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F 417 6 25M2
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY ARKANSAS
BY
HENRY GRADY MCCUTCHEN
PHINTED
ARKANSKE
1800
L
Class
F417
Book
S25M2
Copyright N.º.
COPYRIGHT DEPOSEE
-
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY ARKANSAS
Copyright, 1922, by H. G. Mccutchen
HISTORY of Scott County Arkansas
By Henry Grady Mccutchen
PRINTED
-IN- ARKANSAS
U. S. A.
Printed
F417 , S 2 5 M2
WORKS OF REFERENCE
Shinn's History of Arkansas.
Goodspeed's Biographical and Arkansas. Harrell's Civil War and Reconstruction in Arkansas.
Pictorial History of
Publications of the Arkansas Historical Association.
Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society. Hinemon's Geography of Arkansas.
Journal of the Knight of Elvas. Files of the Arkansas Gazette.
Allsopp's History of the Arkansas Press.
Gerstaecker's Travels.
Nuttall's Journal. Washburn's Reminiscences.
Jewell's Methodism in Arkansas.
Pope's Early Days in Arkansas.
Tremayne's Table of U. S. Post Offices, 1830. Files of the Post Office Department.
Files in the Office of the Adjutant General of Arkansas. Files of the U. S. Census Bureau. Report of the Secretary of State (Terrall). Myers' Compendium of the Rebellion. County Records.
DEC 28 '22
C CI A6 92599
₾
1
TO MY FATHER AND MOTHER
PREFACE
In the following pages I have endeavored to pre- sent the out-standing facts of the history of Scott County. I have been impelled to do this by several reasons. First, I confess to a measurable sentiment in the matter. The county is my home, and the men and women who made this history are my homefolk. Their history is, so to speak, my own, and, therefore, a very absorbing study to me.
Again, I would hold up to the present and suc- ceeding generations, and mirror to them, the fit examples of character, civic virtues and moral leadership displayed by our pioneer forefathers in making the history of the county what it is.
Further, it is a lamentable fact that almost every one is more familiar with State, national, and even foreign history than with the history of his own county or community. We know who the first President, the first Governor, or the first Roman, German or English ruler was, but we cannot tell who was the county's first sheriff or judge or clerk. It is the purpose of this booklet to enable the citi- zens of the county to know something of the early community history-and the makers of this history.
An effort has been made to present an impartial and connected account of the leading facts of the County history. In this, I have been hampered by
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lack of complete records. The early official papers were destroyed by fire, and what other records were accessible are fragmentary and incomplete. But the facts here given are for the most part taken from the offcial records on file in the Federal De- partments at Washington, D. C., and in the Library of Congress there. I am indebted to Mr. Dallas T. Herndon of the Arkansas History Commission for the roster of Scott men in the Civil War. Much of the atmosphere has been obtained from conversa- tions with old settlers of the county.
In offering this brief account of some of the lead- ing facts of our local history, I am mindful of the fact that my readers will be mainly citizens of the County. I have kept this probability constantly in mind. I have also been conscious of the possible historical value of such a treatise and have en- deavored to include as part of the subject matter only well-authenicated facts. I have tried to put these facts into a condensed narrative, and rigidly to refrain from comment thereon, tempting as such a course has at times been. I trust this booklet will be accepted in the spirit in which it was prepared- a spirit of service to the people of the county. If this result is accomplished even only to a small de- gree, I shall feel that my labors have been amply repaid.
H. G. M.
Abbott, Arkansas,
October 1, 1922.
7
CHAPTER I. The First Inhabitants
When the New World first became known to Europeans at the end of the fifteenth century, the entire country was inhabited by a barbarous people which later came to be called Indians. They lived in tribes or bands, and at intervals moved from place to place in search of game or for other reasons. They lived by hunting and fishing mainly, but practiced a rude agriculture. In some parts of the New World, notably in Mexico and Peru, they had reached a comparatively high state of civilization.
