The loss of court records prevents the formation and organization of the original municipal townships of Benton County from being satisfactorily ascertained and given. The first change appearing of record was made in January, 1857, when John Roller and sixty-one other citizens filed a petition with the county court asking for the formation of a new township in the northeast corner of the county, within the following boundary lines, to-wit: “Commencing at Henry Moor’s on the line of Walnut Township, and running to Burks’ tanyard; thence with the State road north to the Missouri line, including all the inhabitants on said road; thence east to the Madison County line; thence south with the Madison County line to the Walnut Township line; thence with said line to the beginning.” The prayer of the petition was granted, and the territory included, with boundary lines described therein, was declared to be a new township by the name of Roller, and Jacob Roller, Samuel Burks and David Gunner were appointed judges of elections, with the election precinct at the house of William Herds. The name of the township later became “Roller’s Ridge.”
Back to: Benton County, Arkansas History
Source: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago, IL, USA: Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889.
Is there a copy somewhere of the petition that was signed by 71 people? My family was there in Roller Ridge at that time. I would love to see if they participated. Unfortunately they were only there a couple of years or so before most left due to sickness and deaths. There were 6 families that had originally traveled together there.
My email is allypablo@gmail.com if anyone has any information regarding Roller Ridge history and/or the signed petition. Thank you kindly, Ally
It turns out not to be in Benton County Arkansas. It is located in Missouri.
I wonder if the state lines were changed when the railroad came through. The cemetery is in Arkansas but the new name for Roller Ridge is Seligman.
Actually, as I research more, I find that there is a Roller Ridge area and road in Seligman Missouri, in the Sugar Creek Township there. Then there is a Roller Ridge Township in Arkansas. They are basically on each side of the dividing state line. So they both existed. My family was in the 1860 census in Roller Ridge Arkansas. So they must have been on the Arkansas side, or boundaries changed.
According to the website Hometown Locator, Roller Ridge was east of Gateway. Here’s the link to find it.
https://arkansas.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,3,fid,69594,n,township%20of%20roller%20ridge.cfm
It seems like there were Roller Ridges in both AR & MO , ditto “Sugar Creeks”: https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/township-maps/4/
If you enlarge the map on that site I just posted above, you will see Roller Ridge was located where the corner of Clantonville Road and Highway 62 is now.