Faulkner County, named after Sandy Faulkner, the original “Arkansaw Traveler,” was officially established on April 12, 1873, following an act by the State Legislature. This act delineated the county’s boundaries, carved from portions of Conway and Pulaski counties, and appointed commissioners to establish the county seat at Conway Station. Initial administrative functions were carried out by appointed officers until the next general election. The county’s development included the establishment of road districts, the construction of public buildings, and the evolution of its judicial system. Faulkner County’s early years also saw significant agricultural, educational, and infrastructural growth, shaping it into a prosperous and well-organized community.
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.
Faulkner County is named after Sandy Faulkner, the original “Arkansaw Traveler,” an account of whose varied life appears elsewhere in this volume.
Faulkner County, the reputation of which has rapidly spread in recent years, was organized in accordance with an act of the State Legislature, approved April 12, 1873. The act provided that all that portion of the counties of Conway and Pulaski included within the boundaries herein named: “Beginning at the point where the township line dividing Townships 3 and 4 crosses the Arkansas River, and running east with said line to range line dividing 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 meanderings (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 out a town, and sell the lots and make deeds of conveyance to individual purchasers, and to appropriate the proceeds arising 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 established 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 supervisors for each county. Accordingly after the proper officers had been appointed by his Excellency, Elisha Baxter, Governor of Arkansas, Hon. 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 completed. 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 thirteen 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 having 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 consists in part of open prairie, and parts are covered with small natural forests; and certainly 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 accumulated by the county for the erection of public buildings; consequently for a number of years office rooms were rented, and for a time the Methodist Church was used for a court room. The present court house, a modern styled and picturesque two-story wooden building, with office rooms on 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 responsible 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.
Early County Officers of Faulkner County
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 incumbent, 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. Martin, 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. Castleberry, 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.
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. Campbell, 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.), 1,734 votes. At the November election 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 ascendency. In September the parties opposing 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.
1880 census of Faulkner County
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 increase, and the total number of votes cast at the September election in 1888, 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 Township, 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 (including village of Mount Vernon), 578; village of Mount Vernon, 161; Muddy Bayou, 825; Newton, 740; Palarm, 743; Pierce Creek, 198; Pine Mountain, 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 comparison it is seen that, from 1880 to 1888, the real estate of the county fully doubled in value, while the personal property increased 63 percent. This shows a remarkable increase of values since 1880, and tends also to prove a large increase in population. The amount of taxes charged has not increased in proportion to the taxable wealth. The financial condition of the county is good.
Geology of Faulkner County
Faulkner County is situated near the geographical 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 embraces 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 unimproved 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.
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 unimproved 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 immense quantities of corn, cotton, etc.; one-tenth hilly, rocky, marshy and unfit for cultivation; about one-tenth prairie land, all capable of cultivation. 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 purposes. 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 siliceous washings from the overlying flagstones to correct their otherwise 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 Northern 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 mention. It is one of nature’s lovely spots — a prairie interspersed with beautiful second growth oak forests. It might properly be called a combination of prairie and forest land. There is no 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 confluence 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 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 obtainable everywhere except on the mountain ridges, at a depth of from fifteen to twenty-five feet. Cisterns 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 sandstones, underlaid by reddish siliceous and dark argillaceous shales. In the level portions of the county, the latter shaly members underlie the fine tracts of grassland, which afford excellent pasturage for cattle. In this connection, it is proper to say that the fine prairie lands, especially in the vicinity 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 sassafras 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 Section 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 talc and other allied magnesian minerals; the shales, for some distance on either side of these veins, are indurated, 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, Township 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 metalliferous character of the veins. Judge Lincoln, previously quoted, says: “The minerals of this, like most counties in the State, are as yet undeveloped. Coal, copper, lead, iron and manganese are found in many portions of the county.”
Timber is abundant and consists of all the varieties of oak, also hickory, ash, pine, cypress, gum, cottonwood, walnut, cedar, hackberry, mulberry, sycamore, etc.
