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JOSEPH BONNE GOT HERE FIRST

It all started when Joseph Bonne, half French and half Quapaw Indian, built a log cabin on the high bluff around 1819. His home became known as “The Pine Bluff” because it was the first bluff supporting pine trees upstream from the mouth of the Arkansas River. The settlement officially named “The Town of Pine Bluff” in October 1832 was incorporated on January 8, 1839.

CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT GAINED STEAM HERE

Did you know that Pine Bluff boasts major civil rights credentials?  Attorneys Harold Flowers, Wiley Branton, and Leo Branton (all Pine Bluff natives) were at the epicenter of groundbreaking cases like the Little Rock Central High crisis, the integration of the University of Arkansas Law School, and the drive to register black voters. Judge George Howard and Black Panther Bobby Hutton also played important roles.  

WHEN IT COMES TO BLUES, ALL ROADS LEAD HERE

Some of the biggest names in blues, gospel, and jazz have Pine Bluff connections. For Delta folks, the gospel and the blues are in the air and in the water. The mosaic of cotton blossoms, catfish farms, blues juke joints, foot-stomping churches, and rich Delta dirt served as the training ground for legends in blues, R&B/soul, country music, jazz, and gospel--names like Big Bill Bronzy, Miles Davis, and Sippy Wallace, just to name a few.

MOGULS & MILLIONAIRES

LIVED AND WORKED HERE

Pine Bluff has always been home to entrepreneurs. Wiley Jones owned a rail company and was one of the richest black men in the South. Ferd Havis owned 3,000 acres of land and was known as the Colored Millionaire of Pine Bluff. O.W. Gurley was one of the catalysts for the development of Black Wall Street. Fred T. Jones established the state’s first black hospitals and created the first health insurance plan in the nation. 

PINE BLUFF - ARKANSAS' ARCHITECTURAL GEM

Did you know that Pine Bluff is one of the most architecturally significant cities in Arkansas? It's one of the best-kept secrets in the state. With every period of architecture represented, Pine Bluff has a stunning 58 buildings on the National Register of Historical Places. The city's historic commercial buildings, churches and residences are characters every bit as interesting as the fascinating characters who occupied them.

THE CRADLE OF DELTA CREATIVITY

Innovators with Pine Bluff connections birthed the invention of sound in movies, invented slow-motion footage,  and launched the first western-genre movie star. Discover the untold stories of Pine Bluff's creative class - the writers, the artists and the entertainment entrepreneurs who made history, along with the Pine Bluff institutions that continue to nurture fresh talent.

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