This week, the Retracing Our Roots team is joined by Russell Tucker, one of the owners of Rapp’s Barren Brewing Company. We are especially grateful to Rapp’s Barren for serving as our corporate sponsor.
In the first segment, Russell shares his passion for the history of Mountain Home, which was formerly known as Rapp’s Barren prior to 1857. He also describes how the team at Rapp’s Barren has embraced and celebrated the history of the downtown Square in Mountain Home. We delve into the 1892 construction of the Baker brothers' buildings after the Bakers moved up from Big Flat, Arkansas, to Mountain Home.
In the next segment, we explore the 1907 murder of Dr. William Foster Noe on the north side of the Mountain Home Square, committed by Austin Baker in front of 70 witnesses. It started as a heated argument erupted between the two good friends, during which words were exchanged. Austin then stormed off to retrieve a gun, vowing to "kill a yapping dog." After being convicted and sentenced to 21 years in the Arkansas penitentiary, the Arkansas Supreme Court later overturned the verdict on technical grounds. While awaiting a retrial in 1908, Austin entered the Baker store, which is now the location of Rapp’s Barren Brewing Company, and was involved in an accidental explosion of either a can of black powder or a case of dynamite. An employee was severely burned, and Austin Baker succumbed to his injuries a few weeks later. He is buried in Mountain Home Cemetery.
In the final segment, we shift our focus back to the community traditions of Mountain Home and the Twin Lakes Area. We discuss the large gathering of 2,000 people from Baxter and Ozark counties who united for a Thanksgiving feast around the Mountain Home Square. The event included 100 attendees from Cotter and 56 motorcars in a convoy from Gainesville. Community members contributed all the food, which included two whole beef cattle, 500 chickens and turkeys, 1,000 loaves of bread, and over 200 gallons of coffee.
Russell Tucker concludes by discussing the revitalization of downtown Mountain Home, now known as the Baker District Merchant Association. Thank you again to Russell and the entire Rapp’s Barren team for supporting Retracing Our Roots on KTLO.
