Chastain, Baxter County, Arkansas

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

The Chastain, Arkansas community once existed down present day Dwelle Road in Baxter County. Dwelle Road was named for residents Edward Dwelle (1877-1967) and his wife, Willie Earnestine (Arnold) Dwelle (1903-1999) who had a farm and raised their family there. Willie was a daughter of Lucinda Catherine (Griffin) Arnold Berg (1876-1957), who had the store and post office.

The Old Joe post office was founded about 1936-37 when Lucy's post office for Chastain, Arkansas was moved to a more accessible location along Highway 5 in Baxter County. Lucy initially submitted the application to the postal service for the name Naked Joe after the name of a nearby knob. Deemed too obscene to be used by the federal adminstrators, the name was modified to Old Joe. The Old Joe post office too has now past into the logs of history with residents receiving their mail at Calico Rock in Izard County.

These little communities would never have qualified as towns. They were a collection of rural inhabitants, mostly extended family, served by a tiny general store that also contained a post office that stood as the hub for the community. It was an information center and a place to swap butter for buttons.

Naked Joe Mountain got its name because at one time it was a bald knob. These days, it is no longer naked.

Photo taken at Chastain from the approximate location of its store. The old cistern in the picture was built by Olaf Berg. This site once had a farm house that was used by various members of the Arnold family, including Griffin Arnold and Jay Arnold. Naked Joe Mountain is in the background. Photo taken in 1999.