USA > Arkansas > Johnson County > Johnson County, Arkansas, the first hundred years > Part 6
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At the second session of the legislature of the Arkansas Territory on October 18, 1820, Crawford county was formed of which our present county was a part. The little town of Van Buren was the county seat.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
The flow of immigration was rapid and after nine years it became necessary for other smaller counties to be set apart and again the acreage of this section was given on November 2, 1829, to the new county of Pope. Scotia was the seat of government.
Four years later even the Pope county boundary seemed of loo great dimensions. Pressure was brought to bear and the legislature of November 16, 1833, voted their sanction for another county, to comprise the whole of the western portion of Pope.
Wesley Garrett was a legislator from the territory of the new wounty and he was given the liberty of selecting a name for it. And be it said to his credit, he did not name it Garrett as most men would have done. However, Garrett would have been a most appropriate name. Instead he chose to call it Johnson, after his devoted friend, Benjaman Johnson of the supreme bench of Arkansas Territory. Spadra was the territorial county seat.
TOPOGRAPHY
Johnson County, located in the Arkansas river valley, lies in altitude 36 degrees and longitude 94 degrees west from Green- wich, one hundred miles northwest from Little Rock and sixty one miles from Ft. Smith. The area of her territory is ap- proximately 660 square miles, or 433,000 acres. Newton and Madison Counties lie north of Johnson, with Pope on the east, Logan on the south and Franklin on the west, The boundary line on the north has not been changed since the formation of
the county. The dividing line on the cast has not proven so sat- isfactory, since as the years have gone by ,many changes have been made. The first survey was run in October, 1836. Others at intervals as follows: 1859, 1871- 1876 and 1877. The first division on the west was made in 1837 but was changed as at stands today, on December 14, 1848.
With the formation of the county, three townships, Canc Creek, Mountain and Shoal Creek, which lie south of the river, were included in Johnson. The surveyor formed this line on November 2, 1836. However, when Logan County (then Sarber County) was formed, March 22, 1871, this lay of land was taken from Johnson, leaving the river as the southern boundary.
Surface and Topography: This county constitutes three distinct salients-the mountains, the foot-hills, or up-lands, and
TOPOGRAPHY
river flats, or bottoms. Many high ridges of the Ozarks extend across the northern part of the county, lying chiefly in a north and south direction, as they protrude from Newton and Madison to a depth of eiglit or ten miles into Johnson.
These ridges, known as the Mulberry Range, lying from cas? to west are, namely, Moon Hull, the highest, Woods, Storms, Ozone, (formerly called Gillian) Low Gap and Batson. Two smaller ridges near the center of the county, east and west, side by side, divided by Spadra Creek, are Red Lick and Stillwell. These many ridges slope from an altitude of 2200 feet to the foot-hills. and hence to the river flats.
The mountain plateaus vary from one to twelve miles in width and are covered with a soil of clay formation topped with a thin stratum of light loam. The surface of the upland is somewhat undulated by nature and covers a portion of the county estimated to be 176,600 acres, and varies in width from ten to fifteen miles. The soil on these hills is of a humatic clay for- mation. This upland section extends across the county and lies north and south to within one to three miles of the river. This narrow strip of low, level, fertile farm lands lies along the entire river front for thirty miles. It is estimated that the extent of this river land and the creek bottoms of the county cover ap- proximately 59000 acres This productive soil is of a rich ak- luvial deposit admixed with varying quantities of sand.
The cropping rocks in the mountains are principally ferrug- inous sand-stones, while in the hill lands is found not only the sand-stone but also an argillaceous slate.
Timbers: The native timbers grow luxurously. The oaks predominate from the mountain tops to the river's edge. Hickory, blackgum, elm, mulberry, wild cherry, cedar, ash and maple flourish anywhere in the county. Chinquapin trees are only seen on the mountains and pecans only in the lowlands. The walnut once grew everywhere, and it is possible for this tree to reach great proportions, but it is not so numerous as formerly, since many of them have been felled and sent to profitable markets. Stately short-leafed pines grace hundreds of rocky knolls and mountain sides. The willows, sassafras and sperm- wood are found in the low, swaggy places. There is also much pasture land with a growth of timber.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
The National Forest Reserve of this section extends into Johnson county and covers 17000 acres, which lie in the northeast corner of the county.
