The acrostic below, published in 1861 along with acrostics for each of the states, presidents and many cities, was written by Robert Blackwell. An acrostic is a poem or combination of words, the first letters of which spell out a message or name, in this case "Fayetteville." The lithograph above was published with poem, although its inclusion of anchor and schooners hardly fits with Fayetteville's Ozark location. The electronic version of this work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.
Fayetteville, Arkansas
FILLED with men of the truest worth,
A place of wealth, a place of mirth,
Yielding up to nothing low,
Enterprising, onward grow;
Thy schools are good, thy teachers kind,
Thy daughters virtuous and refined,
Excelling all the girls that be
Venturing now to vie with thee;
Imparting light to every one,
Loveliest place beneath the sun,
Let thy boundaries wide extend,
Enlarging till the world shall end.
Blackwell, Robert. Original Acrostics on All the States and Presidents of the United States,and Various Other Subjects, Religious, Political, and Personal.Illustrated with Portraits of All the Presidents,and Engravings of Various Other Kinds.(Nashville, Tenn.: Published for the Author, 1861.) p142.
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