Big Buffalo Valley Historic District

The Big Buffalo Valley Historic District, also known as the Boxley Valley Historic District, is notable as a cultural landscape in Buffalo National River. It comprises the Boxley Valley in northern Arkansas, near the town of Ponca. The valley includes a number of family-operated farms, primarily dating between 1870 and 1930. The farms are situated on either side of the road that parallels the river, Highway 43. Many of these farms are still operated by the descendants of the original homesteaders. However, of fifty residences in the valley, thirty were vacant in 1987, at the time of historic designation.^[2][3]

Elk out in the early morning in Boxley Valley

Big Buffalo Valley Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Orphea Duty barn
Show map of Arkansas Show map of the United States
Nearest city	Ponca, Arkansas
NRHP reference No.	87000110
Added to NRHP	July 29, 1987[1]

Structures in the valley have been classified into three historical phases:

• The Old-Ozarks-Frontier phase, comprising the period of the 1830s to the 1870s, focusing on settlement and homesteading, with a continuing tradition of log construction extending to the 1930s.
• The Cosmopolitan-Ozarks phase, from circa 1895 to 1950, in which a more urban style was used for housing, with large barns and the appearance of specialized buildings for shops and services.
• The New-Ozarks-Frontier phase, from 1950 to the present, with a suburban design influence.^[2]

The district includes Villines Mill, listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places.

See also

• Buffalo River State Park Historic District
• Rush Historic District
• Parker-Hickman Farm Historic District
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Newton County, Arkansas

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. Michael Bureman and Craig Frazier (March 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Big Buffalo Valley Historic District" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
3. "Boxley Valley: Edgmon, Doy Feed House/Cattle Shed". List of Classified Structures. National Park Service. November 29, 2008. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2008.