Editing Mountain Home, Arkansas (section)

===The New Deal===

The programs of the New Deal era allowed Mountain Home to modernize its courthouse. The decision to do this was hotly contested and in a vote to decide if the funds should be approved, 731 voted for the new courthouse and 592 voted against. Most of those against the new courthouse were from the Cotter area which had tried several times to move the county seat to their town.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/baxter-county-courthouse-7544/|title = Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref> The current courthouse was completed and dedicated on August 13, 1943, the old building having been destroyed two years earlier.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.baxtercounty.org/history.php|title=Baxter County Government - History}}</ref> The [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] also built two dams in the area during this time. The [[Norfork Dam]] was built in the town of [[Norfork, Arkansas|Norfork]] about 18 miles south east of Mountain Home. This dam was completed by 1944. An average of 815 were employed building the dam, providing a much needed economic boost to Mountain home and the surrounding area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/norfork-dam-and-lake-3529/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref> In addition to flood control, the Norfork Dam boosted tourist interest in Baxter County and made Mountain Home a more attractive destination than Cotter for the first time, and Mountain Home began to surpass its riverfront neighbor in population and industry. A second dam had been built in the town of [[Bull Shoals, Arkansas|Bull Shoals]] in nearby [[Marion County, Arkansas|Marion County]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/bull-shoals-dam-and-lake-6078/|title = Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref> This meant Mountain Home was situated between two large lakes and within an easy drive to one of the most famous destinations for fishing in the country at that time. Tourism would shape the economy of Mountain Home moving forward. President [[Harry Truman]] was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the dams on July 2, 1952.<ref name="encyclopediaofarkansas.net" />

The construction of these two dams was a time of tremendous growth for the formerly isolated community of Mountain Home. Streets were paved and Electricity became common in average households. A trout fishery was built at the base of the Norfork Dam, attracting still more tourists.