. (Digitally archived as PDF on August 3, 2024).
  3. ^ "Kristy Eanes and Chris Dorer (Founders of the Little Italy Heritage Museum, AR)". We The Italians. January 12, 2021. Interview. Retrieved July 26, 2024. (Digitally archived as PDF on August 3, 2024).
  4. ^ Whitworth, Katherine. "It takes a village: The hillside paradise of Arkansas's other Italians". Arkansas Life. November 2011, p. 15. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  5. ^ "Parish History". St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Little Italy. Retrieved July 25, 2024. (Digitally archived as PDF on August 23, 2024).
  6. ^ "St. Francis of Assisi Church - Roland (Little Italy)". Diocese of Little Rock. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Dorer, Chris. "Little Italy (Pulaski and Perry Counties)". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Retrieved March 14, 2018. (Digitally archived as PDF on August 3, 2024).
  8. ^ "Becoming a Township". Little Italy Arkansas. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  9. ^ Walkenhorst, Emily. "State's Little Italy denied bid to be town.". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. February 27, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2024. (Digitally archived as PDF on August 3, 2024).
  10. ^ Harrison, Judge Brandon J., et al. "INCORPORATORS OF COMMUNITY KNOWN AS LITTLE ITALY v. PULASKI COUNTY. Court of Appeals of Arkansas. November 28, 2018." FindLaw. Retrieved July 25, 2024. (Digitally archived as PDF on August 3, 2024).
  11. ^ "Little Italy descendants and friends establish non-profit; museum". Little Italy Arkansas. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  12. ^ Mackay, Mercedes. "Little Italy Arkansas Heritage Museum brings life to pivotal part of Arkansas' history". KTHV. September 15, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2024. (Digitally archived as PDF on August 4, 2024).
  13. ^ "Local Announcements: St. Francis Church 90th Anniversary Celebrated October 2012". Little Italy Arkansas. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  14. ^ Lane, Kim. "Little Italy Celebrates 100 Years as a Community". AY Magazine. September 11, 2015. Blog. Retrieved July 25, 2024. (Digitally archived as PDF on August 3, 2024).
  15. ^ Price, Chris. “Immigrant Catholics Founded Little Italy 100 Years Ago”. Arkansas Catholic. August 11, 2022. Article regarding the centennial anniversary of St. Fransis of Assisi Catholic Church, Little Italy. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  16. ^ "LITTLE ITALY ITALIAN FESTIVAL". Arkansas Tourism Official Site. Maintained by the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  17. ^ Morgan, Rebecca. "A taste of the Old World in Arkansas—Little Italy." Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. August 1, 1999. (Appendix C in Dorer, 2002; see Further reading).
  18. ^ Hebda, Dwain. "Serving God — and the best spaghetti in Arkansas". Arkansas Catholic. 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2024.

Further reading

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  • Barnes, Kenneth C. Anti-Catholicism in Arkansas: How Politicians, the Press, the Klan, and Religious Leaders Imagined an Enemy, 1910–1960. Fayetteville, AR: The University of Arkansas Press, 2016. ISBN 9781682260166
  • Cia, Elaine Weir, et al. "Early History of Little Italy, Pulaski Co., AR." 1968. Historical Document Archive. Little Italy Arkansas Heritage Museum, Little Italy, AR. Facsimile of a typewritten document.
  • Cia, M.B. "Notes on Little Italy." Pulaski County Historical Review 12 (December 1964): 53–55. ISSN 0552-5799
  • Dorer, Chris. “A Bootlegger’s Oasis: Central Arkansas’s Craving for Little Italy’s Prohibition-Era Concoctions.” Pulaski County Historical Review 65 (Spring 2017): 3–10. ISSN 0552-5799
  • ———. Images of America: Little Italy, Arkansas. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781531671471
  • ———. St. Francis: Our Lives, Our Faith—Catholicism in Little Italy, 1922-2022. Little Italy, AR: Little Italy Arkansas Heritage Museum, 2022.
  • Dorer, Christopher A. Boy, the Stories I Could Tell: A Narrative History of the Italians of Little Italy, Arkansas. Winfield, KS: Central Plains Book Manufacturing Co., 2002. OCLC Number 53128264
  • ———. “Little Italy: A Historical and Sociological Survey.” Pulaski County Historical Review 51 (Summer 2003): 43–54. ISSN 0552-5799
  • Goldsmith, Adolph O. "Wine From Little Italy's Grapes: Italians of This Unusual Colony Near Little Rock Carry on Traditions of Native Land." Historical Document Archive. Little Italy Arkansas Heritage Museum, Little Italy, AR. Facsimile of a newspaper article printed circa 1939; missing name of newspaper [Arkansas Democrat?] and publication date. (Appendix A in Dorer, 2002).
  • Halliburton, Arthur. “Little Italy is Still Ethnically Closely-Knit; But Town Has Lost Old World Flavor since 1915.” Arkansas Democrat. November 26, 1972, p. 3A. (Appendix B in Dorer, 2002).
  • Hunt, Nicholas. "The Story of Dalsanto." Arkansas Life. September 8, 2015. Featured article. (Available online at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: "The Story of Dalsanto"; accessed July 26, 2024).
  • "Little Italy Celebrates." Arkansas Gazette. August 9, 1931, pp. 9B–10B.
  • Price, Chris. "Deep Roots: Italian descendants honor Little Italy church's 100th anniversary." Arkansas Catholic. August 13, 2022, pp. 1, 3–4. Featured article. (Available online with additional photographs and information at Arkansas Catholic: “Immigrant Catholics Founded Little Italy 100 Years Ago”; accessed July 26, 2024).
  • Smith, Sybil. "Notes on the Italian settlers of Pulaski County." Pulaski County Historical Review 38 (Fall 1990): 51–57. ISSN 0552-5799
  • Tebbetts, Diane Ott. "Transmission of Folklife Patterns in Two Rural Arkansas Ethnic Groups: The Germans and Italians in Perry County." PhD diss., Indiana University, 1987. OCLC Number 25662162
  • Terry, Bill. “A Typical Night at Little Italy: Sausages, Beer, Bourbon, and Gas.” Union Station Times. August 1975, pp. 11–12, 29.
  • Womack, Patsy. Living the Times: A Bicentennial History of Perry County. N.p.: 1976. OCLC Number 12485895
  • Woods, James M. Mission and Memory: A History of the Catholic Church in Arkansas. Little Rock: August House, 1993. ISBN 9780874832648
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