24/7 Trauma and Biohazard Cleanup in Oark, AR

Oark is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in northern Johnson County, Arkansas, located on Arkansas Highway 215 northwest of Clarksville, the county seat, and it has its own post office with ZIP Code 72852.

Oark is surrounded by the Ozark National Forest, with the scenic Mulberry River — a popular stream for floating and fishing — flowing nearby.

The Census Bureau first listed Oark as a CDP in the 2020 census, which counted just 43 residents.

The origin of Oark's unusual name is unknown, although many believe it came from the French trappers who frequented this isolated valley in the eighteenth century.

The Mulberry River valley around Oark has been the site of human habitation for thousands of years: archaeologists believe bluff-dwelling cultures thrived there as late as 500 B.C., and the Osage later claimed the valleys drained by the Mulberry as part of their hunting grounds.

White settlers came into the Oark area by the mid-1800s, attracted by its abundant natural resources and many fur-bearing animals.

Oark's landmark is the Oark General Store: F. M. Nelson moved to the community and in 1889 purchased the land on which the store stands, and he is believed to have opened the general store in 1890.

Many believe the Oark General Store is the oldest continuously operating store in Arkansas, and it was added to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places on March 3, 1995.

Tradition holds that the store also served as the local post office for many years, and the building's interior retains its original floor and ceiling.

The store was enlarged by the 1960s and became a full-scale restaurant in the 1990s, and today it operates as a store and café that supplies locals and visitors exploring the Ozark National Forest and the Mulberry River; Brian and Reagan Eisele purchased it in May 2012.