EDUCATION AND LITERATURE.

There are a few post hamlets, containing a post-office and store, etc., in the county not herein named. There is a telephone line extending from Rogers via Bentonville and Springtown to Siloam Springs.

For many years after the formation of the State of Arkansas her educational facilities were of the most meager kind, and although many improvements have been made in the past, it may truthfully be said that in this respect she is still far behind many of her sister States, though perhaps fully on a par with those having had the same opportunities. But few of the children of the early settlers of Benton County enjoyed the benefit of schools, even of the poorest class, while the great majority of them were, on account of the very few schools and the great distance to them, almost entirely deprived of educational facilities. The only schools taught in those days were subscription schools, and those were taught only in neighborhoods sufficiently settled to maintain them. With but few exceptions the early teachers were very illiterate, being able only to read, write and "cipher." And frequently they would contract to teach "'rithmetic" only to the "rule of three." Subsequently, when villages became established, or neighborhoods became thickly settled, a few select schools or academies were established therein by men well qualified to teach, but, on account of the tuition necessarily charged, none but the more wealthy classes could avail themselves of these privileges, so upon the whole the children of the poor had to be reared with but little education farther than what could be imparted to them by their parents.

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[p.122] The pioneer schools were always taught in the old-fashioned log cabin school-house, with its puncheon floor and stone fireplace, with stick and mud chimney, and with seats made of split logs, the flat side being hewed smooth with an ax or broad-ax. The early school-teachers who taught in the War Eagle neighborhood were James Martin, Moses Dutton, Alfred Laws, Holland Hines and Thomas Macon. The latter is said to have been well educated, while the education of the others was not up to the standard required of teachers at the present. In 1840 a school was taught in a log school-house in the neighborhood of the settlement of Walter Thornberry, in the southern part of the county, by a young man who also professed to be a Christian minister. W. W. Burgess, now of Springtown, was one of his pupils, and he relates the following rather ridiculous incident. He did not like his teacher, and did not believe that he was what he professed to be, a Christian man, and while he (Burgess) behaved at school, and respected the young man as a teacher, he did not feel constrained to respect him as a preacher. So, on one Sunday when the young man was to preach in the school-house, young Burgess saddled an ox and rode it to church, at the same time wearing upon his head a raw coon-skin for a cap. After service he again mounted the ox and escorted a young lady to her home–she having attended the service on horseback–and took dinner with her. Mr. Burgess delights to relate this incident, but declines to give the lady's name for publication.

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About the year 1842 a Mr. Holsten, or Holstein, taught the first school in the vicinity of the present town of Siloam Springs. He taught in "a little cabin," and some white children from the Indian Territory attended his school. Among these may be mentioned Mrs. Cal. D. Gunter, of Hico. In 1844 or 1845 a school and church combined was built in Maysville, that being then the largest town in the county. This house is not standing now. The Shelton Academy, at Pea Ridge, was erected about the year 1851, and Prof. Lockhart taught the first school therein. He was succeeded by other teachers, and the academy was kept up until about the year 1858, when it was abandoned, and the building turned into a store-room. In 1853 and 1854 J. Wade Sikes, now one of the proprietors of Rogers, taught school near Bentonville. [p.123] His patrons boarded him and paid him $15 per month for his services. After this he taught the Shelton Academy at Pea Ridge for two years, where he had about forty pupils in attendance. Upon the approach of the Civil War the few schools that were being taught in Benton County were closed, and none were opened again until some time after the war.

The Free School System.–In the constitution of 1836, under which the State of Arkansas was admitted into the Union, under Article VII, is found the following general provision pertaining to education, viz.:

"Knowledge and learning, generally diffused through a community, being essential to the preservation of a free government, and diffusing the opportunities and advantages of education through the various parts of the State being highly conducive to this end, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide by law for the improvement of such lands as are or hereafter may be granted by the United States to this State for the use of schools, and to apply any funds which may be raised from such lands, or from any other source, to the establishment of the object for which they are or may be intended. The General Assembly shall from time to time pass such laws as shall be calculated to encourage intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement, by allowing rewards and immunities for the promotion and improvement of arts, science, commerce, manufactures and natural history, countenance and encourage the principles of humanity; ndustry and morality."

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This reads well, but it makes no provision for a system of free schools wherein the children of the poor can be educated along with those of the rich. It was the ruling opinion in Arkansas, as it was in all slave States, that every man should educate his own children, and that no man should be taxed to educate another's children; consequently the framers of the first constitution of the State did not provide for the inauguration of a system of free schools, and following it the General Assembly did not "from time to time pass such laws as should be calculated to encourage intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement," etc. But with the abolition of slavery the way was opened for the subsequent [p.124] inauguration of a method or system whereby "knowledge and learning, * * * being essential to the preservation of a free government," might be generally diffused throughout the State.

The constitution of Arkansas, made in 1864, during the continuance of the late war, contains under Article VIII an exact copy of the aforesaid provision pertaining to education found in the constitution of 1836. It also contains a few other general provisions which may be considered to be in the general line of education, but says not a word about "free schools." Passing on to the constitution of Arkansas made and adopted in 1868, under Article IX is found nine sections pertaining to education, the first and seventh of which reads as follows, to-wit:

SECTION 1. A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence among all classes being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the general assembly shall establish and maintain a system of free schools for the gratuitous instruction of all persons in this State between the ages of five and twenty-one years, and the funds appropriated for the support of common schools shall be distributed to the several counties, in proportion to the number of children and youths therein between the ages of five and twenty-one years, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, but no religious or other sect or sects shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this State. * * *

SECTION 7. In case the public school fund shall be insufficient to sustain a free school at least three months in every year in each school district in this State, the general assembly shall provide by law for raising such deficiency by levying such tax upon all taxable property in each county, township or school district, as may be deemed proper.

