> I've also often wondered what the draw to Arkansas was . . . Anyone have any ideas?< The United States made the Louisiana Purchase, which included the land that is presently Arkansas, in 1803. Shortly thereafter, the Arkansas territory was opened to settlement, and the inducement to move there was good land at very low prices. Other settlers came to claim bounty land awarded for service in the War of 1812. Also, in the early 1800s, cotton was much in demand, and Arkansas was a good place to grow it. You are right--there WERE a lot of Wards in Arkansas. In 1850, for instance, over 1 in every 100 people in Arkansas was named Ward! This was by far the densest Ward population in the United States. An interesting web site showing surname distribution can be found at http://www.hamrick.com/names . Look at the 1850 map, then look at the 1880 map. The 1880 map at that site indicates that, by 1880, the Arkansas Ward population was less concentrated. Many of the Indian Wards migrated to Indian Territory (now OK) or to Mexico (now TX), of course, but many more Wards migrated to other nearby states.