List of city nicknames in Arkansas explained

This partial list of city nicknames in Arkansas compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that the state's cities are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.^[1] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" are also believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult to measure, but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.^[2]

Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.

• Alma – Spinach Capital of the World^{[3] [4]}
• Berryville – Turkey Capital^[5]
• Brinkley – Home of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker^[6]
• Conway – The City of Colleges (The University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College, and Central Baptist College)^[7]
• Dumas – Home of the Ding Dong Daddy^[8]
• El Dorado
  • Arkansas' Original Boomtown^[9]
  • Queen City of South Arkansas^[9]
• Emerson – The Biggest Little Town in Arkansas^[4]
• Eureka Springs - Little Switzerland of the Ozarks
• Fayetteville
  • Hog Country^[10]
  • Track Capital of the World^[10]
• Green Forest – Tomato Capital^[3]
• Hope – Watermelon Capital of the World^{[3] [11]}
• Hot Springs – Spa City^[12]
• Jasper – Elk Capital of Arkansas^[13]
• Jonesboro
  • The City of Churches^[14]
  • The Crepe Myrtle City^[14]
• Little Rock
  • The City of Roses^[15]
  • River City^[16]
• Lowell – A Town with a Past, A City with a Future^[17]
• Malvern – Brick Capital of the World^[18]
• Mount Ida – Quartz Crystal Capital of the World^[19]
• Mountain View – Folk Music Capital of the World^{[20] [21]}
• Nashville – Peach Capital^[3]
• North Little Rock – Dogtown^{[22] [23]}
• Stuttgart – Rice and Duck Capital of the World^{[3] [24]}
• Texarkana – Twice as Nice^[25]

See also

• List of city nicknames in the United States

Notes and References

1. Muench, David "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts", December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007.
2. Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City, MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
3. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/agriculture.html Claims to Fame - Agriculture
4. Web site: Wanda. McKinney. Our Favorite Town Slogans. https://web.archive.org/web/20071107124712/http://www.southernliving.com/southern/features/southerners/article/0%2C28012%2C1044912%2C00.html. 2007-11-07. Southern Living. April 2005.
5. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/birds.html Claims to Fame - Birds
6. https://web.archive.org/web/20061128220445/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0612/feature6/index.html The Ghost Bird
7. http://www.cityofconway.org/ Official Site of the City of Conway, Arkansas
8. http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=876 Dumas (Desha County)
9. Kenneth Bridges, El Dorado (Union County), The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
10. http://www.freeweekly.com/2007/09/06/fyv-vs-fay/ FYV vs. FAY
11. Web site: The World Capital of Whatever. The New York Times. Harold . Faber. 1993-09-12. 2018-11-15.
12. http://www.hotsprings.org/ Hot Springs, Arkansas
13. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/animals.html Claims to Fame - Animals
14. http://www.usacitiesonline.com/arcountyjonesboro.htm Jonesboro
15. http://www.cals.lib.ar.us/butlercenter/manuscripts/collection/mss98-13.html Little Rock City Beautiful Scrapbooks
16. http://www.littlerock.com/media/history.asp A Brief History of Little Rock
17. http://www.lowellarkansas.gov/index.php?section=10 The City of Lowell, Arkansas
18. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/products.html Claims to Fame - Products
19. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/rocks.html Claims to Fame - Rocks
20. http://www.ozarkfolkcenter.com/ Ozark Folk Center
21. http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/arts.html Claims to Fame - Arts
22. Web site: North Little Rock (Pulaski County) . The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture . According to oral tradition, people from Little Rock dumped their unwanted dogs in North Little Rock, but the name probably predates this practice and was a disparagement of the north side's blue-collar base. In the mid-1900s, Little Rock students often taunted North Little Rock students with chants of "Dogtown" at sporting and other events..
23. Web site: Dogtown: Through a Glass Darkly . 2013-07-05 . 2014-11-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141128214437/http://northlittlerockhistory.org/dogtown-through-a-glass-darkly/ . dead .
24. https://www.espn.com/outdoors/tv/columns/story?columnist=sutton_keith&page=g_col_Sutton_Stuttgart_AR_duck_capital Out There: The world's duck-hunting capital - Stuttgart, Ark., lies at the heart of the greatest mallard-hunting area
25. http://www.taglineguru.com/citymottosmonikers.html Tagline Guru City Branding Survey