“Modernizing the Hills: The Creation and Early Years of the Ozarks Regional Commission” Presentation by Joe Hutchison hosted by Ozarks Heritage Research Center

“Modernizing the Hills: The Creation and Early Years of the Ozarks Regional Commission.” – The Ozarks Economic Development Region (OEDR) and the Ozarks Regional Commission (ORC) were created under the Public Works and Economic Development Act (PWEDA) of 1965 to spur industrial economic development in a 125-county area in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Through improvements in infrastructure, recreation and tourism, and education, the ORC looked to transform the fledgling agrarian economy of the OEDR into a modern industrial one. But the ORC lasted only fifteen years before President Ronald Reagan dismantled it in 1981. This lecture examines the causes of the ORC’s downfall, including its internal dysfunction, its lack of funding and authority, and its ultimate failure to assist counties in the OEDR that needed help the most. The plight of the ORC reveals problems with the federal government’s faith in economic growth to solve rural America’s woes in the mid-twentieth century. The ORC also reveals the federal government’s complicated relationship with a regional approach to economic development.

Joe Hutchison, Evening Shade, AR., will pursue a PhD in History at Mississippi State University in the fall. He has presented at numerous conferences, including the Ozarks Studies Association, Ozarks Studies Symposium, and the Missouri Conference on History. Hutchison received the 2024 Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives Award for his paper “Jealousy, Gangs, and Contract Killing: A Revealing Case in the Arkansas Ozarks.”

The July 15 event is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be served. For more information about the event, contact Rebekah McKinney at 417-255-7949 or RebekahMcKinney@MissouriState.edu.

See the Facebook event page: Modernizing the Hills: The Creation and Early Years of the Ozarks Regional Commission