The scenery from many points on hills and mountains are indeed worthy of mention.
The hills and dells doth stretch away To meet the sunset's passing ray, As cloudlets flit about in space, Picturesque-from this vantage place.
CREEKS
There are a number of creeks which traverse the county, some of them almost rivers in size,-others small. Most of them flow from north to south and find their confluence either directly or indirectly in the river.
Beginning on the east side of the county, in position, Piney comes first. It is the largest of them all and might well be called a river. In matter of possession, this stream belongs to Newton, Johnson and Pope Counties. Its source is found in the beautiful limestone region of Newton county. A sparkling rivulet, clear and crystal-like, growing wider and deeper as it is met by many streams adown its way from cliffs and gorges, seventy-five miles in length, to the sandy shores of the Arkansas, Piney enters Johnson county several miles west of the northeast corner and flows diagonally into Pope, where its course is almost due south for several miles, when a sharp turn west brings it into Johnson again, thence south, into the Arkansas some ten miles away. The width and depth of this stream makes it navigable for flatboats six miles up from the river. And while these boats are not practical at all at this time, in the days of the real pioneer- ing they were of great local convenience. Stately pines grow along the banks of this creek all along its way. Some of the largest and most profitable timbers in this part of the state find their nativity on the mountain sides overlooking this stream, which shares their name. It is in the bed of this creek that a number of valuable Arkansas pearls have been found.
Little Piney rises in the mountains near Ft. Douglas, and flows many miles before it meets the parent stream, eight miles from the confluence of the latter. This creek is in like nature to the big creek and almost as large.
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TOPOGRAPHY
These two streams abound in trout and other fresh water fish, therefore affording great sport for fishermen.
Minnow Creek, a brook in size, also drains many acres of farm land in the eastern part of the county.
Cabin Creek comes from a source near the center of the county, flowing in a winding, sluggish way, emptying into the river three miles east of the town of Lamar.
Ex-Governor Adams located near this stream in 1835, bring- ing with him many negroes and because of the large number of cabins he built along its banks it received the quaint and unique appellation of Cabin Creek.
Spadra Creek, with its headwaters a tiny brooklet rushing down Low Gap Mountain, grows rapidly in size as it courses over a rocky bed between the mountains of Red Lick and Stillwell, through the center of the county. It passes the town of Clarks- ville four miles before reaching Spadra, and the river.
How Spadra received its name is not known, though the word is Spanish and when translated means "Broken Sword." A poem written by John W. Woodard in the fifties furnishes the only solution. The legend is supposed to be fiction, still it may have been based on facts-no one knows. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful story, well written, and adds a zest of interest to conjurors of a buried past.
Greenbriar, Hogskin and Little Spadra are tributaries of the larger Spadra.
Along the western border of Johnson county, Horsehead, a water course emanating from the heights of Batson Mountain, drains some excellent farm land and passes the thriving little town of Hartman, three miles before it reaches the river. The name of Horsehead is said to have been acquired by early settlers who, when first coming to the stream saw on its bank an upright pole on which was mounted a horse's head of dimensions larger than an ordinary animal of that type. No reason for this was ever learned and the countrymen from that time referred to the stream as "Horsehead."
Winding clear and beautiful around the Mulberry Mountain is Mulberry Creek, or river. The streamlets which come to- gether and form this river of more than seventy miles in length, are fed from the cliffs and peaks of Moon Hull, Ozone and Low
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
Gap mountains. This body of water flows west through a long narrow, fertile valley as it finds its way into Franklin County near the northeast boundary line of Johnson, thence southwest across Franklin to the Arkansas river at the town of Mulberry. Along the banks of this splendid waterway, farthest removed from the thickly settled districts, hunters have found great sport. In former days all the animals adapted to the climate were at home in these forests, and two generations ago recall bear hunts that were not uncommon. Until a few years past, "deer drives" were
the events of the huntsman's sporting season. Fox hunters today occasionally pay this locality a visit with their hounds that are as eager for the run as the hunters themselves. Nor does
the fox himself ever fail to appear. Wolves, bobcats and oc-
casional deer may still be seen. It is here that the fisherman's "fish stories" come true. Little Mulberry, Davis Creek and Bear Branch are tributaries of Mulberry.
