Bearden in Ouachita County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)
Ouachita Cnty. Training School
Photographed by Ashley Sides, July 30, 2025
1. Ouachita Cnty. Training School Marker, Side One
Ouachita County Training School (OCTS) was formed in 1949 when the Cotton Belt Rosenwald School, which had operated at this site since 1929, consolidated with two other area Rosenwald Schools. OCTS included a high school and offered many courses, programs, and activities that educated and equipped Black students for success. For two decades, hundreds of Wildcats graduated from OCTS and embarked on pursuits that carried them around America and the world. Integration arrived in Bearden 15 years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutionalOCTS closed in 1969, and its students were enrolled in the formerly all-White schools in town.
On May 10, 1973, an organization of Baptist churches in southern Arkansas called the Greater Bradley District Association (GBDA) purchased the former school as a headquarters. The alliance was led by Moderator Floyd Osbourne Jones and the following members: Ministers Jimmy Bass, M.T. Easter, Eligah Giles, Claude Green, and Fred Lambert; and Deacons Burnis Brazil, Roy Harris, Ellis Morgan, Guy Newton, Gee Owens, Exill Williams, M.L. Adams, and J.T. McRae. The GBDA has used the OCTS facilities for various ministry and community activities. On September 12, 2023, the Ouachita County Training School Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Erected 2025 by Ouachita County Training School / Greater Bradley District Association (OCTS/GBDA). (Marker Number 50.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the Arkansas Heritage, and the Rosenwald Schools series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is May 10, 1973.
Location. 33° 43.987′ N, 92° 36.181′ W. Marker is in Bearden, Arkansas, in Ouachita County. It is at the intersection of Ouachita Road 85 (County Route 85) and Ouachita Road 589 (County Route 589), on the right when traveling south on Ouachita Road 85. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 750 Ouachita Road 589, Bearden AR 71720, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Arkansas’ Gulf Coastal Plain, in Caddo Territory, and in the Quapaw Homeland. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Piney Woods. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 2 other markers are within 16 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Road to Marks' Mills / Battle of Marks' Mills (approx. 12.3 miles away); Calhoun County in the Civil War (approx. 15½ miles away).
Photographed by Ashley Sides, July 30, 2025
2. Ouachita Cnty. Training School Marker, Side Two
Credits. This page was last revised on November 14, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 17, 2025, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. This page has been viewed 92 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 17, 2025, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
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