These early inhabitants had spread over the whole of the territory now comprised in what is Arkansas and Scott County, where they had settled along the creeks and rivers. The numerous mounds along the small streams of the county, especially in Lewis Township, indicate the early occupancy of this re- gion by very populous tribes. On the farms now owned by William Chitwood and J. P. Mccutchen no less than two scores of these prominent mounds are situated. They are circular in shape, being on an average about twenty yards in diameter, and gen- erally rise to a height of eight or ten feet. They lie along the course of the Little Petit Jean creek.
On the Mccutchen farm is a large burial ground. It occupies the south bank of the Little Petit Jean directly across from the mound area, and was evi-
9
dently used by all the numerous peoples along this stream for many miles. It is situated on the highest point of land on that side of the stream. The soil of this burial ground is of a black, murky, greasy character, and after a rain on a hot day it gives off an offensive odor. It is filled with arrow heads, broken pottery, remains of mussel shells used in making their earthenware, skeletal fragments and other evidences of the use by the Indians of this vicinity, of this plot as a place to bury their dead.
Game was abundant in this part of the country during its occupancy by the Indians. Buffalo and elk abounded, as did deer and turkey. Besides, the forests teemed with wolves, bears and panthers and the lesser animals and birds. But it was principally the buffalo, of the animals, that helped to determine the tribal dwelling place. This animal had well de- fined trails over which it yearly migrated, and these usually led along the river courses and the higher land or the crests of ridges, where the traveling would be free of the swamps and mire in all seasons. A trail of this sort was the old Indian trail that ran from the northeastern part of the State to the south- western corner near where Texarkana now stands. Its course was almost parallel with that of the pres- ent line of the Iron Mountain Railway across the State. It led along the edge of the high ground that commences there and rises to the mountainous por- tions of the northwest. By these game trails the Indians settled, and they came to be his roads, as later they were to become the highways and rail-
10
ways of the white men who succeeded the savages in dominion over these realms.
In Scott County, these trails found the mountain passes through which our roads of the present day lead. There were the passes of Cedar Creek and Mill Creek and Forem through the mountains of the south, while Petit Jean Pass and Lookout Gap gave the game and its Indian pursuers passage to the north. And today the white man uses these selfsame passes in negotiating the mountain barriers on these two sides of the county.
When De Soto pased through the county in 1541- 42, he found the region fairly thickly settled by the Indians. They lived in cities-probably on the mounds before described-and tilled the soil. The abundance of high ground in the county made it suitable for Indian occupancy and the grazing of the buffalo. And De Soto found these people well supplied with food and living comfortably.
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CHAPTER II. The First Whites
Although the New World was discovered in 1492, no exploration of the interior of North America was attempted until fifty years later. In 1539 Hernando De Soto, accompanied by six hundred nobles and warriors, landed in Tampa Bay, Fla., determined to find the fabled Eldorado. They marched north- west through the states of Alabama and Mississippi, fighting the Indians and exploring the country along the march, and at length reached the Mississippi River at a point in the vicinity of where Memphis now stands. They crossed the river in 1541 into the present state of Arkansas. Continuing in a northwesterly course, they finally crossed the Bos- ton Mountains of northwest Arkansas into the plains of southeast Kansas. Here De Soto turned back and determined to find the hot springs of which the Indians had told him. So, starting a southeasterly course he reached the Arkansas River at or near the place where Ft. Smith now stands. It was then get- ting late in the fall and winter and he decided to camp for the winter. Therefore, moving southeast about thirty or thirty-five miles, he built an en- campment and spent the winter of 1541-42.
This camp must have been somewhere in the north part of Scott County, most likely in the vicini- ty of the present post offices of Lucas and Ione in
12
Logan county. The account of this expedition speaks of numerous Indians living close by his camp; and the mounds and burial ground situated in close proximity to this supposed site of De Soto's camp seem to evidence it as the location of his winter quarters. Also, on the old Bagwell farm near Lucas, it is said that about fifty years ago there were found some old Spanish coins of an early six- teenth century mintage, which are supposed to have been left by De Soto's expedition.
