French Legacy: Mount Magazine
Logan County is home to the highest point in Arkansas, Mount Magazine, which is both a town and a state park. According to Thomas Nuttall, an early English naturalist and explorer, the mountain received its name from French trappers because they thought its shape resembled that of a barn, which in French is magasin. This theory gets confirmation in that the early English-speaking settlers called it Barn Mountain, and pretty quickly Magazine Mountain. Eventually, the names were reversed. The town of Magazine, named for the mountain, was established after the Civil War as a stop on the Rock Island Railroad. Mount Magazine State Park was dedicated in 2002, and there is more fascinating history of the park in the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Daniel Boice, University of Arkansas at Monticello