BAUXITE -- The first of 11 historical markers honoring Arkansas history and the 250th anniversary of America declaring its independence was unveiled Tuesday morning in a town of fewer than 500 residents.

Led by Saline County Judge Matt Brumley, a Veteran's Day celebration of a few hundred people gathered in the cold outside the Bauxite Historical Museum to kick start a year of celebrating American history.

The unveiled marker, painted blue with red trim, marks the contribution Bauxite made to the country's war machine during World War II, when millions of tons of the material bauxite was mined by roughly 1,100 families to go toward producing aluminum for American aircraft.

Only seven of the 11 historical markers -- a product of the Arkansas250 Commission created by Gov. Sarah Huckabee S

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