Arkansas: Bear State (nickname)

Entry in progress—B.P.
 
(Oxford English Dictionary)
Bear State  n. U.S. the state of Arkansas (occas. also California).
1848   J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms App. s.v.,  I once asked a Western man if Arkansas abounded in bears, that it should be designated as the ‘Bear State’?
1872   M. Schele de Vere Americanisms 658   Arkansas is called the Bear State, though..the name is pronounced Bar State… California enjoys the same title.
         
OCLC WorldCat record
The Great Bear State dance
Author: Mattie Webb; Maggie Hambaugh Sandoe; Jeff Davis; A.W. Perry & Sons.
Publisher: Sedalia, Mo. : A.W. Perry & Sons’, [190-?]
Edition/Format:   Musical score : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The Bear State Image: Arkansas in the Nineteenth Century
Author: C Fred Williams
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication: The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v39 n2 (19800701): 99-111
Database: JSTOR Arts & Sciences V Collection
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Arkansas/Arkansaw : how bear hunters, hillbillies, and good ol’ boys defined a state
Author: Brooks Blevins
Publisher: Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, 2009.
Edition/Format:   eBook : Document : Biography : State or province government publication : English
Contents: Cover Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter One: Creating the Bear State;