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The other seven sections of the ninth article of this constitution defined what should constitute the common-school fund, and how the income therefrom should be distributed, and how taxes should be levied and collected for the building of school-houses, etc., etc. Here, then, is found, under the constitution of 1868, the first provisions for the inauguration of the free school system of the State of Arkansas. In accordance therewith laws were subsequently passed creating the system. Much prejudice existed throughout the State against this constitution and the party in power that adopted it. Education for the masses, however, having obtained a foothold, will itself in the course of time remove all prejudice from it, at least all that can be of injury to [p.125] it. In evidence of the removal of this prejudice the XIVth article of the present constitution of the State of Arkansas, made and adopted in 1874 by the political party that was then and has ever since been in power, is here inserted in full:

SECTION 1. Intelligence and virtue being the safeguards of liberty and the bulwark of a free and good government, the State shall ever maintain a general, suitable and efficient system of free schools whereby all persons in the State between the ages of six and twenty-one years may receive gratuitous instruction.*

SECTION. 2. No money or property belonging to the public school fund, or this State for the benefit of schools or universities, shall ever be used for any other than for the respective purposes to which it belongs.

SECTION 3. The general assembly shall provide by general laws for the support of common schools by taxes, which shall never exceed, in any one year, two mills on the dollar, on the taxable property of the State, and by an annual per capita tax of one dollar, to be assessed on every male inhabitant of this State, over the age of twenty-one years. Provided, the general assembly may, by gen eral law, authorize school districts to levy, by a vote of the qualified electors of such district, a tax not to exceed five mills on the dollar in any one year for school purposes. Provided, further, that no such tax shall be appropriated to any other purpose, nor to any other district than that for which it was levied.

SECTION 4. The supervision of public schools, and the execution of the laws regulating the same, shall be vested in and confided to such officers as may be provided for by the general assembly.

Two mills on the dollar, the authorized State levy, equals 20 cents on the hundred dollars, and five mills on the dollar, the authorized school district levy, equals 50 cents on each $100; consequently the maximum authorized levy for school purposes is 70 cents on each $100 of taxable property. It must be conceded that this is a liberal provision for the support of the schools, and under the wise and liberal provisions of the constitution, laws have been passed fully providing for the operation and enforcement of a system of free schools for the masses, both white and black.

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In the county of Benton the territory has been subdivided into 126 common and four special school districts, making 130 in all. Under the law, schools have to be maintained, where maintained at all, not less than three months in the year, and as much longer as the funds arising from the amount of tax levied will sustain them. In some districts in Benton County the people levy only a two-mill tax, in others more, and in some the full [p.126] amount allowed, five mills; consequently the school terms vary in length, many of them being more than three months, especially in the towns and villages.

The following, from the last biennial report of the State superintendent of public instruction, is a "statement of the public school funds of Benton County for the year ending June 30, 1886."

AMOUNT RECEIVED.

From common school fund (State) $10,029 18

From district tax 7,338 51

From poll tax 4,023 84

From sale or lease of sixteenth sections 4,122 00

From other sources 105 97

Total $25,619 50

AMOUNT EXPENDED.

For teachers' salaries $10,967 80

For building and repairing 2,463 02

For treasurer's commission 311 80

For other purposes 407 40

Total $14,150 02

BALANCE IN COUNTY TREASURY UNEXPENDED.

In litigation $ 7,589 18

Of district fund 3,880 30

Total $11,469 48

According to the late circular report of the State superintendent of public instruction, showing the amount of school funds in the State treasury ready for distribution on the 13th of August of the present year (1888), there were for the whole State the amount of $287,714.10, and of this amount Benton County gets as her distributive share the sum of $8,380.51. Now to this amount must be added the aggregate amount derived from the local levies made in each separate school district within the county.

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The Sixteenth Sections.–When the State of Arkansas was organized Congress donated to it the sixteenth section of land in each Congressional township for the support of common schools, providing that these lands should be sold or leased, and that the annual income from the leased lands or from the amount of [p.127] principal for which such lands were sold should accrue to and belong to the inhabitants of the township in which the lands were located. Afterward the State enacted laws to carry out the provisions of the donation. The county court was authorized to lease these lands, when in its judgment it was best to do so, and to collect the annual income. Provision was also made for the sale of the school lands. Under these provisions the most of these lands in Benton County were sold, and the money received for them was loaned in small sums to individual borrowers. But from the public records of Benton County it cannot be ascertained how much money was received from the sale of these lands, nor what has become of the amount of money that was received. It is known that much of the school funds belonging to and controlled by the several counties of the State was lost during and on account of the Civil War. A subsequent law required the balance not lost in each county to be paid over to a State board of schoolfund commissioners, by whom it is now controlled. The county of Benton has no school funds under its control at interest. It, however, gets its share of the annual income derived from the permanent school funds managed by the State officers. There is only one colored school in Benton County, and that is located at Bentonville, the colored population being insufficient in number to compose a school at any other place in the county.

