By Cody Berry 

After covering what Bauxite ore is, and what it’s used for, I thought I should talk more about the town of Bauxite. When we have visitors from other states in the U.S. or other countries even, I often relate the Gann’s walls to the Bauxite mining industry in Saline County. The nearby town of Bauxite has a unique history. 

In 1899, John R. Gibbons and his son J. Felton Gibbons were sent by the Pittsburgh Reduction Company to investigate the bauxite mines in Saline County. They determined that the ore in what was then the town of Perrysmith was of good quality, so the company instructed them to buy up as much land as possible. Gibbons and his son soon bought out their competition and in 1907 their company changed its name to the Aluminum Company of America or Alcoa.¹ 

The planning of Bauxite as a company town was inspired by a book by English economist James Anthony Froude called “Short Studies on Great Subjects.” Froude’s book was printed in 1855. It advocated for adequate housing and recreational facilities for workers. Alcoa used that philosophy to provide for the needs of its workers in Bauxite. So, Alcoa built churches, schools, stores, a movie theater, a hospital, a post office, a bank, and a community hall.² 

As more workers came to Bauxite, Alcoa built new communities for them to live in. These were segregated by race. They had names reflecting the home country or state of the people living there such as Mexico, Africa, Italy, and so on. Company gardens provided food and during the Great Depression, rents were reduced or discontinued until a worker could start paying the company again. Water and electricity were also provided to workers’ homes.³ 

Bauxite mining provided steady work and “the company” provided nearly everything that a family needed to live there at least for a while. In 1944, as WWII was nearing its end, production in Bauxite began to slow down. It wasn’t long before Alcoa found it more profitable to get its ore from British Guiana in South America and Jamaica.⁴ In 1967, Alcoa notified its workers that the company-town of Bauxite would be abolished as of July 1, 1969.⁵ Alcoa has since torn down almost everything they built in Bauxite. Today, the only physical remnants of the old town are its community hall, a former post office, some ruins, and the Rucker House. 

The Bauxite Community Hall is one of the seven buildings featured in our “Building History” exhibit at the Gann Museum. We have copies of the Bauxite News from 1920 on display, a bound volume of the Pick and Shovel, and pictures of its unique exhibits such as the Aluminum Dress. “Building History” will be available for viewing until September 21^st. 

Citations:

¹ Laura Harrington, “Bauxite (Saline County),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/bauxite-saline-county-382/#:~:text=The%20story%20of%20Bauxite%20is,of%20central%20Arkansas%20in%201887., Date Accessed 7/30/2024. 
² Laura Harrington, “Bauxite (Saline County),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/bauxite-saline-county-382/#:~:text=The%20story%20of%20Bauxite%20is,of%20central%20Arkansas%20in%201887., Date Accessed 8/13/2024 and Gordon Scott Bachus, A Printed and Pictorial History of Bauxite, Heritage Publishing, 1968, p. 17-18. 

³ Laura Harrington, “Bauxite (Saline County),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/bauxite-saline-county-382/#:~:text=The%20story%20of%20Bauxite%20is,of%20central%20Arkansas%20in%201887., Date Accessed 8/13/2024. 

⁴ Laura Harrington, “Bauxite (Saline County),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/bauxite-saline-county-382/#:~:text=The%20story%20of%20Bauxite%20is,of%20central%20Arkansas%20in%201887., Date Accessed 8/13/2024. 

⁵ Laura Harrington, “Bauxite (Saline County),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/bauxite-saline-county-382/#:~:text=The%20story%20of%20Bauxite%20is,of%20central%20Arkansas%20in%201887., Date Accessed 8/13/2024.