Legend and Lore: Oil and The Goat Woman in South Arkansas

              Smackover Oil Field – the Smackover Formation in south Arkansas. Located on the road to El Dorado from Camden, Smackover was noted for a dress shop downtown and football bleachers with the marker “coldest on the face of the earth.”  And oil. And, of course, The Goat Woman.
              What history explains about Smackover relates to black gold. Multiple oil wells in Union, Ouachita, and Columbia counties set the tone for wealth, prominence, and politics in El Dorado, Camden, and Magnolia.
              A gusher, the first of many in the area, boomed on January 10, 1921.  Almost overnight, Smackover was bursting at the seams and by 1925, the Smackover Field ranked #1 in US Oil production. The oil supply dwindled, and the town’s population plummeted.

What my friends and I remember most of Smackover is the legendary Goat Woman.  “I have Goat Woman hair, today,” we’d lament.

              She and her husband, according to research, drove their Circus Wagon from the New England area into south Arkansas during the Oil Boom and never left. Once the circus closed in Camden, they motored on down the road. A musical couple, they performed for the locals and became part of the Oil Boom lore. The Circus Wagon had a performance balcony and  kind-spirited Rhena Salome Miller Meyer often performed there, entertaining children with her one-woman band. The wagon was like today’s travel trailer or motor home.

              Her husband died, but Rhena Meyer remained outside Smackover, with no children, raising goats -many goats– gradually becoming a recluse. The circus wagon was retrieved and is located at the Oil and Gas Museum outside Smackover, AR. Rhena died in 1970.
             Far more legend about The Goat Woman exists than fact. Our childhood adventures in the 1950's and 1960's centered on The Goat Woman as families traveled from Camden to El Dorado for doctor’s appointments, shopping, or athletic events.  No round trip was successful unless The Goat Woman was sighted.

I’ve continued to be fascinated by The Goat Woman and other pieces of local lore swirling around South Arkansas. A fictional story about the Goat Woman is available by clicking the link to the right.  I like this story better than the truth.  My memory of her is far richer than any facts, and imagination coupled with legend creates stories of miracles.  Join me “As Two Memories Collide.”