Tame grasses have not been cultivated but to a limited extent, enough only to prove that they can 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 resources, some of which have been partially and others not at all developed. In 1880 the county contained 1,780 farms, and 53,585 acres of improved 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, cannot 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 potatoes, 11,974 bushels of sweet potatoes. All of these productions, when compared with the productions 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 livestock 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 livestock of the county was listed for taxation as follows: 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 1888 was taken for taxation. The comparison, however, is accurate enough pertaining to all animals other than those raised for slaughtering purposes. It will be more interesting 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 livestock, and this will eventually become one of the leading industries.
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 raising of peaches and all manner of small fruits, excepting, perhaps, cherries.
The lumbering industry is a source of considerable income. There are ten saw and three shingle mills in the county, which turn out large quantities 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 Conway it costs from $10 to $11 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 numerous 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, settled 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.
Pioneers of Faulkner County
In the spring of 1818 John C. Benedict and his family, consisting of himself and wife and five children, set out to find a home in the Arkansas country near where Mr. Standlee had located. They were accompanied by two Scotchmen named Anderson and Frazier. On their overland journey, after crossing Little Red River, they found but one house until they arrived at the mouth of the Cadron, which place they reached April 18. This house, located in what is now Hardin Township, was then occupied by four bachelor brothers — the Wyleys — named, respectively, Abraham, Isaiah, William and Obadiah. How long they had been there is not known. Upon the arrival of the Benedict family at the mouth of the Cadron, they found there a block house, which had been erected by settlers preceding them, as a place of safety from the hostile Indians. The preceding settlers then located in and about this block house were John McElmurray and his sons David, Robert, John and Harvey; Benjamin Murphy, the McFarlands, Harvey Hager and the Newells then lived just below the Cadron Bluff. Going down the Arkansas to the point now known as “Red Hill,” Mr. Benedict found the settlement of Adam Kuykendall, with his sons Amos, Peter and Adam, Jr. Two or three miles lower down he found the settlement of Charles Adams, Reuben Euston and Mr. Carlisle and sons; four miles farther down were the habitations of Thomas and John Burrows, and James Lemons.
Near the mouth of the Palarm he found the settlement of the Flanagins and Massengills. There were two of the Flanagins — Hugh and Bill — brothers, also two brothers of the Massengills. The latter brothers each had two wives, and each wife had a large number of children. The Flanagins also had large families. These men — the Flanagins and Massengills — had been Tories during the Revolutionary War, and at the end of that struggle, finding it unpleasant and perhaps unsafe to remain on the Atlantic coast, fled to the interior with the Indians, and finally drifted along as outlaws, becoming accustomed to and assuming the habits of the “wild men of the forest,” and located on the Arkansas, where they were found by Mr. Benedict. They occupied a position in civilization above the Indians and below the whites. Mr. Benedict bought his first home on the Arkansas of William Flanagin, and soon thereafter, when the white settlers became more numerous, the Flanagins and Massengills, preferring to live beyond the reach of civilization, “picked up their traps” and moved to a newer country, where the laws of new comers would not annoy them.
In 1818, the year that the Benedicts arrived, William and John Standlee erected the first saw and grist mill in the territory now embraced in Faulkner County. It was a water-power mill and stood on a bayou or creek about a mile from the site of the present Hamilton Mills. This mill was afterward rebuilt by the Benedicts and operated by them for many years. In 1818 the white settlements, excepting those directly on the Arkansas, were from twenty to fifty miles apart, and contained but two or three families in each. Immediately thereafter, immigration became more rapid, and among the next settlers of the territory now composing Faulkner County were John Englebright, a tanner and currier, who established the first successful tannery, boot, and shoe shop west of the Mississippi in this latitude; Abner R. Eastwood, a turner and manufacturer of chairs and spinning wheels, who began to manufacture those articles; and James Stevenson, who opened up another boot and shoe shop. About the same time John C. Benedict established and operated a hatter’s shop, and the Standlee brothers erected a blacksmith and wheelwright shop. A small store was opened by two Frenchmen, Droup and Refell, and at the mouth of the Cadron, John McElmurray and Richard Montgomery were engaged in selling goods.
