Ozark Institute Records
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Scope and Content Note
Materials include correspondence, mostly written from Eureka Springs; Arkansas newspaper articles; photographs; legal documents; a copy of the FBI investigation report about the Ozark Institute; publications by, about, or used by the Ozark Institute; videotapes; and papers of the Ozark Public Broadcasting Company and the Arkansas Rural Coalition. Newspaper clippings have been replaced with photocopies and are arranged chronologically. The collection is organized into five series and documents the Institute's origins, programs, affiliated organizations, and financial operations. The abbreviation OI will refer to the Ozark Institute.
Dates
- 1970-1983
Creator
- Ozark Institute (Organization)
Language of Materials
Materials are in English.
Access Information
Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.
Use Information
No Use Restrictions Apply.
No Interlibrary Loan.
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Biographical Note
Edd A. Jeffords directed the Conference on Ozark In-Migration in Eureka Springs in May, 1976, which led to the establishment of the Ozark Institute. Jeffords, who was executive director from 1977 until 1982, helped to establish the Ozark Institute as a resource center to address the needs of the rural low-income and elderly in the areas of food, energy, and shelter. The Institute sponsored Futures Forums in several county seats in Arkansas and provided job training and resources to rural people through programs such as the Ozark Producer-Consumer Alliance, the Family Farm Development Service, and publications and seminars on solar energy, energy conservation, forest preservation, the small farmer, and appropriate technology. Jeffords and others also incorporated the Ozark Public Broadcasting Company, which operated Eureka Springs Radio Station KESP from 1979 until 1981. The Ozark Institute is associated with the Ozarks "back to the land" movement of the 1970s. The controversy surrounding public funding of the Institute played a role in Governor Bill Clinton's first electoral defeat.
Extent
4.25 Linear Feet (9 boxes)
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is organized into five series:
- Series 1. Organizational Papers, 1970-1983 (Boxes 1-2)
- Series 1. Subseries 1. Origins, 1974-1979
- Series 1. Subseries 2. Ozark Institute Development and Operations, 1974-1983
- Series 2. Programs and Affiliated Organizations, 1970-1983 (Boxes 3-4)
- Series 2. Subseries 1. Ozark Institute Programs, 1976-1983
- Series 2. Subseries 2. Affiliated Organizations, 1970-1983
- Series 3. Public Funding Controversy, 1970-1983 (Boxes 5-7)
- Series 3. Subseries 1. Arkansas Gubernatorial Campaign, 1980-1982
- Series 3. Subseries 2. Financial Records, 1974-1983
- Series 3. Subseries 3. FBI Investigation Records, 1976-1982
- Series 4, Publications and Tapes, 1970-1983 (Box 8)
- Series 4. Subseries 1. Publications of the Ozark Institute, 1976-1981
- Series 4. Subseries 2. Publications of the Ozark Public Broadcasting Company Inc., 1980-1981
- Series 4. Subseries 3. Other Publications, 1977-1982
- Series 4. Subseries 4. VHS Tapes, 1980
- Series 5, Photographs, 1970-1983 (Box 9)
Acquisition Information
Records of the Ozark Institute were assembled and donated to Special Collections in 1986 by Edd A. Jeffords of Austin, Texas.
Processing Information
Prepared by Rachel Skoney, Special Collections Department, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in May, 1988.
- Title
- Ozark Institute Records
- Author
- Rachel Skoney
- Date
- 1988
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Department Repository
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444
specoll@uark.edu