During the winter, De Soto lost several men and more horses and his conquering host became a dispirited band by the time spring opened up and they were ready for the resumption of their journey to the hot springs. Added to these troubles, his in- terpreter died, thus rendering communication with the natives difficult if not altogether impos- sible. The southward journey was resumed in the spring and led through the Petit Jean Pass in the Poteau mountains, probably along the course of the present Ft. Smith and Waldron road. The journalist of the expedition speaks of the abundance of game and of dense thickets, which were no doubt located in the Fourche valley territory. The expedition passed near the site of the village of Greenridge, then to the Cedar Creek Pass in the south part of the country, striking the Ouachita River near where the town of Mt. Ida, in Montgomery County, now stands. From this point the expedition proceeded along the river to the hot springs.
13
Thus the members of De Soto's party were the first white people to visit the present limits of Scott County. All along the route of the expedition, wide detours were made into the surrounding coun- try and careful search prosecuted for the precious metals. They probably explored the greater part of the central and eastern portions of the county. The country seems to have been fairly thickly settled by the Indians, who appear to have been compara- tively prosperous. The expedition had no trouble in subsisting on the country, for they took from the natives food and skins sufficient for their purposes.
Thus sixty-six years before the English settled Jamestown, Scott County had been visited and ex- plored by the whites, although it was destined to wait nearly three hundred years longer for perma- nent settlers.
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CHAPTER III. Traders and Hunters
I. The French
The French under De Tonti established a settle- ment at Arkansas Post in 1686, which not only was the first in the present state of Arkansas but also in the entire Mississippi valley. The post thrived and had an extensive trade with the Indians of the sur- rounding country. These French hunters and trad- ers paddled in their frail canoes up the Arkansas River and the various smaller streams thereto, to reach their far flung trading posts. One of the most famous of these centers of trade was Belle Point on the Arkansas, now known as Ft. Smith. It com- manded the trade of the entire country surrounding it. From such points the hunters and traders pene- trated deeply into the forests in every direction. In this manner, Scott County was visited by these early French. They also came up the Fourche from the post of Little Rock into the present limits of the county. The same was true in lesser degree of the Poteau River.
These Frenchmen roamed all over the country, christening its rivers and mountains and prairies with French names that endure to this day. Some of these are Point Sucre, or Sugar Loaf Mountain, Mag- azine Mountain, Petit Jean River, Fourche La Fave
15
River and Poteau River. These were the landmarks that guided them through the interminable forests. From Belle Point one could see the tall spire of Point Sucre uprearing itself into the very heavens. Farther east Magazine Mountain was likewise visible to a large area. And these mountains beckoned-
"Something hid behind the ranges Go and find it, go and find it."
These bold and daring adventurers went and found, but did not permanently settle the county.
2. Anglo-Saxons
The frontier of the Anglo-Saxons was constantly being pushed westward. The hardy class of ad- venturous hunters was ever penetrating deeper into the forests to the west in seach of better hunting grounds, or for pure adventure. They were a rug- ged type who chafed under the restraints and con- ventions of civilization, and found contentment in the wild free life of the frontier. They moved over the land in covered wagons with very little personal or family effects, and "squatted" wherever they found conditions suited to their purposes. They usually followed the retreating habitat of the game, now steadily being pushed westward by the advanc- ing tide of civilization. When game became scarce, these irresponsible folk simply moved to a new lo- cation where it could be found in abundance.
The territory now comprehended in Scott County began to receive some of these squatters as early
16
as 1820, although it had doubtless been visited by hunters from the settlements at Ft. Smith, Dwight, Little Rock, and other points along the Arkansas River several years before. Some of the squatters were turned back from their westward course in 1820 by the conclusion of a treaty with the Choctaw Indians. This treaty provided that in ex- change for their lands east of the Mississippi River, they would be given lands lying south of the Arkan- sas River and west of a line drawn from a point on the Arkansas about where Dardanelle now is, to the Red River near the present site of Texarkana. Scott County lay within this area. The Indians be- gan to arrive from the east soon thereafter, and it was not long before trouble arose between them and the few families of whites resident within the limits of these Indian lands. The dissatisfaction with this treaty among the whites rapidly assumed state wide proportions, and representations were made to the national government to have the In- dians given lands farther west instead of the tract in question. Accordingly, in 1825 the Secretary of War concluded a second treaty, by which the west- ern boundary of the State was fixed substantially as it is today, the Inidans being pushed west of the Po- teau and Kiamichi rivers where they have since resided. When the new line was drawn, it was found that about two hundred families were living west of it, most of whom were near the Red River around Ft. Towson. Major Bradford, who commanded the
17
garrison at Ft. Smith at this time, was ordered to remove these settlers. This was done, and they were given lands farther east. It is thought that perhaps some of these were located in Scott County, but no records are available to establish the fact. It is very likely, however. These would be the first permanent white settlers of the county.