The foregoing information pertaining to early settlement has been obtained and preserved by Judge E. M. Merriman, of Conway, from that well-known and highly esteemed old settler and former citizen of Faulkner County, Mr. Russell W. Benedict, a son of John C. Benedict, who was a bright youth when his father settled on the Arkansas. About a year ago this distinguished citizen, Mr. Benedict, moved to Texas to live with or near his children. Mr. Benedict says that when his father’s family arrived in 1818, there had not, up to that time, so far as his father’s observations extended, been a foot of land plowed or cultivated here outside of a few garden spots; that the few settlers had supported themselves entirely with the proceeds derived from hunting and fishing. In this way, they supplied their families with meat and obtained their groceries and other provisions by trading peltries to those who shipped provisions up the Arkansas in keelboats.
Following are the names of later settlers in different localities. The first settler in Cadron Cove was a hunter by the name of Berry. About the year 1846 William Durnall and his brother James, and Dudley and Thomas Sublett (all from Kentucky), and John Yates, settled in the same cove. Col. Arthur Hayes and Hugh Blackman, both from Tennessee, settled there in 1850, and Dr. J. J. Jones, now living near Conway, came from Alabama and settled in the same cove in 1851. The first settlers in that part of Greasey Valley, now included in Faulkner County, were the Linns, Martins, Bedfords, Douglases, Bennetts, and Thomas Bradley. The pioneers of the Morter Creek settlement were the Plants, Martins, Hamiltons, and Atkinsons. In 1851 the Atkinsons built a water-power saw and grist-mill in this settlement, on the East Fork of the Cadron, and the following year Dr. J. J. Jones built a similar mill on the Cadron, in Cadron Cove. About the year 1837, Jonathan Hardin settled in the Wyley settlement, in the township that now bears his name. Other early settlers of this locality were Hinkle, John Ingram, and Daniel Powell, the latter of whom is still living. In Muddy Bayou Township, the pioneer settlers were Granville, Tilman and Pryor Hogue, brothers, and three brothers by the name of Mayberry, all from Tennessee. Among the first settlers of East Fork Township were B. V. King, William Frazier, Elijah Jones, and the Sparkses. The pioneers of Union Township were some of the Kuykendalls, Thomas McMullen, Jesse Mellett, John Allen, Garman, and Brinkley Tyler, the latter now living in Conway at a very advanced age. A. J. Lucas settled on the prairie about one and a half miles southwest of the present town of Conway, and the Lackeys, Thomas and his brother, about the same distance west of the town site, and the Widow Hogan and her sons about a mile west thereof, as early as and probably earlier than 1852. About the same time James Jostlin settled in this locality, and in 1854 George Miller settled three miles south of the site of Conway. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the settlements of the territory now included in Faulkner County were much scattered and the population was very small.
Early Development of Faulkner County
The Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad enters the county from the south, near the mouth of the Palarm, and runs thence in a northerly direction, leaving Pine Mountain between it and the Arkansas River on the west, to Conway, from whence it runs in a westerly direction, and crosses the Cadron, the western boundary of the county, at a point about a mile in a direct line from the Arkansas River. It was completed through the county in 1872, and its length within these limits is about twenty miles. The line of the proposed Fort Smith and Des Arc Railway passes east and west through the county by way of Conway. A north and south railroad is also contemplated. The shipping facilities for the county at present are the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, the Arkansas River, and the Iron Mountain Railroad on the east and southeast.
