Madison County has produced its share of notable people, but none reached the national stage like Orval Eugene Faubus. Born in a modest cabin in the hill country near Combs in 1910, Faubus rose from deeply rural Ozark beginnings to serve six terms as governor of Arkansas. His story is inseparable from Madison County, and it is also inseparable from one of the most consequential and widely debated chapters in American history. It is a story worth telling carefully and accurately.
Faubus grew up poor in the Combs community of southern Madison County, the son of Sam Faubus, a hardscrabble farmer known for his strong populist and socialist political convictions. The younger Faubus came up in the classic Ozark mold: hard work, limited formal schooling at first, and the self-reliance that the hill country demanded. He taught in local schools, served in World War II, and got his start in politics and newspaper publishing in the region before rising through state government.
Faubus was elected governor of Arkansas in 1954 and went on to serve an extraordinary six consecutive terms, from 1955 to 1967, making him one of the longest-serving and most politically dominant governors in the state's history. In many respects his administration was marked by populist priorities that reflected his upbringing, including expansions in state services and infrastructure.
Faubus is best remembered nationally for his role in the 1957 Little Rock Central High School crisis. When nine Black students were to enroll at the previously all-white high school, Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to block their entry, leading to a confrontation between the state and federal government that brought the intervention of President Eisenhower and federal troops. The images from Little Rock became some of the defining photographs of the era. Faubus's actions made him a nationally and internationally known figure; they were supported by some and sharply opposed by others at the time, and his role in the events remains widely discussed and debated today.
For Madison County, Faubus is a complex piece of history: a local man who rose from a hill-country cabin to the governor's office and to a central place in one of the most debated chapters of the nation's past. People continue to assess his record in very different ways. What is not in dispute is that he remains the county's most nationally prominent figure — a reminder that even small Ozark communities have produced people who shaped the course of American events.
The cabin country around Combs that produced Orval Faubus still looks much as it did, quiet, rural, and beautiful. Understanding the full and complicated story of its most famous son is part of understanding Madison County itself.
Madison County sits in the heart of the Arkansas Ozarks, making it one of the best-kept secrets for outdoor enthusiasts in the mid-South. From floating the Kings River to hiking the Ozark Highlands Trail, there's no shortage of ways to enjoy the natural beauty here.
Read more →Huntsville's small downtown district has more to offer than you might expect. Local hardware stores, family-owned diners, farm supply shops, and specialty retailers have served Madison County for generations. Here's where to start.
Read more →Madison County has seen steady growth from families and retirees looking for a quieter life within reach of Northwest Arkansas. Whether you're coming from Fayetteville or from out of state, here's what locals wish they'd known before moving to the county.
Read more →Every October, War Eagle Mill hosts one of Arkansas's most beloved craft fairs, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the rolling hills near Hindsville. The mill itself — still grinding grain the old-fashioned way — is worth a visit any time of year.
Read more →Madison County was carved out of the Ozark wilderness in 1836, the same year settlers from Alabama gave both the county and its seat their names. Here is the long story of how this corner of northwest Arkansas came to be.
Read more →Huntsville is the county seat and the place where Madison County does its business. Here is what to know about the town at the center of it all, from the courthouse square to where to grab lunch.
Read more →The Kings River rises in the hills of southern Madison County and runs clear and wild toward Table Rock Lake. For paddlers and anglers, it is one of the great underrated rivers of the Arkansas Ozarks. Here is how to enjoy it.
Read more →Madison County is more than Huntsville. Scattered through its hills and river valleys are small communities with their own histories and characters: Kingston, Combs, Wesley, Hindsville, St. Paul, and more. Here is a tour.
Read more →Just five miles north of Huntsville, Withrow Springs State Park packs camping, hiking, swimming, and a put-in for floating War Eagle Creek into 786 acres of Ozark beauty. Here is everything to know before you go.
Read more →Madison County and the surrounding Ozark National Forest are some of the best hunting country in Arkansas, with deer, turkey, small game, and a growing bear population. Here is an orientation for hunters.
Read more →Before consolidation, nearly every Madison County community had its own school. Many of those buildings are gone now, but their stories are not. This is a living history of the county's one-room and small schools.
Read more →From spring craft fairs to the county fair to fall color and the holidays, Madison County keeps a full calendar of seasonal traditions. Here is what happens through the year, season by season.
Read more →Every Ozark community has its haunted houses, its strange lights, and its tales told around the fire. Madison County is no exception. This is a gathering place for the county's legends, lore, and ghost stories.
Read more →On a cold January morning in 1863, nine men were marched from a Huntsville guardhouse to a field northeast of town and shot. The Huntsville Massacre is one of the most tragic episodes in Madison County's Civil War history, and it should not be forgotten.
Read more →When Arkansas voted to leave the Union in 1861, one delegate cast the lone dissenting vote: Isaac Murphy of Huntsville. He later became the first governor of Arkansas's reunified state government. It remains one of the most notable chapters in Madison County's history.
Read more →Just south of Madison County, Arkansas Highway 23 corkscrews through the Boston Mountains as the Pig Trail Scenic Byway — one of the great motorcycle and leaf-peeping drives in the Ozarks. Here is what to know before you go.
Read more →Madison County is full of families who have been here for generations. If yours is one of them — or if you are tracing an ancestor who passed through — here is where to begin digging into your county roots.
Read more →One of the premier long-distance footpaths in the mid-South runs through the rugged country just south of Madison County. Whether you want a short day hike or a serious backpacking trip, the Ozark Highlands Trail is within easy reach.
Read more →Every autumn the Ozark hardwoods of Madison County put on a show. Here is when the color usually peaks, where to see it at its best, and how to plan a leaf-peeping outing in the heart of the Arkansas Ozarks.
Read more →Madison County's location in the heart of the Ozarks puts some of the region's best destinations within an easy drive. From the Buffalo River to Eureka Springs to the museums of Bentonville, here are five day trips worth taking.
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