USA > Arkansas > Faulkner County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
USA > Arkansas > Garland County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
USA > Arkansas > Grant County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
USA > Arkansas > Hot Spring County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
USA > Arkansas > Jefferson County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
USA > Arkansas > Lonoke County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
USA > Arkansas > Perry County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
USA > Arkansas > Pulaski County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
USA > Arkansas > Saline County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 112
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Capt. William Wilson, one of the oldest citi- zens of Perry County, was born in Guilford Coun- ty, N. C., January 6, 1815. His grandfather, An- drew Wilson, was born in Ireland, and came to the United States at the age of nineteen years. His father, Andrew Wilson, a farmer, was of North Carolina origin, his birth occurring about 1790. He married Parmelia Denny, of Guilford County, who was born in 1792 and died in 1854. Not far from 1857 he came to Perry County. where he died in October, 1866. In their family were eleven children, three now living: Robert D. (residing in Tennessee), Jane McGee and our subject, who was the second child. William was raised in the State of his birth, there receiving a limited educa- tion in the common schools. In 1838 he came to Perry County and married Mary Ann, a daughter of J. and Rebecca Rankin, who was born in 1819. Going to Tennessee, he settled up his business, re- turning to Perry County in 1839. His wife died about 1874, having been the mother of seven chil- dren, one of whom is living in Louisiana, George Washington by name. Mr. Wilson's second wife was Mrs. Gill (widow), born in Madison County, Tenn. She died January 3, 1867, leaving two children: James T. and Laura P. His third wife
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
Tennessee in 1825. In July, 1861, our subject raised a company of infantry for the Tenth Arkan- sas Infantry, and commanded at the battle of Shi- loli, when he was wounded just below the right eye, on this account being discharged. Returning to Perry County, he entered the State service and served till the close of the war, when he resumed farming and stock raising. He has now 200 acres of land, about seventy under cultivation. In an early day he was elected treasurer of Perry County, and during the war was elected to the State legis- lature, as Confederate representative. He also held the office of justice of the peace before the war.
He is one of Perry County's most honored citizens, a Master Mason and a member of Aplin Lodge No. 444, having been made a Mason before the war at Dardanelle, Yell County, Ark. He is now a Demo- crat, and cast his first presidential vote for Harri- son, being a Whig in those days. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and his wife is a believer in the Primitive Baptist faith. The Captain is a liberal supporter of all enterprises pertaining to the good of the county, and is enti- tled to an honorable representation in any worthy history of the community. The respect shown him is as wide as his acquaintance.
703
FAULKNER COUNTY.
CHAPTER XXIII.
FAULKNER COUNTY-SEAT OF JUSTICE-STRUCTURES FOR PUBLIC USE-CHANGE IN BOUNDARY-MINISTERS OF PUBLIC SERVICE-ELECTION STATISTICS-POPULATION RETURNS-REAL AND' PERSONAL PROP- ERTY AND TAXATION-LOCATION-SURFACE FORMATION AND AREA-DIVERSITY OF STRATA -NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS -- SOURCES OF REVENUE -- PRODUCTS-LIVE STOCK- TIME OF ORIGINAL OCCUPANCY-HIGHWAYS-JUDICIAL AFFAIRS AND BAR- DURING THE WAR PERIOD -- BUSINESS POINTS AND CENTERS-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES-GENERAL CONDITION-PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
O, the pleasant days of old, which so often people praise! True, they wanted all the luxuries that grace our modern days; Bare floors were strewed with rushes, the walls let in the cold; O, how they must have shivered in those pleasant days of old .- Brown.
AULKNER COUNTY, the reputation of which has rap- idly spread in recent years, was organized in accordance with an act of the State legis- lature, approved April 12, 1873. The act provided that all that portion of the counties of Conway and Pulaski in- cluded within the boundaries herein named: "Beginning at the point where the township line dividing Townships 3 and 4 crosses the Ar- kansas River, and running east with- said line to range line dividing Ranges 10 and 11 west; thence with said range line to township line dividing Townships 8 and 9 north; thence west with said line to the section line dividing Sections 3 and 4, Township 8, Range 14 west; thence south with said line to the North Fork of Cadron Creek; thence with the meander- ings (following the middle of the channel) of said creek, to the middle of the Arkansas River; thence
with said river to the place of beginning," should be formed into a separate and distinct county to be called and known by the name of Faulkner. * By further provisions of the act A. D. Thomas, A. F. Livingston and J. F. Comstock were appointed commissioners to locate the seat of justice, procure title to the site thereof, to lay ont a town, and sell the lots and make deeds of conveyance to individual purchasers, and to appropriate the proceeds aris- ing from the sale of the lots to the erection of the proper public buildings, etc. The act also provided that the temporary seat of justice should be estab- lished at Conway Station, and that the Governor should appoint the necessary county officers, to hold their positions until the next general election, etc.