The act creating Faulkner County provided that all law cases of parties residing therein, which had been commenced in either of the counties of Conway or Pulaski and then pending, should be prosecuted to final action in the courts where they were commenced. It also provided that the county should be attached to and made a part of the Seventh judicial circuit. It has since been transferred to the Sixth judicial circuit, composed of the counties of Lonoke, Cleburne, Van Buren, Faulkner, and Pulaski. During the short time immediately following the organization of the county, when the county court was composed of a board of commissioners, the circuit court had jurisdiction over all probate business; but upon the reorganization of the county court in 1874, this jurisdiction was transferred back to the county court. The first term of the probate court, separate from that of the county court, presided over, however, by the same judge, was held on the third Monday of January 1875. The first term of the circuit court held for Faulkner County began on the second Monday of September 1873. The chancery court of the county of Faulkner was established in 1885. The organization of the county court has been mentioned in connection with the county organization. The terms of these several courts commence as follows: County, on the first Mondays of January, April, July, and October; probate, on the third Mondays of the same months; circuit, on the fourth Mondays of January and July; chancery, fourth Mondays of March and September.
The resident attorneys composing the legal bar of Faulkner County are J. H. Harrod, Samuel Frauenthal, G. W. Bruce, G. W. Rice, E. M. Merriman, L. C. Lincoln, P. H. Prince, W. C. Bowen, J. W. Duncan, John Harrod, and J. T. Harper.
Faulkner County in the Civil War
The people of the territory now included in Faulkner County played a conspicuous part in the Civil War, even though the county was not then organized. In the summer of 1861, several companies were raised in Conway and adjoining counties for the Tenth Arkansas Confederate Regiment. Capts. J. M. Venable and Obed Patty each raised a company for this regiment, and both of them were enlisted almost entirely from the territory now composing Faulkner County. Capt. J. W. Duncan raised a company at Springfield, then the county seat of Conway County, and about half of his men were obtained from the east side of the Cadron. Capt. S. S. Ford also organized a company at Springfield, and a large number of his men went from east of the Cadron. Capt. R. S. Fears raised a company in the vicinity of Mount Vernon, largely recruited from territory now in Faulkner County. Capt. A. R. Witt raised a company at Quitman, Cleburne County, and obtained a portion of his men from neighborhoods now in this county. All of these companies joined the aforesaid regiment, which was organized at Springfield, and mustered into the service under Col. T. D. Merrick, in July 1861. The Tenth Arkansas Regiment served to the close of the war, having made long and laborious marches, and participated in many skirmishes and battles; the first great battle being that of Shiloh, fought April 6 and 7, 1862.
Near the close of the war, and after the territory fell into the Union lines, some troops were raised in it for the Federal army. It is said that some of these were deserters from the Confederate army, and some returned Union refugees. They joined the Third Arkansas Federal Regiment. No engagements between the contending armies took place during the war in what is now Faulkner County. A few men were killed by guerrillas or bushwhackers, and the county was overrun to some extent by scouting parties, but it escaped the ravages of war much better than many other localities in the State.
The war having long been over, the friends of the contending factions now meet and mingle and transact business as though it had never occurred.
At the beginning of the Civil War, in 1861, there was not a town, village, or trading point in the present territory of Faulkner County, excepting a little store at Duncan’s Gap, in what is now Cypress Township. The population was then thinly scattered, and the trading was done mostly at Springfield, the county seat of Conway County, to which the territory then mostly belonged. The first store opened after the close of the war was that of G. B. Evans, which was kept about a mile north of the present town of Conway.
The Town of Conway
Conway, the shire town of the county, was founded in 1871, by the original proprietor of the site, Col. A. P. Robinson, who on the 1st day of August of that year laid out that part of the town, including the railroad depot, and on the same angle with the railroad. He afterward replatted the town and included much additional territory outside of the original plat. The streets of the additional platted territory run east and west and north and south, while those of the first plat bear several degrees west of north.