3. Nuttall's Expedition
Thomas Nuttall, scientist of Philadelphia, Pa., in 1819 ascended the Arkansas River to Ft. Smith, care- fully noting the topography and fauna and flora of the country through which he passed. In his ac- count of the journey, he speaks of the abundance of game in the Fourche and Petit Jean valleys, and saw only a few scattered bands of Indians in the whole territory. This is a strange phenomenon. When De Soto visited the county two hundred and fifty years before, the entire country was thickly settled by the natives. Whether they emigrated or were visited by plague is not known; the fact remains that their numbers were greatly reduced during this period of time.
Further up the river he saw the peak of Maga- zine Mountain and made a drawing of it. Arriving at Ft. Smith, he found it to consist of the fort and barracks for the garrison of seventy-five men. Ma- jor Bradford was in command. There was only one small log house. Leaving Ft. Smith, he made an overland trip to Ft. Towson on Red River, over much the same course the old military road sub-
18
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Map Showing Early Explorations of Scott County.
19
OLUSAS
sequently took. He speaks of seeing deer feeding in daytime on the prairie four or five miles from Ft. Smith, and when ten miles south of Ft. Smith, he camped in clear view of Point Sucre, twenty-five miles to the south. Another day's journey brought his party to the base of the mountain where he camped and noted the Cavianol Mountains to the northwest. The Indians had a tradition that the immense pile of stone on the summit of this moun- tain had been built by their predecessors as a bea- con for the tribes of the whole surrounding country. Moving on southwest. Nuttall at length crossed the Poteau in the vicinity of Howe or Heavener, and continued in this direction to his destination.
About where the Poteau enters Scott County, he saw immense herds of bison, which would usually stampede at the approach of his party. Wolves, deer, bears and panthers were numerous, besides all the native lesser animals. He tells the story of one of his men coming upon the carcass of a fawn lying at the root of a large tree, and beside it was the dead body of a wolf. Looking up into the tree the man saw the huge panther that had evidently done the dual killing. It was presumed that the wolf had attempted to feed upon the dead carcass when he was set upon and killed by the watching panther.
This scientist carefully noted the Poteau Moun- tains and ascertained the fact that they form the
20
crest of the divide that separates a wide stretch of country on either side. There were no settlers in the vicinity of Scott County on the west.
21
CHAPTER IV. The Formation of the County
1. Early Political History
Arkansas was a part of the Louisiana territory purchased from France in 1803. In 1812 this im- mense domain was divided into the territory of Louisiana and the district of New Madrid. In 1819 Arkansas was detached from the Missouri territory and made a separate territory, with the seat of government at Arkansas Post, James Miller was ap- pointed governor. Scott County was at first a part of Pulaski County, and later successively a part of Crawford and Pope counties.
In 1833, Scott County was formed, being named for Judge Andrew Scott. In addition to the region now included in the county, it also covered the town- ships of Boon, Washburn and Reveille, which have since (1875) been cut off and made a part of Logan County. The seat of justice was established at or near the present town of Booneville and was known as Cauthron. The county officers appointed were Elijah Baker, County Judge; S. B. Walker. Clerk; James Riley, Sheriff, and J. R. Choate, Coroner. These officials held office for a term of two years. They were succeeded in 1835 by James Logan, Coun- ty Judge; Gilbert Marshall, Clerk; Charles Hum- phrey, Sheriff, and Walter Cauthron, Coroner. In
22
1836, the state government became effective by the admission of Arkansas territory as a state of the Federal Union.