At this time the county courts of the State of Arkansas, were composed of a board of supervi- sors for each county. Accordingly after the proper officers had been appointed by his Excel- lency, Elisha Baxter, Governor of Arkansas, Hon.
*Named after Sandy; Faulkner, the original " Arkan- saw Traveler," an account of",whose varied life appears elsewhere in this volume.
704
HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
E. L. Allen, M. R. Sevier, and A. J. Horton, members of the board of commissioners, assembled at Conway, May 5, 1873, and organized their court by taking the oath of office as prescribed by law, and electing Hon. E. L. Allen, president of the board. C. H. Lander, clerk, and Benter Turner, sheriff, also appeared in their official capacity, and thus the first court of Faulkner County was formed, and the organization of the county com- pleted. Very little business was transacted at this term of the court. At its second session held also in May. the court subdivided the county into thir- teen road districts, and appointed overseers for each one. The commissioners appointed by the act creating the county, to select a site for the seat of justice, selected Conway, the temporary seat, for the permanent county seat. A town hav- ing already been laid out at this place no tract of land was purchased by the commissioners on which to lay out a town, but September 19, 1873, Col. A. P. Robinson, the original proprietor of the site of Conway, and the man who laid out the town, donated to the county, and conveyed by proper deeds, the large and beautiful square now occupied with the public buildings. This square is 350 feet east and west, by 460 feet north and south, and is a part of block 26, according to the plat of the town. It consist in part of open prairie, and parts are covered with small natural forests; and cer- tainly no county in the State can boast of a larger or more handsome court yard so far as nature has provided for its beauty.
Having no lots to sell, no means were accumu- lated by the county for the erection of public buildings; consequently for a number of years office rooms were rented, and for a time the Method- ist Church was used for a court room. The pres- ent court house, a modern styled and picturesque two-story wooden building, with office rooms ou the first floor and court room on the second, was erected in 1877, by Contractor R. H. Watterman. About the same time a very substantial log jail was erected in the southwest corner of the public square. The court house has a fire-proof vault attached for safe keeping of the public records. The county has no poor farm or poor asylum,
the paupers being let out for their keeping to re- sponsible individuals who bid the lowest for them.
An act of the General Assembly, approved December 7, 1875, provided that all of Township 4 north, Range 11 west, should be detached from Faulkner County, and attached to Pulaski, and that all that portion of Township 3 north, Ranges 13 and 14 west, lying in the fork of, and between the Arkansas River and Palarm Creek, should be detached from Pulaski County, and attached to Faulkner.
The following list includes the names of county officers, with dates of term of service, from the organization of the county to September, 1889:
Judges: Board of commissioners heretofore named, 1873-74; J. W. Duncan, 1874-78; F. R. Adams, 1878-80; L. C. Lincoln, 1880-82; E. M. Merriman, 1882-88; P. H. Prince, present incum- bent, elected in 1888.
Clerks: C. H. Lander, 1873-74; F. C. Moore, 1874-78; J. V. Mitchell, the present incumbent, first elected in 1878, re-elected biennially, and served continuously ever since.
Sheriffs: Benter Turner, 1873-74; J. E. Mar- tin, 1874-76; W. J. Harrell, 1876-78; J. D. Townsend, 1878-82; A. J. Witt, 1882-86; L. B. Dawson, present incumbent, first elected in 1886.
Treasurers: M. E. Moore, 1873-74; James Jones, 1874-75; W. J. Harrell, 1875-76; G. T. Clifton, present incumbent, first elected in 1876, continually re-elected, and served ever since.
Coroners: R. T. Harrison, 1873-74; W. C. Gray, 1874-76; W. Martin, 1876-78; S. V. Castle- berry, 1878-80; J. A. Phillips, 1880-84; S. E. Wilson, 1884-86; B. G. Wilson, 1886-88; A. P. Powell, present incumbent, elected in 1888.
Surveyors: G. W. Johnson, 1873-74 ; B. J. McHenry, 1874-78; B. Moss, 1878-82; J. W. Thompson, 1882-84; J. D. Conlon, 1884-86; A. B. Dickerson, 1886-88; F. Hegi, present incumbent, elected in 1888.
Assessors: A. B. Henry, 1873-74; W. H. C. Nixon, 1874-76; G. W. Brown. 1876-80; J. M. C. Vaughter. 1880-82; J. P. Price, 1882-84; J. N. Harris, 1884-86; Bruce Shaw, present incumbent, first elected in 1886.