The site of the town is nearly level, or gently rolling, being on the margin of the large prairie previously described, and altogether it is a beautiful location. In 1871 or 1872 R. T. Harrison opened the first store in the place, and the next one was opened by Max Frauenthal. With the completion of the railroad about the same time, the new town began to improve, and in 1873, when the county was organized and Conway was selected as the county seat, it took on an additional impetus. It was first built up wholly with wooden buildings, and in 1877, when the courthouse was erected, it began to build more rapidly. The following year, the greater part of the business portion thereof, being about ten buildings on the east side of the street, extending northward from near the present Frauenthal Block, was destroyed by fire. The burnt district was again covered with wooden buildings, and again destroyed by fire.
The first brick block erected was the Frauenthal building put up in 1880. Since that time the burnt district and much more ground have all been covered with fine brick blocks. The whole or nearly all of the business portion of the town is covered with substantial, modern-styled brick blocks, which give it a very favorable aspect. There are nearly forty one and two-story brick business houses, and there are a number of beautiful residences scattered over the town, constructed with a view to comfort and attractiveness, and surrounded by lovely shrubbery and well laid-out lawns, showing the refined and cultivated tastes of the inhabitants. There are, besides, plenty of humble homes, comfortable and neat, showing that the town is also the home of the mechanic and working man.
The population of Conway in 1880 was 1,028, and it is now estimated at from 1,500 to 1,700. The town contains the public buildings before mentioned, five church edifices, two public schoolhouses (one for the white and one for the colored children), one Catholic schoolhouse, opera house, over fifty mercantile firms, a flouring and grist-mill, two cotton-gins, two planing-mills, foundry, chair factory, broom and barrel factory, steam dye work, wagon factory, three hotels (the Lincoln, Farrow, and Francisco), a number of mechanics’ shops, etc.
The societies are also well represented, there being Green Grove Lodge No. 107, A. F. & A. M.; also Masonic Chapter Lodge; Center Link Lodge No. 75, I. O. O. F.; Woodland Lodge No. 11, K. of P.; Faulkner Lodge No. 1,624, K. of H.; Fred Steele Post No. 3, G. A. R.; the Young Men’s Christian Association, and perhaps others. The press is also well represented in Conway, there being now published the Conway Weekly Log Cabin, in its eleventh volume, by J. W. Underhill, and the Faulkner County Wheel, in its second volume, by G. B. Farmer. The first of these papers is a seven-column folio and is Democratic in politics; the second is an eight-column folio, and, as its name indicates, it advocates the cause of the Wheelers. Both papers are neatly printed and well edited. The Arkansaw Traveler, now published in Chicago, originally went forth from Conway.
The town was incorporated as early as October 1875, under the name and style of “The Incorporated Town of Conway.” It is still incorporated and is working upon a good financial basis, its warrants being worth 100 cents on the dollar. It is located on the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, thirty miles from the State capital. Its principal shipments are cotton, lumber, shingles, livestock, and farm products.
Towns, Village, Hamlets, and Station of Faulkner County
Cadron is a station on the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, near the western boundary of the county.
Cascade is a village sixteen miles east of Conway, containing in its vicinity two general stores, a grist-mill, drug store, and hotel.
Enders, situated in the northeast part of the county, contains a saw and grist-mill and cotton-gin, two stores, and a church.
Enola, twenty miles northeast of Conway, contains a grist-mill and cotton-gin and two stores.
Greenbrier, a village and settlement twelve miles north bearing a little east of Conway, boasts eight general stores, three grist-mills, four cotton-gins, a steam saw and shingle mill, three churches, a schoolhouse, and a population of about 350.
Holland, twelve miles northeast of Conway, contains a saw and grist-mill and cotton-gin, a general store, blacksmith and wood shop, and a church.
Moore is but a post office sixteen miles northeast of Conway.
Martinsville, in the northwest corner of the county, contains a saw-mill and grist-mill, a general store, drug store, and blacksmith shop.
Mayflower, a station on the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, nine miles south of Conway, contains a store, shingle mill, etc.