SPRINGS
In the days before ice was an essential product, when elec- tricity had not found its way into the county, when kerosene and gasoline stoves were unheard of, sleeping porches were unknown, night air was unhealthy, the elimination of the mosjuito un- thought of, the idea of wire screens had not arrived and the fly and malaria were necessary evils, it was almost essential that everyone change to some point of vantage for a vacation in the summer season. For forty years there was no railroad and even when that accommodation reached the county, the inhabitants could not be persuaded that other places offered better facilities for health giving than their own mountain territory.
White Sulphur Springs-Up Little Piney creek, some twenty miles from the river can be found a spring of cold water flowing a rich white sulphur deposit, the only one in the county and one of the few in the state.
It was around "Russell Springs," drinking its medicated draught and basking in the ozone of the adjacent hills and dells that many of our predecessors sought recourse from the lassitude of heat and ailments peculiar to the summer season. Uriah Russell was the farmer nearest to the place,-hence its name. The spring proper, however, is on a sixteenth section and belongs to the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
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TOPOGRAPHY
The solid rock overhanging the spring is marked with scores of names and dates reaching back into the past century fifty years and more. Some are so antiquated that they cannot be discerned.
Early in the seventies, after a roadway had been cut across the Low Gap Mountain and access to this fourteen hundred feet of incline was made possible, the inhabitants of the county be- came interested in a spring of gushing chalybeate water, cold and clear, flowing from under an old fallen tree, with a spongy, saffron deposit following the trail of the 'streamlet. And now for almost one-half a century the people of the county, and es- pecially Clarksvilleites have gone, during the heated season, to this secluded spot to rest and recreate. The main spring was soon made more accessible by a stone wall being built above the water-flow, semi-circular style, and with a spacious concrete ap- proach. Also a pavilion now spans the gap below, thus afford- ing a common meeting ground for the visitors. Thirty cottages
constitute the summer camp. The "Hotel de Lewis" has not been open to the public for several years, but in the days long past, many joyous week-end parties, ever to be remembered by the participants, coupled with romance and fun, were spent here. Also did the old Hotel of earlier days furnish rendezvous for the young folks who are the grandmothers and grandfathers of to- day.
The water of Low Gap Springs is reputed to be classed with the second coldest in the United States. A chemical analy- sis made by L. T. McRay of Baltimore, Maryland, is as follows:
Per Million Gallons-Chlorine 7.0, Frie ammonia 0.001, Al- buminoin Ammonia 0.05, Nitrite 0.0005, Oxygen consumed 0.5, Iron Total 4.0-0004 %,-Iron in solution 0.6, Iron in sus- pension 3.40.
Classifying the waters of the county-One white sulphur spring, twenty-five chalybeate springs and dozens of clear, fresh water springs and at least two artesian wells.
The well water, especially in the mountains and uplands, is cold, pure and healthy. The water supply for the town of Clarksville is taken from a deep everlasting well of soft, pure water situated north of the city.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
MINERALS
A number of Minerals are found in this county but the only one in quantity possessing commercial value is coal. The first coal discovered in Arkansas was found in 1841, out-cropping on the east bank of Spadra Creek up a few hundred feet from the river.
Two major veins are known to exist, one of them anthracite and the other bituminous, sometimes called semi-anthracite. The veins range from thirty inches to four feet. The quality is reputed to be as fine as the world produces. Because of this excellent product this field has won favor in all the coal markets of the United States and in some other countries.