FAULKNER COUNTY.
705
John Dunaway represented the county in the constitutional convention of 1874.
State senators, J. W. House, 1874-77; J. W.
Duncan, 1879-81; T. W. Wells, 1883-85;
*
*
Representatives; S. B. Burns, 1874-75; Jesse E. Martin, 1877; Joseph Roden, 1879; G. W. Bruce, 1881; J. H. Harrod, 1883-85; J. T. Camp- bell, 1887; J. Harrod, present representative.
An estimate of the political aspect of the county of Faulkner may be obtained by reference to the votes cast for the following candidates at the elections in 1888:
At the September election for Governor: John P. Eagle (Dem.), 1,301 votes, C. M. Norwood (Com. Opp.), 1,732 votes. At the November elec- tion for President: Cleveland (Dem.) 1,239 votes, Harrison (Rep.) 760 votes, Streeter (Union Labor), 506 votes, Fiske (Prohibition), 12 votes.
In September the opposition to the Democratic State ticket was all combined, but in November there were four tickets in the field, between which the votes were divided as shown above, and by which it is seen that the Democratic party holds the ascendeney. In September the parties oppos- ing the Democratic ticket had hopes of carrying the State, and made a strenuous effort to do so, hence a full vote, but in November this was not the case; the opposition being divided, it was a "foregone conclusion " that the Democracy would carry the State, hence the much smaller vote polled on that occasion.
On account of the recent organization of the county, there has been but one United States census taken here, that of 1880, which shows that it then contained 11,368 white, and 1,418 colored inhabitants, making a total of 12,786. Taking into consideration the rapid immigration to the county since that time, as well as the natural in- crease, and the total number of votes cast at the September election in 18SS, it is safe to estimate the aggregate population at this writing (fall of 1889) at 15,000. The population in 1880, by minor civil divisions, was as follows: Benton Town- ship, 600; Cadron (including Conway), 2,916; town of Conway, 1,028; California, 498; Cypress, 605; Danley, 222; East Fork, 708: Hardin, 886;
Havre, 792; Matthews, 450; Mount Vernon (includ- ing village of Mount Vernon), 578; village of Mount Vernon, 161; Muddy Bayou, 825; Newton, 740; Palarm, 743; Pierce Creek, 198; Pine Mount- ain, 447; Union, 860; Walker, 399; Wilson, 319.
In 1880 the real estate of Faulkner was valued for taxation at $728,925, the personal property at $440,652, making a total of $1,169,577, and the aggregate amount of taxes charged thereon for all purposes was $28,539. In 1888 the real estate of the county was valued for taxation at $1, 464, 731. the personal property at $697, 276, making a total of $2,162,007, and the whole amount of taxes charged thereon was $35,673.05. The railroad property, classified as real estate, was last valued for taxation at $161,621. The above figures are given to show the rapid growth and development of the material resources of the county. By com- parison it is seen that, from 1880 to 1888, the real estate of the county fully doubled in valne, while the personal property increased 63 per cent. This shows a remarkable increase of valnes since 1880, and tends also to prove a large increase in popula- tion. The amount of taxes charged has not in- creased in proportion to the taxable wealth. The financial condition of the county is good.
Faulkner County is situated near the geograph- ical center of the State, and is bounded on the north by Van Buren and Cleburne Counties, east by White and Lonoke, south by Pulaski, and west by Perry and Conway Counties. According to the United States survey of the public lands it em- braces portions of Townships 3 to 8, inclusive. north of the base line in Ranges 11 to 15, inclusive, west of the fifth principal meridian. It lies in the same degree of longitude with Pulaski County, and in latitude immediately north thereof, and has an area of nearly 700 square miles, and an acreage of over 400,000. Of this there are about 60, 000 acres improved, the balance being wild or unim- proved land. The county contains between 3,000 and 4,000 acres of Government land subject only to 'homestead entry, also a large amount of State lands, a portion of which is subject to donation to actual settlers, over 50,000 acres belonging to the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad Company.
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706
HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
The Government lands can be obtained under the homestead act, the State forfeited lands under the donation act, the seminary lands at $1 per acre, the internal improvement and swamp lands at $1.25 per acre, and the railroad lands at from $2.50 to $5 per acre; besides, improved and unim- proved private lands can be purchased from their individual owners at reasonable prices.
Of the entire county the following estimate can be made: One-tenth may be classed as first- class bottom land, very fertile, and yielding im- mense quantities of corn, cotton, etc .; one-tenth hilly, rocky, marshy and unfit for cultivation; about one-tenth prairie land, all capable of culti- vation. The remaining seven-tenths are beautiful valleys extending the whole length of the county from east to west, and gently rolling, well drained uplands admirably adapted to agricultural pur- poses. This estimate makes about nine-tenths of the county tillable land.