Pinnacle Springs is a noted summer and health resort and the site of the Arkansas Christian College. It contains a large and commodious hotel for the accommodation of health and pleasure seekers, a church, and the college buildings. Following is a description of the place as given in the Log Cabin, of its issue dated August 3, 1889:
“Pinnacle Springs is remarkable for healthfulness and natural beauty. It was selected as the site for the Arkansas Christian College because of its central location (being within a few miles of the geographical center of the State) and its wonderful sanitary advantages. Its altitude is such as to preclude malarial influences and prevent the debilitating effects resulting from heat in places less favorably situated. The Pinnacle Springs are in Faulkner County, twenty miles north of Conway. They are accessible from this point by a most excellent road. An analysis of the water shows a rare combination of minerals and gases, carbonate of iron and manganese being found in good proportions, with an abundance of glairine, an element very rare in springs of this class, and giving the waters unusual curative and invigorating properties. Thirteen springs of different waters are within one mile of each other, and on every hand stand monuments of nature’s handiwork. The Cadron, a gushing mountain stream, spreads its clear, crystal waters into three beautiful lakes, known as the ‘Professor’s Pool,’ ‘Spring Lake,’ and ‘Grotto Bathing Pool.’
The Pinnacles, from which these springs took their names, are situated one-half mile below the college building. They are two abrupt projections, 160 feet high, and appear to be links of a mountain that the rushing Cadron had worked its pathway between. The West Pinnacle is the most sublime of the two. Secreted back of the East Pinnacle is the ‘Hidden Beauty,’ which makes the east and west side equally attractive. Further down the creek is the ‘Owl’s Home,’ then the ‘Bear’s Cave’ — in fact, the creek winds its way through the mountain steeps and crags for seven miles and comes back to the Alum Bluffs, where the freaks of nature are so varied, so grand, so peculiar, so picturesque that a volume could be written.
This section having a fine climate, good water, and being well adapted for agricultural products, and especially for the quality and variety of fruits, Pinnacle offers many attractions to those wishing to make their homes in a college community for the purpose of giving their children the best educational advantages. Pinnacle Springs is free from saloons, theatres, and other places so alluring and pernicious.”
The first school year of the college opened September 2, 1889, and will continue nine months. Commencement exercises will take place in the first week in June, 1890. President William Moseley is at the head of the faculty, and the boarding department is under the immediate care of himself and wife.
Palarm is a station on the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, at the county’s southern boundary.
Preston, a station on the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, six miles south of Conway, contains a general store, shingle-mills, etc.
Vilona, thirteen miles east of Conway, includes in its near vicinity two churches, one schoolhouse, three general stores, grist-mill and cotton-gin, and blacksmith shop.
Wooster, eight miles north of Conway, contains a saw and grist-mill, and cotton-gin, a general store, shop, etc.
Mount Vernon, in the township of the same name, twenty-four miles northeast of Conway, has therein, and in its vicinity, two churches, a schoolhouse, five general stores, grist-mills and cotton-gins, a drug store, shops, etc., and a population of about 250.
In addition to what has been mentioned, nearly all of these villages contain a post office and one or more physicians, and nearly all have been founded since 1870.
Early Education in Faulkner County
The educational progress made in Faulkner County under the free school system, will appear by reference to the following statistics taken from the report of the State superintendent of public instruction for the year ending June 30, 1888:
Scholastic population: White, males, 2,728; females, 2,481; total, 5,209; colored, males, 556; females, 489; total, 1,045; grand total, 6,254.
Number of pupils taught in the public schools: White, males, 2,616; females, 1,432; total 4,048; colored, males, 342; females, 338; total, 680; aggregate, 4,728. School districts, 100; number reporting, seventy-one. Teachers employed, males, eighty-two; females, thirteen; total, ninety-five. Average monthly salaries: First grade, males, $45; females, $37.50. Amount expended for teachers’ salaries, $8,331.06; for building and repairing, $1,053.12; for purchasing apparatus, etc., $693.49; for treasurer’s commissions, $310.75; total, $10,388.42.
