Baxter County Historical and Genealogical Society

Research Room Hours

Tuesday and Thursday

12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

or by appointment Monday through Friday

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Closed state legal holidays

The Baxter County Archives is administered by the Baxter County Historical and Genealogical Society. After many years of collecting material relating to the history of Baxter County the Historical Society developed the County Archives in 2007. In June 2008 the archives was moved from the Heritage Museum in Gassville to the Baxter County Services Building (Suite 201) in Mountain Home.

The archival program of the Historical Society continues the tradition of organizing and maintaining the history of Baxter County by collecting historical material related to the county such as: manuscript materials, census records, family histories, cemetery records, county and municipal records, school records, business records, organizational records, personal papers, school yearbooks, maps, photographs and copies of selected state and federal records pertaining to Baxter County. It is not only important to preserve these historical materials, it is also important to make the material available to researchers – provided the information does not comprise a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. .

The Historical Society, including the Baxter County Archives, is a volunteer organization primarily supported by membership dues, publication sales, and the generosity of donors. Tax deductible donations to support the archival program should be sent to the Baxter County Historical & Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 2125, Mountain Home, AR 72654.

The Historical Society is also grateful for the donation to the County Archives of historical material related to Baxter County. All donated material will be properly preserved in accord with archival standards.

If you have a reference inquiry, please contact us by email (bcarchives@centurytel.net), by phone (870-425-2551) or by mail: Baxter County Archives, P.O. Box 2125, Mountain Home, AR 72654.

We will do our best to assist you with your inquiries, but it is not the purpose of the Archives to conduct research on behalf of researchers. Our basic function is to assist researchers in accessing the archival records and materials within the Archives.

Accessing the archival resources in the Research Room of the Baxter County Archives.

Upon arriving in the Research Room, all patrons must sign the register. A copy of the policies and procedures governing the Research Room as well as finding aids to the holdings of the County Archives (that are currently available for research) is available from the Research Room attendant. Eventually copies of the inventories, as well as selected copies of documents and photos, will be available on this website. Copies of all materials available for research may be obtained for a modest reproduction fee. We are available to help you find answers to your questions.

The Baxter County Archives includes a wide variety of materials relating to the history and genealogy of Baxter County. The holdings of the Archives include the following:

A copy of the 1790 U.S. census, the 1880 Baxter County federal census, and the 1900 and 1910 federal census index for Baxter County.

Included are detailed lists of burial sites for cemeteries in Baxter County, as well as the cemeteries in Fulton County, Marion County and Izard County in Arkansas, and Ozark County Missouri.

The Arkansas Prior Birth Index (Arkansas births prior to 1901); the Arkansas Gazette Obituaries Index (1819-1879); Baxter County Marriages (1873-1920); Funeral Notices from Mountain Home, AR (1920s to the 1950s); “Hatch, Match and Dispatch” (index of births, marriages, and deaths from the Baxter Bulletin, 1901-1956); and the North Central Arkansas Death Record Index (1914-1948).

Baxter County Arkansas Land Patents (index of people who obtained land directly from the federal government from earliest settlement times through June 1908); Original General Land Office Survey Notes and Plats for the State of Arkansas (1815-present) in a 13 CD set.

Records from 67 of the original school districts of Baxter County (1922-1980), including teacher registers and school census. Also included are the records of the Baxter County Board of Education (1890-1998) and the Baxter County Supervisor of Schools; this material includes financial records, records relating to transfer of students, school district board members, correspondence, and minutes of the County Board of Education.

Finding aids to these records and a name index to students and teachers (1926-1943) is located in the Research Room.

Baxter County Poll Tax Receipts (1949-1962), Justice of the Peace records for Mountain Home Township and Union Township (1911-1952), and the Gassville Town Council Ledger (1931-1962).

Family histories (primarily for Baxter County and North Central Arkansas), Journals and newsletters from genealogical and historical organizations in Arkansas and Southern Missouri, as well as from 16 other states (primarily Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia).

An extensive collection of photographs, postcards and slides pertaining to virtually all aspects of Baxter County history, including people and events from the 1890s to the present. Included are images from the Arthur Keller and Ray Grass collections (early Mountain Home photographers). We are currently in the process of inputting detailed descriptions of the photos into our photograph database, which will eventually facilitate locating specific photographs.

Records from early Baxter County businesses such as: the Baker General Store, Peoples Bank, Robertson Store and the Tracy General Store in Mountain Home; the Baxter County Bank, Cotter Lumber Company, McSpadden Store and the Paradise Theatre in Cotter; the Powell General Store in Big Flat; and the Three Brothers (Turnbo) Store in Three Brothers.

Records from various Baxter County civic and social organizations such as: Delta Kappa Gamma, labor unions, Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce, Home Demonstration Clubs, Moose Lodge, Ozark Earth Sciences Club, Mountain Home Women’s Club, and the Twentieth Century Club.

Histories and genealogical information of families from Baxter County that have been compiled by family members.

In addition to a good Vertical (reference) File, the Research Room contains a collection of books and other publications pertaining to: the history of Baxter County, the Ozarks region and Arkansas; various genealogical topics; high school yearbooks; telephone directories (1948-2009); and a complete set (including index) of past copies of Baxter County History (the quarterly journal of the BCHGS, 1974-2009).