According to that eminent geologist, Prof. David Dale Owen, the most important tracts of arable land lie in Townships 6 and 7 north, Ranges 11, 12, 13 and 14 west. It is thought, however, that Township 5 ought also to be included. The soil of this region overlies, and has mostly been derived from the disintegration of the reddish and dark shales at the base of the millstone grit, sufficiently intermixed with siliceons washings from the overlying flagstones to correct their other- wise tenacious and refractory character. Judge Louis C. Lincoln, land agent at Conway, a man thoroughly acquainted with all parts of the county, says that it contains several varieties of soil, and that nearly all crops known to the "Sunny South " are grown here with profit; that the bottom lands are alluvial and very fertile; that the soil of the uplands is a dark brown or mulatto color, with a good clay subsoil which holds manure splendidly, and that there is just enough sand in the soil to scour a plough well. He also says: Many North- ern men come here expecting to find the soil black like the Northern prairie. While it is not black we defy any county to beat it in producing. If you don't believe this step down and look at our corn stalks from ten to fifteen feet high, millet
seven to nine feet high and so on. Many can bear testimony to samples fully up to the alleged height.
The beautiful rolling prairie of 7,000 acres, on the border of which Conway, the seat of justice of the county, is located, is worthy of special men- tion. It is one of nature's lovely spots-a prairie interspersed with beautiful second growth oak forests. It might properly be called a combina- tion of prairie and forest land. There is 110 doubt, however, that not longer ago than the beginning of the nineteenth century it was almost wholly a treeless prairie. A reliable citizen of the county, Dr. J. J. Jones, a settler of 1851, says that at that time the trees on this prairie, now measuring sixteen inches in diameter, were then only "little saplings." By cutting these trees and counting the rings-the annual growths-on the stumps, the proof that they have nearly all grown in the last fifty years will readily appear. A few of the very large trees, located far apart, probably stood here at the beginning of the century.
The general trend of the surface of Faulkner County, as shown by the direction of its water courses, is toward the south and southwest. The Arkansas River strikes the western boundary of the county at the mouth of the Cadron, and flowing. thence southerly and southeasterly it forms the southwestern boundary of the county down to the mouth of the Palarm. The Cadron Creek with its West Fork enters the county near its northwest corner, and flowing in a southerly direction it soon becomes and continues to be the western boundary of the county down to its confluence with the Arkansas. The North Fork of the Cadron enters the county near the center of its northern boundary, and flows thence southwesterly to its confinence with the West Fork. The East Fork of the Cadron enters the county from the east and flows westerly to its junction with the main stream on the western boundary.
About two-fifths of the area of the county lies north of this creek. The Palarm rises in the southeastern part of the county, and runs thence in a southwesterly direction to its confluence with the Arkansas. These are the principal streams of
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707
FAULKNER COUNTY.
the county, all of which have numerous tributaries and afford excellent drainage. A small portion of the extreme southeast part of the county is drained by creeks flowing into Pulaski County. Good springs abound throughout the county, and some of them, especially the Pinnacle and Cascade Springs, are noted for their medicinal properties. An abundant supply of good well water is obtain- able everywhere except on the mountain ridges, at a depth of from fifteen to twenty-five feet. Cis- terns are also in use by those preferring that kind of water.
According to Prof. Owen's geology, the hills of the county seldom exceed 300 feet in height, and are composed mostly of thin-bedded sand- stones, underlaid by reddish siliceous, and dark argillaceous shales. In the level portions of the county the latter shaly members underlie the fine tracts of grass land, which afford excellent pastur- age for cattle. In this connection it is proper to say that the fine prairie lands, especially in the vi- cinity of Conway, were formerly covered with a wild grass of luxuriant growth, excellent for hay, but after having been mowed two or three times, upon and after the completion of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad it ceased to grow, and sas- safras bushes came up extensively in its stead.