The "Arkansas Anthracite", or "Spadra Field" lies along the length of the southern boundary of the county and extends north from the river six or eight miles. There is approximately 60000 acres in the field and it is found out-cropping in a number of places. The vein nearest the surface lies in the center of the belt and slopes east and west. Two holes have been drilled at Clarksville and the drillers each time have reported that they passed through the Spadra vein, three feet or more in thickness, at a depth of approximately five hundred feet. This coal is a smokeless fuel, ignites more readily and burns freer than the other anthracites of the country. It has a very great heating power because of freer British thermal units than is found in other anthracites. Coal men who have studied this product affirm that when free from slate or slack the Anthracite coal of Arkansas is the most satisfactory domestic coal in the world.
In 1843 barges served to send this coal down the river to Little Rock and other points. Because of the remoteness of the locality, inadequate facilities for transportation, lack of know- ledge concerning its use and the extensive forests of wood to be had all over the state, almost without expense, the mining busi- ness was soon abandoned. Twenty years passed before the coal industry became profitable.
Experts who have studied the coal of this field affirm that the former conclusion as to analysis,-that this was a semi-an- thracite product,-is erroneous for the tests carefully made at this time prove to be the same as any anthracite. It is very like in nature to the coal of the Shanokin Basin of Penn-
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MINERALS
sylvania, but it contains a greater quantity of fixed carbon than the coals of the eastern field.
The vein of Pope County is almost identical with the anthracite in Johnson. The full extent of the Spadra field was not known to extend so far to the west until early in the present century when Fremont Stokes and Cooper Langford prospected! and found that part of the field to be the choicest territory be- cause of the thicker vein.
The bituminous coal of this county lies in the western por- tion along the border of Franklin county. This field is a con- tinuation of the fields of that county. The mines of Coal Hill are in this belt. The thickness of the bituminous vein is approximately four feet. It is a very satisfactory domestic fuel being soft and easy to ignite. It is also a smokeless product. Another bituminous vein 12 inches thick-too thin to possess any degree of publicity outside of the county, soft and inflamable, and unsurpassed in the world in quality, lies in the western part of the county near Horsehead Creek. It is known as the Philpot coal, so called because a man by the name of Lynn Philpot owned the land on which it was found, and operated the mine for years. The vein is only a few feet beneath the surface in most places and is mined by "strip pits". This spongy-like coal ignites almost like kindling and swells as it burns-never fails- always burns, and when it is finally consumed there is nothing left to signify that the fire had been, save a handful of red ashes. Because of the remoteness of the locality and the thinness of the vein this coal has never been offered to outside markets. It is delivered however, to individuals at the distance of fifteen or twenty miles, in trucks or wagons. This coal brings a higher price than any other in the county.
Iron was discovered in this county early in its history and was reputed to be in paying quantities though it was never developed and never sought after, still it is evident that it is in quantities of more or less value all over the county.
Lead is known to exist though not in paying quantities so far as discoveries have been made.
Gold has been found in the extreme north of the county in a section lying several miles north of Ozone. Specimens of this metal sent to Washington have shown it to exist in small paying quantities, averaging $2.50 to $3.50 per ton. Owing to the re-
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
moteness of the locality, the condition of the roads and lack of capital willing to take the risk, further investigation has been barred.
Gypsum is reputed to have been found in the mountains here also, but as to quantity, it is not known.
Kaolin is said to exist in abundance, only awaiting its turn of popularity, that the hand of art may shape it into beautiful pottery, or bake it to porcelain, thus giving to Johnson another source of revenue.
Blue sandstone is in abundance at Cabin Creek and has been quarried since 1887. This is a beautiful stone, in appearance very like the real granite. Being of a softer texture however, makes it a most desirable building material. It was more in demand during the latter years of the last century than at the present time, since the appearance of concrete replaced, in part the use of stone work. It is used for the building of handsome
structures. The Methodist Church at Clarksville is of this stone, also the Blue Stone Bank at Lamar. This quarry also produces an excellent flagstone suitable for range work and curbing rocks.
Clay for making brick is found in abundance and while no one is operating a kiln, it is one of the dependable moneyed assets for future demand.
Pearls of high class are sometimes found on the banks and in the beds of the two Piney creeks. The mussel shells are deposited by the thousands after a high water mark. Most of these pearls are imperfect, though a few have been smooth and round. They have brought in market from $10.00 to $300.00 each.