According to the foregoing figures 77 percent of the white and 65 percent of the colored scholastic population attended and were enrolled in the public schools. It is presumable, however, that a greater percent attended, for the reason that a number of the schools were not reported in this respect. The report shows that Faulkner is up with the average counties of the State in maintaining the free school system, which in this State is yet in its infancy. Many improvements can be made in the system and the schools under it. The Arkansas Christian College is mentioned in connection with Pinnacle, and the Catholic school with the Catholic Church. These are the only schools in the county aside from the public free schools.
Early Churches of Faulkner County
Soon after Conway was founded, a Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was organized therein, and a small frame edifice, in which to worship, was erected in the north part of the town. In 1885 the society erected a larger frame edifice, which stands in the northwest part of the town, and recently a small dwelling house and the lot on which it is placed, situated convenient to the church, has been purchased for a parsonage. The old church building has been sold to the colored Baptists, by whom it is used for worship. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Conway, is known as the Conway Station, and has a membership of about 135, with Rev. E. A. Tabor as the present pastor. The Conway Mission consists of seven preaching appointments in the vicinity of Conway, none of which is more than ten miles distant therefrom, and Rev. S. C. Maddox is the present pastor in charge. The Mount Vernon circuit lies in the northeast part of the county, has four church edifices, and about six appointments. According to the last conference minutes, the membership was 411. Rev. J. H. Head is the present pastor. The Cadron circuit has four church edifices and about seven appointments. Rev. C. H. Culpepper is pastor and the membership is reported at 256. The foregoing, it is believed, comprises all the organized churches of this denomination within the county. A Sunday-school is taught at Conway Station all the year round, and about half of the country churches sustain Sunday-schools.
A Baptist Church was organized at Conway in 1871 by Rev. W. T. Box. Afterward, a frame church edifice was erected, which was dedicated in March 1870. It was destroyed by the cyclone which passed over the town on April 14, 1883, and the cornerstone of the present handsome brick church was laid on May 28, 1885. It was finished for use in 1887, but not being fully paid for at this writing, it has not as yet been dedicated. Rev. J. M. Jackson is the present pastor, and the membership is about eighty-five in number. Other churches of this denomination in Faulkner County, as reported in the minutes of the proceedings of the “Greenbrier Association” at its last annual meeting, together with the names of pastors and the membership of each, are as follows: Cadron Valley, Rev. V. Turner, 27; Caney, not reported; Macedonia, Rev. P. H. Glover, 64; Mount Zion, Rev. G. N. Brown, 80; Needs Creek, Rev. W. M. Mills, 68; New Hope and New Bethel, no reports; Oak Bowery, Rev. G. G. Howard, 43; Pleasant Valley, Rev. G. W. Ford, 74; Star Gap, Rev. P. H. Glover, 35; Palestine, Rev. C. B. Parsons, 67; Spring Hill and Salem, no reports; Sulphur Springs, W. M. Mills, 30; Sharon, Rev. C. B. Parsons, 50; Vilonia, no report; Shady Grove, Rev. W. M. Mills, 12. According to the minutes of the last meeting of the “Middle Arkansas Missionary Baptist Association,” held at Springfield, Conway County, in August 1888, there are eleven organizations of this denomination in Faulkner County among the colored people.