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Pea Ridge Academy.–This institution of learning was established in 1874 by Prof. J. R. Roberts. Its first session was opened in Buttram's Chapel, two and one-half miles east of the present academy buildings, and there the school was continued five years. Then, after a cessation of one year, the school was reopened at its present location, where the first academy building was erected in 1880. This building was 24×40 feet in size and two stories in height, with a school room and cloak room in each story. The school was chartered as an academy with a full course of instruction in 1884. In 1887 and 1888 an additional building, 50×60 feet in size and two stories in height, was added to the former, making the whole building as it now stands contain seven school rooms and a sufficient number of cloak rooms, the whole having a capacity for the comfortable seating [p.128] of 250 students. The building is constructed of brick, and in its construction convenience, safety and ventilation were studied, rather than showy architecture. The academy is located on Pea Ridge, an elevated plateau of country nine miles northeast from Bentonville, in Benton County, Ark., and five miles northwest from Avoca, a station on the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad. From the latter place it has a daily mail, and a tri-weekly one from Neosho, Mo. The healthfulness of the location is unexcelled, while the morals of the community are proverbial. There are in close proximity two dry goods stores and one drug store; five churches within two miles of the school, and two Sunday-schools within 100 yards of it. Eleven graduates have gone out into the world to testify of the character of the school since it was chartered as an academy. A good library of valuable books is connected with it.

Board of Trustees: J. R. Roberts, president; J. A. Steward, secretary; S. B. Smith, Dr. H. H. Patterson, John Hall and P. W. Roberts, of Pea Ridge, Ark.; also George T. Lincoln and R. J. Laughlin, of Bentonville, Ark.; J. D. James, of Alma, Ark., and W. B. Dean, of Wills Point, Tex.

Faculty: J. R. Roberts, A. M., principal; J. A. Steward, principal intermediate department; Miss Nannie Roberts, principal primary department; J. W. Osborn and P. S. Jones, assistants; Miss Lillie Dale, instruction in instrumental music; T. A. Coffelt, M. D., lectures on anatomy, etc.

Benton County may well be proud of this institution, with its successful operation, and eminent satisfaction given.

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Bentonville Public and High School.–The public school building of Bentonville is located in a beautiful grove of natural forest trees, about one-half mile southwest of the court-house. It is a large two-story brick building, containing seven schoolrooms, besides the necessary halls and cloak-rooms. It was constructed in 1872, but was afterward burned down, and was rebuilt in 1881. The first session of the present school year commenced September 3, and at this writing, September 10, 1888, 326 pupils have been enrolled in attendance, and more are yet expected to come in. The faculty consists of Prof. William Stephens, principal; Prof. J. D. Partelow, Miss Laura Schwab, [p.129] Miss Lou Taliaferro, Miss Flora Cotton, Miss Georgia Nesbit and Miss Ida Trotter. The number of pupils already enrolled is exceedingly large for such a small corps of teachers.

The Rogers Academy.–This is a handsome structure, three stories high, built of brick, and would be a credit to any country. It was erected in 1884-85 by the American Home Missionary Society and the people of Rogers, and has generally been and is now under the control of the Congregational Church and the citizens of Rogers, the former having five trustees and the latter four on the school board. The public free school is taught in connection with the academy. The first session of the present school year began September 5. Following is the faculty: Principal, J. W. Scroggs, academic department; grammar school department, Miss Mary G. Webb; intermediate department, Mr. J. R. Williams; primary department, Miss Ella W. Scroggs; music and drawing, Mrs. F. W. Hormon.

The Arkansas Traveler.–Who has not read and been greatly amused with the account of the "Arkansas Travelers?" Perhaps but few people are aware that some one in Benton County was connected with the authorship and preparation of that funny and interesting article. The reputed author of the "Arkansas Traveler" was Col. Sandy Faulkner, of Little Rock, and the individual who drew the illustrations which accompanied and formed a part of the article was Edward Washburn, a son of Rev. Ceaphas Washburn, a Presbyterian minister, who lived in Benton County, about six miles southwest of Bentonville, on the farm now occupied by L. B. Mallory. It is related by good authority that the author of that article in his travels actually met with and saw such a scene as he therein describes, the old backwoodsman with his fiddle, the rude log cabin, the wife and untutored children, etc. That article has been read throughout America, and perhaps in foreign countries, and many people believe that it has been a great injury to the State of Arkansas by creating the impression abroad that the family therein described was a fair sample of the people generally, which of course was not the case.

The real pioneer settlers of a new country, those who select a wild and lonely spot away out on the frontier, and erect a rude habitation thereon, where they intend to make their future home, and where they do in fact remain and endure the privations incident to the settlement of a new country, and subdue the forest and prepare the soil for cultivation, and thus open up and make way for others to follow, are, as a rule, God-fearing and Christian men. The first real and permanent settlers of Benton County were no exception to this rule. Coeval with the first settlements the voice of the Christian minister was heard, pointing out to the pioneers the way to eternal life. And, as was the case in nearly all the settlements west of the Mississippi near this latitude, the Methodist Episcopal, Cumberland Presbyterians and Baptists were the pioneer churches in this county. The early ministers of these and other denominations preached in the cabin dwellings of the early settlers before any church edifices were erected, and members of all denominations then met together to worship. The settlers being so scattered there were not enough at any one place of the same denomination to form an organization until several years after the settlement of the county began. The services were generally conducted by ministers who traveled great distances to perform their labors, and who generally worked in the capacity of missionaries, receiving for their support the small contributions that the people were able to give them.