FRUITS
One hundred years have passed since the white man began his habitation on this soil, yet today many of the wild fruits, which welcomed his coming, by furnishing for his store house native berrics, nuts, et cetera, are still found in many places, where the under brush is left uncut or the timber is permitted to grow. Even if only a few trees are on the hill side, low land or pasture a num- ber of them will produce some fruit. The blackberry is the most sought after. It is seldom cultivated by farmers since almost every farm will possess some uncut place on which this particular vine flourishes to perfection. Weather conditions
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FRUITS
govern the quantity and quality. No special locality gives pref- erence to the growth, since it is found from the mountain tops to the river front.
Dewberries are also a native wild fruit. They are of ex- cellent quality, but not so prevalent as the former berry. It grows in profusion, however, as undergrowth, in the river bot- tonis.
Huckleberries find habitation on the mountans. Wild grapes and muscadines will grow in any part of the county as also will the native persimmon which furnishes a temporary range for hogs. Walnuts and hickory nuts, the nativity of which are in hill and dell, the chinquapins in the mountains, the pecans in the bottoms, all bear a fruit for winter use, without cultivation.
It might well be said here that every wild flower adapted to the climate blooms in profusion, from the tiny "Jump-up" in the early days of February to the last purple violet tucked away under the November fallen foliage to peep out-perhaps, on Christmas Day.
A country possessing high mountains, hill lands and river flats will, from diversity of soils, produce a variety of products. The mountains and hill lands are more retentive of moisture than the lower levels and therefore on those red clay loams the fruit products are unexcelled and the perennial pastures provide ex- cellent range for the cattle and hogs of the mountain men.
Apples-The first fruit grown in Johnson county to create outside interest was a display of Shannon apples at a Pomological Exhibit in Philadelphia. This apple was grown on a rock ribbed hill of this county and was packed at Clarksville. The beauty, texture and flavor of the Shannon is unexcelled. The Ben Davis is a large apple with a great enduring quality, there- fore of commercial value. The Winesap is the most widely known because of its unexcelled flavor and also for its length of endurance. When this apple first ripens it is hard, but with age it mellows into a most delicious palatable fruit. The Limber Twig, Red Russet, Ingram and Arkansas Beauty are favorite growers. The latter is an Arkansas seedling. The fruit is smooth ,round and red. The Ozone and the Jonathan are also of native grafting. The apple once took precedence in the Johnson County fruit displays but lack of education in the care and pre-
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
servation of the trees and their fruit has in the passing years dis- heartened the orchard men and other products were grown for which disease was not awaiting each succeeding crop. Because of this condition fruit men have studied the situation and by analysis the soil is known to be unexcelled for the fruit in question and scientific treatments have eliminated the former combat and now it is known that the maximum quality of the fruit is being raised and it is possible to make the dream of the early grower come true.
Johnson is said to hold a soil almost identical to that on the Rhine and with proper care grapes will produce in abundance and flavor acceptable to the most fastidious. The varieties usual- ly cultivated are the Concord, Delaware, Ivy Seedlings, Moore's Early and the Niagra.
Pears are grown to perfection and as luxuriously as other fruit.
Plums of this county are without fault and in great abund- ance. Those most cultivated are the Blue Damson, Wild Goose, Chickasaw and the Japanese varieties. Cherries are grown to some extent and produce a splendid fruit and while they have not found favor in common as some other fruits, still the orchards of the county supply all the local demand.
Berries of the cultivated varieties are many. Strawberries should be mentioned first since they produce an early fruit for which the market is always ready and the berries grown on the undulated red clay hills of this county are perfect. There was a time when they were planted for other markets but owing to shipping conditions and lack of cooperation the project was abandoned to give place to other crops. The possibility however for the strawberry is as great as any fruit in the county and in the future no doubt they will be more exten- sively grown and be of great money value to this locality. At all times the markets of the county have been supplied by the home producer as well as some express shipments.
The raspberry, gooseberry, Himalayaberry and others are grown and disposed of in the county.
Peaches-Johnson County has justly been called the "Peach Orchard County." The red clay hills formerly thought to be of so little value, since the beginning of the present century,
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