2. Close of Territorial Days
The census of 1830 was taken while Scott County was yet comprehended in the counties of Crawford and Pope. The enumerators were James Wilson for the Crawford portion and John R. Scott for the Pope County part. Only the names of heads of families were recorded, the other members of the family being merely numbered. The population for the parts of the counties later embraced in Scott was about 500. Many of these resided in the townships of Boon, Washburn and Reveille, not now a part of this county.
But the County was now rapidly filling up with people. They came up the Fourche and Petit Jean valleys. The completion of the old military road from Little Rock to Ft. Smith in 1824 gave impetus to immigration. The settlers came over this road to Ft. Smith, then went north and south into the surrounding country and found homes. A post road was established from Little Rock to Ft. Smith during the same year, with post offices at Ft. Smith and Dardanelle. The settlers of Scott County received their mail from one of these two offices prior to 1835. The mail was delivered from the east once every two weeks. There was no post office in the county before 1835, when the first one was established at Booneville with Gilbert Marshall as
23
first postmaster. The mail was delivered weekly by a post rider from Old Dwight near Russellville. David P. Logan was the first carrier. The con- tract schedule of mail delivery was as follows: From Dwight by Dardanelle to Scott court house, seventy-five miles and back once a week. Mail in the opposite direction left Scott court house every Saturday at eight o'clock in the morning and ar- rived at Dwight the following Monday at eleven in the morning.
There was not a church or school in the county when the State was admitted to the Union in 1836. It is known that religious services and private schools were sometimes held by itinerant preachers and teachers in the homes of the settlers, but no organized church or school was in existence. The church was even better off than the schools, though, for ministers of the gospel were more numerous than teachers. Reverend G. W. Sorrels, a Methodist minister, preached over the western part of the State between the years of 1830 and 1840. He fre- quently held services in Scott County, amidst the most primitive circumstances. The following is a description of general conditions at this time:
"James F. Gaines and wife came from Fayette County, Tenn., to Scott County in 1837 and settled on Fourche River. At that time there were no pub- lic roads and few families had found their way to the valley. There was no preaching anywhere in all that region of country and Mrs. Gaines was the only
24
professor of religion in all that country. She had been converted at an early age in west Tennessee and had enjoyed the advantage of regular religious service. The wickedness of this rude population was a great trial to this devoted Christian; for such was the disregard of the Sabbath that it was the principal day for shooting, killing beeves, visiting and engaging in trade. Two or three times a week they would meet for a general carousal. There were children grown who did not know what a preacher was, so dense was the ignorance of the peo- ple on religious questions. At last Mrs. Gaines heard that a Methodist preacher would hold services nearby. The news was well circulated and the whole community came out to see and hear the preacher. They listened awhile, then sent their children to light their pipes and smoked while the sermon was being delivered. After this the circuit preacher, Adams, gave them a regular appointment for preaching, but very little was accomplished until some Tennessee Methodists came out and settled in the community. About 1842, Rev. John Cowle was appointed to the Ft. Smith circuit and succeeded in establishing Methodism in Scott, Sebastian, and surrounding counties."
Travel during this period was over roads newly cut out of the forests. There were no bridges and frequently the traveler would reach a stream, and finding it swollen from heavy rains, would be com- pelled to halt and wait for the waters to subside
25
before a crossing could be made. These incon- veniences of travel were augumented by the pres- ence in the forests and thickets of dangerous ani- mals, too frequently ready to attack the lonely traveler. What roads there were usually followed an old Indian trail, and was little more than an enlargement of it:
The western boundary of the State and County was surveyed and fixed by Joseph C. Brown in 1824, but was resurveyed again by Henry E. McKee in 1877, and a slight variation from the former line was recorded. This long strip came to be known as the "Cherokee Strip." The land survey of the county was made between the years 1830 and 1835. By this survey the land was divided into sections. Many old landmarks of this survey may still be seen in the county.
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