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Methodist Episcopal Church.–In a very early day, probably early in the thirties, Rev. James Mayfield organized a church of this denomination in the vicinity of War Eagle Mills. Prior to 1839 Rev. Walter Thornberry organized a Methodist church at his residence in the southern part of the county, in the vicinity of Wager's Mills. Rev. Swaggerty was a pioneer minister of this denomination in Benton County, laboring during the thirties, and perhaps later. Martin and Walter, sons of Walter Thornberry, Sr., both became Methodist preachers. Other Methodist churches were established in the county in an early day, and when the separation took place, in 1844-45, nearly all the members thereof united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, [p.131] South, thus leaving the original church without an organization in the county, and so it remained until 1882, when Rev. O. R. Brant, formerly of Eureka Springs, organized a society under a brush arbor at Rogers, with seven members, three or four of whom belonged to his own family. About the same time an organization of the church was effected at Siloam Springs. Since that time all the societies of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the county have been organized, and all belong to the Rogers District of the Arkansas Conference, with Elder Mattox presiding. The county is divided into stations and circuits as follows: Rogers' station includes one monthly appointment at Springdale in Washington County; Rev. H. H. Scroggs, who lives at Rogers, is the station preacher. The Bentonville station includes one monthly appointment at Cave Springs, and Rev. William Buck, residing at Bentonville, is the station minister. The Siloam Springs station includes only the city of Siloam Springs, and the present station minister is Rev. J. M. Jackson. The Mason Valley circuit consists of appointments at the following places: Springtown, Harmony, Moter's Chapel and Dripping Springs; Rev. John Welch is the preacher on this circuit. War Eagle Mills circuit consists of War Eagle Mills, Hickory Creek and Silver Springs; Rev. La Fayette Mason is the minister on this circuit. The Wheeler circuit, in Washington County, has one or two appointments in Benton County.

After organizing the church at Rogers, Rev. Brant remained and preached three years, and was succeeded by Rev. Mattox, who also preached three years. The church edifice at this place was erected in 1884, and the one at Bentonville in 1887-88. The church at Bentonville was organized in June, 1887. The aggregate membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Benton County is about 370.

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Cumberland Presbyterian Church.–The first organization of this denomination in Benton County was formed about the year 1830, near the present site of Bentonville, being some distance east thereof. The second one was organized at Pea Ridge, and about the same time or a little later one was organized at Maysville. Revs. Andrew and John Buchanan, ministers of this denomination, were pioneer preachers in Benton County during [p.132] the thirties, and are claimed to have been the first religious workers in the territory of the county. They were great workers in the cause of Christianity. Up to the time of the outbreak of the Civil War Rev. John Buchanan had preached in every county of Arkansas then organized. Following are the names of the several churches of this denomination now existing in Benton County, together with the names of the pastors thereof: Bentonville, Rev. F. T. Charlton; Woods, two miles east of Bentonville, Pea Ridge and Rogers, Rev. Peter Carnahan; Maysville, Rev. Johns; Siloam, Rev. J. D. Rush. The aggregate membership of these churches is about 500 or upward. Outside of these organizations there is a number of members of this denomination within the county.

History of Benton County

[p.130] CHRISTIANITY.

Baptist Church.–The first Baptist society organized in Benton County was the one known now as "Twelve Corners." It was organized in 1842, in the log cabin residence of William Reddick, at the place where the famous Elkhorn tavern now stands. It was organized by Elders J. F. Mitchell and Charles B. Whiteley, the latter of whom resided in what is now Carroll County. Several years before that time Elder Whiteley had organized a church on War Eagle Creek, a short distance south of the Benton County line. He, like many other men, had certain peculiarities, one of which was a desire to preach his own funeral sermon. About a year before he died he announced to the public that if he lived to reach the age of fifty years he would then preach his own funeral sermon; and if he did not reach that age he had a man selected to preach the sermon at his death. He lived to the desired age and preached his own funeral sermon in Prairie Township, in Carroll County, near where he lived. After the sermon he gave a public dinner at his house, to which he invited all his friends. Many partook of his hospitality, and joined in the exercises of this pleasant and joyful occasion.

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As time passed and settlements increased more Baptist churches were organized throughout the county. The Mount Zion Baptist Association was organized in Carroll County in 1840, and when churches of this denomination were organized in Benton County they joined the association. In 1886 the churches of Benton County, formerly belonging to this association, [p.133] formed the Benton County Baptist Association. The first session of this association was held at Corner Springs Baptist Church, in the western part of the county; the second session at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, near Rogers, and the third and last one was held in the Baptist Church at Siloam Springs, in September of the present year (1888). This church has become very strong, and in numbers is the strongest one in the county. According to the published minutes of the second session of the Benton County Baptist Association (those of the third session not being published yet), there were the following named churches of that denomination in Benton County, with pastors' names annexed, and a total membership of 1,971, to wit: Bentonville, I. R. Hall and J. B. Stark; Bloomington, W. F. Green; Butler Creek, G. W. Setser; Bethesda, I. R. Hall; Corner Springs, Joseph Setser; Elm Springs, J. C. Robertson; Flint Creek, Joseph Setser; Honey Creek, E. J. Hogan; Illinois, E. S. Gibbs; Mount Pleasant, G. W. Setser; Mount Enterprise, same; Mason Valley, L. Hine; Maysville, – Nelson; New Prospect, G. P. Rodgers; Pleasant Grove, I. R. Hall; Pleasant Site, A. J. Maxwell; Pleasant Hill, J. Dunagin; Pea Ridge, A. J. Maxwell; Rogers, J. Dunagin; Siloam, A. J. Estes; Southern Grove, S. S. Graham; Spring Creek, J. C. Robertson; Springtown, same; Spavinaw, —––; Sulphur Springs, J. W. West; Temperance Hill, I. R. Hall; Twelve Corners, W. R. Mahuren; Wager's Mill, J. C. Robertson; Walnut Hill, —––; Cherokee City, L. Hine; Lone Valley, S. B. Ford; thirty-one in all.

