Arkansas Folk Festival and Ozark Folk Center Logo

The Creation and Development of the
Arkansas Folk Festival and the Ozark Folk Center:
An Oral History Project


Courthouse Square, Mountain View, Arkansas - 1965 Welcome to the Website of the Regional Studies Center's oral history project chronicling the genesis and early years of the Arkansas Folk Festival and the Ozark Folk Center, both located in Mountain View, Arkansas. In 2003 the Lyon College Regional Studies Center received a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and National Endowment for the Humanities to help fund the project. With the exception of one oral history that was conducted a couple years earlier but included here due to its relevance to the topic, the oral histories in this collection were gathered by Lyon College's Director of Regional Studies, Dr. Brooks Blevins, and students in his summer 2003 course, Ozark History and Culture. Photos in this website are provided courtesy of the Arkansas History Commission and the Ozark Folk Center.




Table of Contents:

A Brief History of the Arkansas Folk Festival
A Brief History of the Ozark Folk Center

Oral History Interviews:

Glen Branscum
Percy Copeland
Elliott Hancock
Jean Jennings
Edwin Luther
Lynn McSpadden
David Newbern
Glen Ohrlin
Leo Rainey
Van Rosa
Charley Sandage
Tommy Simmons
Janice Sutton
Kay Thomas
Eddie Walker
Elizabeth Warner
Lloyd Westbrook


Mabee-Simpson Library
Lyon College
2300 Highland Road, Batesville, AR  72501
Last modified:  Jul 2, 2009