Statesmen, Scoundrels, and Eccentrics: A Gallery of Amazing Arkansans

Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller

Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller had a profound impact on Arkansas—an impact that lives long after his untimely death. Today Arkansans vote for Republicans as if it is the most natural thing in the world, but such was not the case in  when Rockefeller became the first GOP governor since Reconstruction. His tenure as governor changed Arkansas government forever. Politics aside, Winthrop Rockefeller’s generosity changed Arkansas while he lived, and through his philanthropies his contributions continue. Born on May , , Rockefeller was the son of John D. Jr. and Abbey Aldrich Rockefeller. He grew up in unsurpassed affluence, attending prestigious private schools and Yale University, though he withdrew before graduation. Unwilling to immediately accept a post in the family businesses, Rockefeller went to Texas in , where he took a job as an oil field roughneck. For the remainder of his life he spoke of that year in the oil fields as a wonderful experience. Almost a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the U.S. Army as a private. Military life, which allowed him to avoid the crushing expectations and traditions of his family, suited him just fine. W.R., as he would become known in his Arkansas circles, should have stayed in the military after World War II, for his return to the family business in New York resulted in a playboy lifestyle, followed by a brief marriage and highly publicized divorce. He looked around for an escape and found the antithesis of New York City—rural Petit Jean Mountain, Arkansas. Rockefeller threw himself into work on behalf of his new community . His family had inculcated a philanthropic ethic in each of their children, and Winthrop was no exception. With the assistance of over $ million in Rockefeller support,the Morrilton Public School District became a member of the Model School Program. He spearheaded an effort to open a medical clinic in neighboring Perry County, one of the poorest in the state.He helped steer Rockefeller Brothers Fund gifts  to Arkansas institutions,including extensive support for mental health services.The arts benefited substantially from Rockefeller benevolence and interest, especially that of his second wife, Jeanette. Their money and leadership allowed the Arkansas Arts Center to hire a professional staff and sponsor meaningful exhibitions and education.They funded the “Arkansas Arts Mobile,” a specially fitted bus that took the arts into the most remote schools. At first Rockefeller was nonpolitical, even serving as Democratic Governor Orval Faubus’s chairman of theArkansas Industrial Development Commission. He is credited with attracting over six hundred industrial plants to the poor state during his tenure. Rockefeller and Faubus gradually grew apart, however, and in  W.R., running as a Republican, unsuccessfully challenged the five-term incumbent governor .Two years later he won a narrow victory,followed by an even smaller success in . Dale Bumpers, then a little-known lawyer from Charleston, defeated Rockefeller in . In less than three years Rockefeller died of cancer. With each passing year historians are able to evaluate Rockefeller’s administration with more detachment and objectivity.His touted “Era of Excellence” might have promised more than it delivered,but he was acknowledged to be personally honest, a great believer in his adopted state, and a good father to his only child, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, who served as lieutenant governor prior to his premature death in . It is likely that Rockefeller’s greatest contribution to Arkansas history was his work bringing black Arkansans into the mainstream. The Rockefeller family had been active in civil rights for African Americans for decades, and Winthrop was personally committed to this work. Local Conway County residents must have been shocked when the newly arrived Rockefeller brought along a black friend from NewYork, Jimmy Hudson, to manage Winrock Farms. W.R. was active in the Urban League as well as the Arkansas Council on Human Relations. Upon his election as governor,Rockefeller made more substantive changes. He began hiring blacks for positions other than the janitorial crew. African Americans were also appointed to boards and commissions in large numbers, including local draft boards. Even some of Rockefeller’s close aides opposed his appointment of William L.  TWENTIETH-CENTURY POLITICIANS “Sonny” Walker to head up the Office of Economic Opportunity— the first African American to direct a state agency. On the day after Martin Luther King’s murder in April , the governor stood on the capitol steps and joined hands with black...