Thin beds of coal have been opened in many places upon the waters of the Cadron, that range in thickness from four to twenty inches. In Sec- tion 7, Township 5 north, Range 12 west, a four- inch seam of coal is interpolated among the shales. It is a more solid coal than beds found in Pope and Johnson Counties, highly bituminous and very black; it has but little tendency to crumble, and breaks with a smooth angular fracture. In the northeast part of the county, close to the Bull Mountain, the dark shales under the millstone grit are fractured, dislocated, and traversed by veins of quartz, associated with tale and other allied mag- nesian minerals; the shales, for some distance on .either side of these veins, are undurated, altered. and more or less metamorphosed. The siliceous vein traverses the disturbed shales in a northeast and southwest course for several miles. Where these quartz veins pass through Section 24, Town-
ship 6 north, Range 11 west, several shallow pits have been sunk to investigate their character. All that were discovered proved to be talcose slates. and fine transparent crystals of quartz. These pits, however, were too shallow to prove the metal- liferous character of the veins. Judge Lincoln, previously quoted, says: "The minerals of this, like most counties in the State, are as yet unde- veloped. Coal, copper, lead, iron and manganese are found in many portions of the county."
Timber is abundant, and consists of all the va- rieties of oak, also hickory, ash, pine, cypress, gum, cottonwood, walnut, cedar, hackberry, mul- berry, sycamore, etc.
Tame grasses have not been cultivated but to a limited extent, enongh only to prove that they ean be raised with profit. The hay produced has generally been made of wild grass.
As yet Faulkner is mostly an agricultural county, consequently its developed resources are principally agricultural; it has, however, other re- sources, some of which have been partially and others not at all developed. In 1880 the county contained 1,786 farms, and 53,585 acres of im- proved lands, and the estimated value of all farm products for the year 1879 was $623.225. The present number of farms, acres of improved lands, and value of productions, can not now be given, but the census of 1890 will give the proper figures, which will be interesting to compare with the figures here noted for 1880. In that year the county produced 347,062 bushels of Indian corn, 39,247 bushels of oats, 18,197 bushels of wheat, $12,573 of orchard products, 268 tons of hay, 8,692 bales of cotton, 11,913 bushels of Irish po- tatoes, 11,974 bushels of sweet potatoes. All of these productions, when compared with the pro- duetions of other counties of similar size within the State, are very large. It will be readily seen, however, that the principal articles were then, as they are now, corn and cotton.
According to the census of 1880 the live stock in the county was enumerated as follows: Horses, 2,270; mules and asses, 1,240; neat cattle, 8, 725; sheep, 4,060; hogs, 25,988. In 1888 the live stoek of the county was listed for taxation as fol-
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
lows: Horses, 2,841; mules and asses, 1,901; neat cattle, 15,875; sheep, 5,197; hogs, 18,451. The comparison of these figures is not exactly fair, for the reason that the enumeration reported for 1880 was taken wholly for statistical purposes, while the enumeration for 18SS was taken for taxa- tion. The comparison, however, is accurate enough pertaining to all animals other than those raised for slaughtering purposes. It will be more inter- esting and more reliable to compare the figures given in the next United States census reports with the figures first above given. The county is well adapted to the raising of live stock, and this will eventually become one of the leading indus- tries.
Horticulture is another source of income, but as yet has not been developed to any considerable extent, the amount of fruits raised thus far being mostly for home consumption. The county is fairly adapted to the raising of apples and pears, though not so well as those of a higher altitude. It is, however, especially well suited to the rais- ing of peaches and all manner of small fruits, ex- cepting, perhaps, cherries.
The lumbering industry is a source of considera- ble income. There are ten saw and three shingle mills in the county, which turn out large quanti- ties of shingles and lumber daily. The saw and shingle mills near Mayflower and Preston, on the line of the railroad, do a good business and ship a great amount of shingles and lumber to other States. The nearest mill to Conway is about four miles. Lumber, the best quality, at the mills, can be bought for $8 per thousand; delivered in Con- way it costs from $10 to $il per thousand feet. "A No. 1" shingles cost $2.50 per thousand (pamphlet of Judge Lincoln). This industry will continue for many years, as the supply of timber is very large. Many other industries not here named can be developed.
Amusement more or less profitable for the sportsman can be found in Faulkner County, as the Arkansas River and other streams abound with fine fish, and wild turkeys and deer are rather nu- merous in certain localities.
In 1778 John Standlee and others explored the
country along the Arkansas River, and Mr. Standlee then selected the spot of ground on which he desired to make his future home. Afterward, in 1811, his son-in-law, John C. Benedict, with his family, set- tled in the county subsequently known as New Madrid (Missouri Territory). From this county, in the fall of that year, Mr. Standlee, Mr. Benedict, William and David Standlee set out to explore new country, and were absent from home about two years. In 1814 John Standlee returned with his family to Arkansas, and settled upon the identical spot selected by him thirty-six years prior thereto. Here he lived until his death, which occurred in August, 1820. The tract of land chosen by this old pioneer settler, and upon which he made his final home, lies in what has long been known as the " Benedict Settlement," upon the Arkansas River, in the southwest part of the present county of Faulkner.
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