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Methodist Episcopal Church, South.–This church, after its organization in 1844-45, continued to grow in strength, and now it has twenty-four separate organizations, and a membership of 1,600 in the county of Benton. The several organizations form an integral part of the Fayetteville District of the Arkansas Conference, of which Rev. James A. Peebles is the present presiding elder. The church of this denomination at Bentonville has been made a "station," and Rev. T. J. Reynolds is the present station minister. Another "station" is composed of the churches at Rogers, in Benton County, and Springdale, in Washington County, and Rev. B. C. Matthews, of Springdale, the station minister, preaches alternately at these places. The Bentonville Circuit [p.134] lies northeast of the city of Bentonville, comprising the Pea Ridge country. It consists of Tuck's, Buttram's, Hileman's and Post Oak chapels; Rev. W. M. Baldwin is the rider on this circuit. The Clifta Mission lies east of the Bentonville Circuit and east of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad; Rev. R. P. Hardcastle is the minister of this mission. The Center Point Circuit lies south of Bentonville, and consists of the churches known as Center Point, Oakley's Chapel and Hebron; Alex. Matthis is the circuit preacher. The Siloam Circuit lies in the southwestern part of Benton County, and is composed of the church at Siloam Springs, and at Cincinnati, in Washington County, and other country churches; Rev. J. H. Meyers is the circuit minister. The Bloomfield Circuit lies in the west central portion of the county, and consists of the churches at Bloomfield and Maysville and some country churches. Between this and the Bentonville Circuit is a large tract of country not included in any circuit, but in which the church does missionary work. The value of the church property belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Benton County, is reported at $10,500. There are twenty-one local preachers of this denomination in the county. The number of Sunday-schools is sixteen, with 960 scholars belonging to them. The church has occasionally held camp-meetings at Buttram's Chapel, and is making arrangements to hold annual camp-meetings there hereafter. The membership of this church is fairly increasing, and the several organizations are doing good work.

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Christian Church.–Elder Larkin Scott, now of Bentonville, settled near the Osage Springs in 1856, and upon inquiry found only one organization of the Christian Church in Benton County; and that one was located on Spavinaw Creek, about sixteen miles west of Bentonville. The preacher in charge was Elder Goodnight. The following year, upon solicitation, this elder organized a society of the Christian denomination at the house of Mr. Scott, where they continued to worship until the outbreak of the Civil War. Up to this time no other organizations of this church existed in Benton County, and the first one organized after the war closed was the one at Bentonville, which was organized in the fall of 1865, principally through the instrumentality of Larkin [p.135] Scott, who was elected as elder thereof, and preached his first discourse in February following. Since that time a large number of organizations of the Christian Church has been formed in the county, of which the following is a list of their names or localities, together with the names of the elders preaching at each, so far as they are supplied: Bentonville, E. T. Russell; Maysville, S. R. Beaman; Rogers, Lowell and Wire Springs, Larkin Scott; Pea Ridge, Prof. J. R. Roberts; Oak Grove and Antioch, W. S. Herman; Nebo, J. C. Lawson; Gordon Hollow, Bloomfield and Cherokee City, no regular preacher; Robinson, John Leonard; Siloam Springs, –– Marshall; Mason Valley, Dr. G. W. Robinson; Brightwater, John Nantz; Roller's Ridge, no regular preacher; church north of Pea Ridge Academy, M. L. Banks; head of Sugar Creek, Elder Inman. This makes nineteen church organizations of this denomination within the county, all of which have been organized since the Civil War closed. Estimating the average membership of all of these organizations at forty-five, the aggregate would be 855 members, which is believed to be a fair estimate.

In May, 1887, Elder Larkin Scott, at the age of seventy, baptized and took into church fellowship "Uncle Dick" Bennett, whose age, according to best information, was one hundred and nine years. Mr. Bennett had never made a profession of religion, and at the age of one hundred and nine years he concluded that it was time to prepare for death. He voted the Democratic ticket at the last election (September, 1888), and still lives at this writing.

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Presbyterian Church.–Of this denomination there never has been but one organization in Benton County. It was organized about 1844-45 at the head waters of the Osage, six miles southwest of Bentonville, by Rev. Cephas Washburn, who resided there, and was missionary, by appointment, for the Cherokee Indians. He preached there about six years, until the church was discontinued at that place. It was reorganized at Bentonville about 1852 by Rev. Joshua F. Green, of Little Rock, and Rev. W. K. Marshall, of Van Buren, Ark., and Rev. A. W. Morrison, of Bentonville. The latter served as pastor of the church until he was killed, during the war, while returning from mill. [p.136] On February 5, 1870, the church was again reorganized, this time by Rev. C. M. Richards, an evangelist under the Arkansas Presbytery, assisted by Rev. W. A. Sample. Rev. Richards remained and preached until his death, which occurred August 27, 1872. The congregation was without a pastor until July 1, 1873, when Rev. D. C. Boggs took charge as stated supply, and still stands in that relation to it. The present membership of the church numbers fifty-eight, and they are scattered throughout the county. The Sabbath-school has a fair average attendance, and is kept up throughout the year. A. W. Dinsmore is the superintendent. The fine brick edifice of this denomination was erected in 1877.

