Ouachita Chapter to hear presentation on Sulphur Fork Factory
Rachel Jones of the Arkansas Archeological Survey will present “The History and Archaeology of the Sulphur Fork Factory” at the August meeting of the Ouachita Chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the board room at Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, 200 Whittington Ave.
The event is free and open to the public.
“The United States Indian Factory System, an experiment in public enterprise, was a late addition to the North American Fur Trade phenomenon,” the chapter said in a news release. Created by an act of Congress in 1795, the factory system established a total of 31 trading posts, a majority of which were located along the Mississippi River and its western tributaries.
“In this talk, Rachel Jones will focus on the history and archaeology of the Sulphur Fork Factory (1817-1822) strategically located in present-day southwest Arkansas. An often-overlooked part of American history, the factory system is important to our overall understanding of American imperialism and native assimilation policies,” the release said.
Jones joined the Arkansas Archeological Survey’s Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Research Station in Morrilton as a research station assistant in May. She received a BA in International Relations from the University of Arkansas before turning her focus to anthropology and archaeology, the release said. She received her MA in Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma this spring.
“Her thesis focused on the historic Sulphur Fork Factory site in southwest Arkansas. As a native Arkansan, Rachel is interested in continuing to learn about Arkansas history and archaeology,” it said.