While wading through web sites concerning colonial Louisiana, I ran across a lot of interesting information. I knew, having lived in Arkansas the better part of my adult life, that the names of many communities were derived from the French influence in the 18th Century. I did not, however, guess, nor would I have ever guessed, that Smackover, Arkansas, was originally a French settlement.
Yes, Smackover, a small town in one of the southern most counties of the state, a town that boasts (proudly, according to their web site) the state's one and only "center of the road traffic light," was originally dubbed "Sumac Covert," (pronounced "co-vair"), which, in French, means "covered with Sumac." However, the English (and, yes, I can trace my roots to a long line of Hartleys, Hamptons, and the like), being, well...English, pronounced this graceful name that gives honor to the bright-colored weed that adorns many Arkansas roadways still today "Smackover."
No wonder the French and English never got along.
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