The Congregationalists have a church at Rogers, and also at Siloam Springs, and the Society of Friends have a church at the latter place. There may be a few organizations of other denominations, not herein mentioned, in the county.

The churches of all denominations in the towns and villages sustain Sunday-schools throughout the year, while most of them in the country have their Sunday-schools during the summer months.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, next to Benton County on the north, is in the northwest corner of Arkansas, lying against the Indian Territory on the west, and bounded on the east and south by Madison and Crawford Counties, respectively. It embraces twenty-seven townships and an area of 569,600 acres, divided almost equally into valleys, plateaux and inclined surfaces or terraces. An idea of the general surface may be gained by considering the county to have once been a rolling plateau with for its southern, eastern and western margins the Boston Mountains and their several branches; then allowing Fayetteville's region to be the highest point, with gentle slopes of the county to the northwest and northeast, you have the White River on the east and the Illinois River on the west, both with a bewildering network of tributaries washing out among the plateaus, the terraces and valleys, giving a somewhat "islanded" appearance. What is known as East Heights at Fayetteville has an altitude of 1,731 feet above sea level, while some valleys are probably not more than 1,000 feet above the sea. The Illinois River, with its main branches, Clear Creek, the Evansville, Ballard and Barren Forks, drain probably the largest part of the county, while the White River, and its Main, Middle and Southwest Forks cover the remainder excepting that part below the Boston Mountain ridge, which is drained chiefly by the tributaries of Frog Bayou and Lee's Creek. The drainage is even, and the streams are fed almost entirely from splendid springs which burst from the mountain ledges, in some cases affording excellent water power at their source.

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[p.138] In geology few regions show the diversity observed in Washington County. Almost every geological period is represented, from the protruding ancient sandstones to the quarternary formation, which is most prevalent. According to David Dale Owen's report the base rock of the county is the cherty barren limestone, although some of the deepest cuts on White River in the northeast exhibit black shale below that. The following lists show the superposition of rocks in various parts of the county, according to Prof. Owen's approximation. In Townships 17 and 18, Range 29 west: (1) White, yellow and brown sandstone, some of cellular structure, 200 feet; (2) ferruginous and dark shales, 40 feet; (3) chert, 40 feet; (4) cherty limestone, 35 feet; (5) black cherty shale, 40 feet. In the ridge southeast of Fayetteville: (1) Sandstones of the mill grit series with peculiar fossils, 100 feet; (2) calcareous bands; (3) sandstone of the millstone grit series, cellular and carbonaceous, 125 feet; (4) shales, including eight inches of coal and fire clay, 40 feet; (5) sandstone, 6 feet; (6) pentrimital limestone, 4 feet; (7) shales, including an inch or two of coal, in the cut below Cato's Spring; (8) Archimedes limestone, 30 feet; (9) shales, calcareous bands with pyrites, gypiferous shale, black shale with carbonate of iron, 40 feet. In Township 15, Range 29 west, on Wood's branch, Middle Fork of White River: (1) Brown sandstone with amygdaloidal cavities; (2) (space concealed with shales); (3) Archimedes cavernous limestone; (4) grey and black shales, with perhaps some interstratified sandstone, and including, near its base, a band of dark fossiliferous, pyritiferous limestone, and segregations of carbonate of iron. Another section on the Middle Fork of White River: (1) Sandstone, probably underlaid with shale, 50 to 100 feet; (2) Archimedes, cavernous and concretionary limestone, 40 to 60 feet; (3) grey shale, pyritiferous limestone shale. In the ridge at the point where the road crosses East Fork of the Illinois River: (1) Soft brown sandstone, a few feet of limestone followed by sandstone, 80 feet; (2) ferruginous, sandy shales, 30 feet; (3) Archimedes limestone, 70 feet. The succession at Cane Hill: (1) Fine grained sandstone, 15 to 20 feet; (2) limestone, a few feet; (3) coarse yellow sandstone, 40 feet; (4) greenish grindstone grit, 45 to 70 feet; (5) Archimedes [p.139] limestone, 60 feet; (6) marly shales in the bed of the branch. Superposition from Cane College Hill to Barren Fork of the Illinois River: (1) Shistose sandstone of College Hill, Archimedes limestone over Boonesboro Spring, 45 feet; (2) dark shales, 10 to 15 feet; (3) freestone or building stone; (4) shale; (5) chert; (6) fossiliferous limestone; (7) sandstone; (8) chert and cherty limestone of the Barren Fork of Illinois River; (9) black shale. In Vineyard Township the succession is: (1) Fine grained silicious rock, approaching the texture of white stone in its character; (2) limestone; (3) shale; (4) yellow, coarse sandstone; (5) finer grained shistose sandstone of the character of grindstone grit; (6) Archimedes and other limestones; (7) dark shale rocks; (8) brown freestone; (9) shale; (10) fossiliferous chert; (11) fossiliferous limestone with marly and shaly partings; (12) chert; (13) cherty limestone; (14) black shale.

Although near Fayetteville the strata in places dip to a considerable degree, so that elevations occasionally may be due to that cause, the greater number of them are probably due to their composition of less easily eroded rock. The limestones have, through the action of water, become cavernous in many places, and this is no doubt the prevailing source of springs. The great variety of rock formation, from which the soils are formed by erosion and decomposition, gives rise to a marvelous variety of soils, which are so continually renewed that they seem inexhaustible.

The great variety of mineral resources are probably due to the results of the igneous disturbances farther south, which gives to the strata of Washington County its occasional dips. Prof. F. L. Harvey has given a remarkable list of minerals and rocks found in the State, and this county includes a large proportion of them.

