The year 2025 promises to be a historic one for the Berryville Public library and, by extension, for the town of Berryville. We broke ground on the new library in April, so the library should be finished in the spring of 2026. Preparation for the new building has made us at the Berryville Library nostalgic and reflective, not just about the library’s history but also about the town’s history. Other seminal moments in Berryville Library history occurred in 1938 and 1978, so we’ll be looking back this year on what Berryville was like then, as well as what it is like now, as we also look to the future.
For December, we’re looking at how Berryville gets around town.
There were, obviously, some major changes in common transportation modes from the 1930s to the 2020s–the increasing reliance on motor vehicles and also changing car and truck styles, for starters.
But at the library this month, we got a lot more interested in the roads that have carried these vehicles over the decades and what actually hasn’t changed much there.
If you look at Arkansas tourist road maps for the 1930s, the 1970s, and the 2020s, Highway 62–which rolls right through Berryville–always takes center stage in Carroll County. And for good reason. It is the only east-west numbered highway in the United States that will take you to both Mexico and Canada.
Follow West 62 out of Berryville toward Eureka Springs, and you will eventually find yourself in the NWA Metropolitan Area, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and then Texas again, ending in El Paso.
Follow East 62 out of Berryville toward Green Forest, and you will journey through lots of North Arkansas before finally hitting Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, all the way up to Niagara Falls.
In 1938, the big recent news about 62 is that the highway had been blacktopped from Alpena to Eureka Springs (and by default through Berryville) a few years earlier. As those of us who still live on gravel and dirt roads in the county well know, that blacktop is pretty luxurious. 🙂 I can only imagine how excited everyone was over 90 years ago when it initially happened.
By 1978, the Highway 62 expansion that happened in the early 1970s was the big news. This was a substantial project that cost $3 million. What had been a two-lane road was now four lanes through Berryville, which is still true today. The ribbon cutting for the road widening, which also included modifications to the city square and its city park, had an estimated 300 attendees as dignitaries ranging from beauty queens to Arkansas politicians on both the state and national level were on hand to celebrate the road expansion.
In 2025, some of us may well take 62 for granted when we drive on it, daily or weekly. But parts of 62 through Berryville got new asphalt just last month. And thanks to our 2019 Carla Youngblood Community Spirit Award winners James Abbott and the late Randy Rust, Berryville’s transportation history was immortalized on the square with their stunning mural project.
Highway 62 is featured on the large mural on the building next to the Painters’ Palette and Poncho Goldstein’s Irish Pub.
And once upon a time, the Trailways bus used to have a bus stop in Berryville. That time in Berryville history is memorialized across from the post office. Famous residents from years past are depicted in the bus.
So, how are you getting around Berryville? By car, by foot, by hoof, by something else? Tell us!
You can answer the prompts at any of our collection stations at the library, the community center, and the historical society. Also feel free to email us your responses and any pictures you have from the 1930s, 1970s, and now at celebrateberryville@gmail.com.
Everyone who fills out the prompt is eligible for our prize drawing. Each month up to five lucky people will win small prizes that celebrate fun things to do, fun places to eat, fun things made–you get the idea–all in Berryville! Responses and photos are also eligible for inclusion in our commemorative book at the end of this project.
Learn more about Celebrate Berryville on our landing page!
The following sources were especially helpful for researching this article:
Arkansas Department of Transportation. “Historic Tourist Maps – By Year.” https://ardot.gov/divisions/planning/gis-mapping/arkansas-state-highway-tourist-map/historic-tourist-maps-by-year/
Arkansas Highway Commission. “U.S. 62 Improved, Dedicated in Berryville.” Arkansas Highways. August-September 1972.
Amanda Fiveash. “Restoring the Heart of Berryville.” Only in Arkansas. April 27, 2017. https://onlyinark.com/arkansas-women-bloggers/restoring-berryville/
Rachel Silva. “Walk Through History: Downtown Berryville.” Arkansas Historic
Preservation Program. May 16, 2015. https://www.arkansasheritage.com/docs/default-source/ahpp-documents/sandwiching-tour-scripts/berryville-tour-script-2015b611f167-35b1-4d6a-a67b-5b2ee0a0ccd5.pdf?sfvrsn=8095d8f2_5
“U.S. Highway 62.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/u-s-highway-62-8197/
Berryville Book Buzz 