A colony of Roman Catholics was founded in and about Conway by Father Strub, and in 1878 Father Brehm, a native of Switzerland, established the Conway Parish and remained with it one year. He was succeeded by Father Strub, of Morrilton, who visited the parish and officiated for a short time. He was followed in November 1879 by Father Steurer, who served until November 1888. Father Schmidt, the present priest, has served since the latter date. The parish grounds, consisting of about seven acres in the southern suburbs of the town, were donated to the bishop in trust for the church by Col. A. P. Robinson, the proprietor of the town site. The first edifice, a frame building, was blown down in the cyclone of 1883, and the present one, also a frame building, was erected soon afterward and was dedicated May 18, 1884, by Bishop Fitzgerald. It cost about $4,000. In the same enclosure is also a large frame residence for the priest. The parish is composed of eighty-two families at this writing, from at least three different nationalities, the German mostly predominating. In connection with the parish, but in a different enclosure and on the opposite side of the railroad, is the Catholic school conducted by the Sisters of Mercy. This school was established in 1878, and the house was erected the following year. It is taught from seven to eight months each year, and the attendance of pupils averages from sixty to sixty-five.
The Christian Church of Conway was organized in the spring of 1886 by Elder J. J. Setliff, a State Sunday-school evangelist, with some thirty constituent members. There have been about twenty accessions since, but on account of deaths and removals, the present membership is about the same in number as the original. This organization, as yet, has no church edifice, but it is kindly supplied with room in other churches when desired. At this writing, it is not favored with a regular pastor. There is a Christian Church at Pinnacle Springs, the site of the Arkansas Christian College, another at Duncan’s schoolhouse about six miles east of Conway, one near Otto, in the lower part of the county, and some others, altogether comprising within the county an estimated membership of from 400 to 500.
The German Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in Conway in the summer of 1884 by Rev. F. Herzberger, with about twelve families, and the strength of the church has not materially increased since, for the reason that most of the recent German immigrants are Catholics. The present church edifice, a frame, was erected in the fall of 1884, very soon after the church was organized. Rev. F. Frederking is the present pastor, and as the majority of the congregation do not fully understand English, the services are mostly held in the German language. It is the only organization of this denomination in Faulkner County.
The Conway Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in November 1887, by Rev. J. P. Russell, with sixteen constituent members, and the membership has since grown to about thirty. They have no regular pastor now. A lot on which to erect an edifice has been donated to the church by Col. Robinson, and a building will be erected thereon as soon as the organization is able. They worship in the Methodist and Baptist Churches and conduct their Sunday school in the public schoolhouse. There are no other churches of this denomination in the county, but members thereof, not affiliating with any organization at present, are scattered throughout the country.
In addition to those already named, there are a full supply of colored church organizations here. They are mostly Baptists and Methodists, and have two organizations of each in the town of Conway.
Early Social Organizations in Faulkner County
A Young Men’s Christian Association was organized in Conway in January 1888 by the Christian people of the town. Capt. W. W. Martin is now the president, and there is a vice-president from each of the following churches: Methodist Episcopal, South, Baptist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Christian, and Lutheran. The Association has about 100 members, and a library containing 1,500 volumes, 800 of which were purchased in 1888 and the balance in 1889. The rooms of the Association are open for reading every day from 8 A.M. to 9:30 P.M., and regular services are held every Sunday at 4 P.M. This society is doing much good, and great harmony prevails between the several churches and the people in general.
The Sunday schools of the county have joined in a county Sunday school organization, and their last annual meeting was held in Conway on August 30, 1889, with J. G. Gist as president and J. M. C. Vaughter as secretary. Afternoon and evening sessions were held, and sixteen Sunday schools were represented. Verily, the good work goes on, and Christianity progresses.
In general, the people of Faulkner County are intelligent and industrious, kind and hospitable, and anxious to assist in promoting the growth, development, and material wealth of the country; yet there are among them a very few would-be representative men, fossils of the indolent aristocracy of former days, who are stumbling blocks in the way of the wheels of progress. These men cannot adapt themselves to the new condition of affairs, but spend their time vainly regretting that the old order of things has passed away and placed them on a level with “common people” in gaining a livelihood. This class of men are always suspicious of strangers and new enterprises; but it is an invariable rule that those who entertain misgivings toward others themselves need close watching, the reason being that they form judgment by a personal standard. Fortunately for Faulkner County, these remnants of a bygone age are few in number, and will soon pass away, without much regret being manifested at their departure.