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It is estimated that 60 per cent of the whole area of the county is timber land, the leading varieties of wood being white oak, hickory, red oak, post oak, walnut, ash, elder, elm, dog-wood and locust. The timber is so important a feature and of so excellent a quality that the St. Paul branch of the "Frisco Railway" was built especially for making the timber accessible to supply several railways. At Fayetteville natural gas has been [p.140] found in three different places, at the depths of 225, 140 and ninety feet. Its coal has not been developed, although there are evidences of a fair supply. The agricultural products are corn, wheat, grasses and clovers, oats, Irish and sweet potatoes, sorghum and tobacco, particularly; the sorghum cane is peculiarly suited to Washington County surroundings, and is rapidly acquiring importance. But little cotton is grown. The horticultural phase of the county is especially striking; its apples are first premium fruits wherever exhibited; peaches, grapes, pears, plums, cherries, berries and other small fruits follow, in excellence and abundance not far behind the apples. These, heretofore raised for home consumption, have, since the advent of the Frisco Railway, been raised almost exclusively for commercial purposes, and become famous throughout the country. Irish potatoes, onions, cabbage and turnips have increased manyfold in quality and abundance, and are shipped to Little Rock Fort Smith, Springfield and other places.

The stock embraces hogs, chiefly Berkshire; large horses for city purposes are bred; mules for the Southern market; cattle, sheep and poultry are also raised, and in all branches new breeds are constantly being introduced. "The egg shipment is nearly double in value that of the wheat crop," says Dr. J. F. Simonds, an authority on Washington County produce. The value of live stock in the county (assessed) is $747,784; number of horses, 8,007; mules, 3,703; cattle, 21,242; hogs, 31,655; sheep, 13,021; number of acres of public land in the county, 150,477, 80,000 of this being United States land, and the rest State land; number of acres taxed, 419,123; assessed value of all lands taxed, $2,436,316.80; assessed value of personal property, $1,662,309.42; total assessed value of real and personal property, $4,098,626.22; total revenue collected in the county for 1887, $78,029.16.

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The Indian occupation of Northwestern Arkansas presents few points of interest. This territory was first claimed by the Osages, and was frequently visited by them in their hunting tours, but it is not probable that they had any established villages in this region. As early as 1806 some of the Cherokees settled [p.141] above Point Remove, on the Arkansas River, and by a treaty made July 17, 1817, acquired title to all the country west of a line from the mouth of Point Remove, on the Arkansas, to a point on White River, three miles above Batesville, thence up White River to where Dubuque now is; thence west of south to the mouth of Frog Bayou. To this country a large number of Cherokees were transferred from the country east of the Mississippi. Bands of Shawnees and Delawares also established themselves in this region, and had quite a large village near the present town of Yellville, in Marion County. Hunting parties frequently came into what is now Washington County, where they found an abundance of game. It is said that they usually encamped on the elevation south of Fayetteville, which was then destitute of trees. This isolated hill commands a view of the surrounding country for several miles, and they were there protected from any unexpected attack from their old enemies, the Osages.

By the treaty of 1828 the Cherokees exchanged the territory occupied by them, between White River and the Arkansas, for that west of the present State line, to which they were removed. This country embraced the greater part of Lovely County, which was by force of treaty abolished, and the citizens of the country removed east of the western boundary line of the State. They were indemnified from such loss, by reason of such removal, by a grant of 320 acres of land to the head of each family, to be located within the limits of the State.

The first regular explorer of this portion of the State was Frank Pierce, who, about 1819, came up White River trapping and hunting. On reaching the mouth of West Fork, he ascended that stream to within two miles of Fayetteville, where he discovered a herd of buffalo. In attempting to kill one of them to get some meat for his supper, he saw a band of Indians. He lowered his gun without firing, dropped under the bank and retired for the night under the friendly shelter of a large elm. The next day he struck the waters of the Illinois, and followed that beautiful stream to its mouth, then down the Arkansas to where Lewisburgh now is, thence across to Batesville. About the year 1828 he came back and settled near the place where nine years before he had spent the night in hiding from the Indians.

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[p.142] The following facts concerning the settlement of Washington County are from the pen of the late Rev. John Buchanan:

"In the year 1826, before the treaty was made giving white people the right of settling in what is now Washington County, six families, to wit, John Alexander, two McGarrahs, two Simpsons and one Shannon, moved there. Their settlement being a trespass, a command of soldiers was sent from Fort Gibson to move them off. This was done in August, 1826. The settlers each had a small field of corn, which the soldiers cut down with their swords. After the soldiers returned to the fort the families shocked up their corn, and remained at their homes.

"In 1828 the treaty was made with the Cherokees, giving the right of settlement to the whites, and fixing the line which now divides the country from the Indian Territory. The immigration into and settlement of the country by the white people was rapid. Among the first were the Billingsleys, Pyeatts, Carnahans, Blairs, Simpsons, Marrs, Shannons and others, from Kentucky, and the Buchanans, Beans, Woodys, Parks, Evanses, Weddingtons and others, from Tennessee–the latter from South Carolina, and others from different States too numerous to mention. * * * *

"The first resident ministers of the Gospel were Revs. Fisher, Poston and Holcomb, of the Baptist; Sexton, Covington and Harrell, of the Methodist, and Carnahan, Blair and Buchanan, of the Cumberland Presbyterian. The first Sabbath-school was organized at the house of James Buchanan, on Cane Hill, in October, 1828, by Rev. John Carnahan, with thirteen scholars. This school has been kept up, with slight intermissions, for fifty years. Samuel Carnahan, the son of the founder, was its superintendent for twenty years, during which time he was absent only two Sabbaths. Rev. John Carnahan preached his first sermon at Crystal Hill, near the mouth of Palarm, fifteen miles above Little Rock, in the year 1812, which was

perhaps the first Protestant sermon ever preached in Arkansas."

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The western, northwestern and central part of Washington County was the first settled. The settlements began at Evansville and Cane Hill, and extended in the same direction to Fayetteville. The Cane Hill country presented the greatest attraction [p.143] to immigrants, and that section was quite compactly settled before some other parts of the county contained a single habitation. This region was one of the most fertile spots in the State. For a distance of four or five miles hill and dale were covered with a heavy growth of sycamore, walnut and linden, intertwined with grape-vines, and underneath and between the trees was an almost impenetrable cane-brake. So thick was the cane, and so luxuriant the vines, that horses and cattle of the settlers frequently became entangled in them, and perished of hunger and thirst before their owners could find them.

The settlements here began in 1828. As mentioned by Mr. Buchanan, the Pyeatts were among the first to arrive. James and Jacob Pyeatt, as early as 1811, set out from Northern Alabama, in company with James and Samuel Carnahan, sons of Rev. John Carnahan. They embarked in flat-boats, and floated down the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the mouth of the Arkansas, then worked their way up the Arkansas to Crystal Hill, fifteen miles above Little Rock, where they were subsequently joined by several relatives and friends. All were natives of Kentucky, but had removed to Alabama to locate upon certain Indian lands, which, upon their arrival there, they found were not yet open for settlement.

As soon as Washington County was formed Crystal Hill community removed to Cane Hill, and they and their descendants have since been among the best people in Northwestern Arkansas.

The Buchanans were from Tennessee, and were among the most influential of the pioneers. There were six brothers of them: John, Andrew, Robert, James, Alexander and Isaac. Andrew and John Buchanan were ministers in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The former, familiarly known as "Uncle Buck," located at Prairie Grove, where his step-son, Col. James P. Neal, now lives. He died in 1857. James Buchanan located near the site of the White Church, where he passed the remainder of his life. Rev. John Buchanan was "Uncle John" to every one. For forty years or more he was one of the leaders of his church in Arkansas, and died at a ripe old age, beloved by every one who knew him.

The Billingsleys, together with Charles Adams and Samuel [p.144] Williams, came from Tennessee to Arkansas Post in 1814, and in 1816 located on Big Mulberry. Two years later they removed to near Fort Smith, and in 1828 or 1829 came to Washington County.

Mark Bean was a well-to-do and influential pioneer of the Cane Hill country. He was a native of Tennessee, and had come to "Lovely's Purchase" among the first immigrants. He was there engaged in the manufacture of salt. When driven out he went to Crawford County, where in 1829 he was elected to the Territorial Legislature. Soon after he came to Washington County, where he remained until his death. He is said to have been originally a Democrat, but having quarreled with A. H. Sevier, he allied himself with the Whigs, and became one of the leaders of the party in Washington County.

Of the Parks there were three brothers, Robert, Aaron and Joel, who lived on the Fayetteville road not far from the White Church. Robert was a farmer and Aaron and Joel kept a store. Afterward Joel went to Texas, and Aaron located on White River. The first stores on Cane Hill were opened by William Dugan and S. D. Lowell.

In 1830 James Coulter came from East Tennessee and settled on the place where Joseph Moore now lives. The next year James B. Russell, his son-in-law, with other relatives followed. Mr. Russell is still living. After living one year near Rhea's Mills, he removed to near where Boonsboro now is, and has since been identified with that community. In 1832 a school-house was built near Boonsboro, and Maurice Wright, a brother-in-law of Mr. Russell, was the first teacher. The next year Mr. Russell himself taught the school. Here attended the youth for the whole Cane Hill neighborhood, but not long after two schools were established, one at the White Church and the other at Elm Spring or Salem Church.

Among the pioneers of the Cane Hill region, besides those already mentioned, there were Thomas Pogue, who located on the site of Boonsboro; William Woody, at one time a judge of the county court; William Rhode and Hay Crawford, William Maxwell, Henry E. Campbell, William Wright, Isaac Spencer, Levi Richards, James Mitchell, A. Whinnery, Charles McClellan, Joseph and Benjamin Garvin.

[p.145] The settlements in the vicinity of Evansville were made at a slightly earlier date than those on Cane Hill. Mr. Buchanan's recollection of them has been given. Other pioneers of this part of the county may be mentioned as follows: Samuel and Daniel Vaughn, William Reed, Coleman Cox, George Gibson, Thomas Tennant, Jesse Goddard, Charles J. Sievers, Thomas Ballard, George Morrow, John Morrow, John Ish, John Williams, Lewis Evans, S. F. Gray, Henderson Bates, D. C. Edmiston, John Cole and William Oliver. Coleman Cox came from Warren County, Ky., with his family in 1821, and lived in Sebastian County until 1828, when he removed to Washington County, and located on the head of Barren Fork, four miles south of Boonsboro. He had three sons, Edmiston, Samuel and Burwell, and two daughters, one of whom married Peter Pyeatt. Rev. Thomas Tennant came to Arkansas in 1819, and lived in Pulaski County until 1829, when he took up his residence in Washington County. He died near Evansville in 1885, at the extraordinary age of one hundred and fourteen years. He was a minister in the Methodist Church for ninety years. Thomas Ballard, George Morrow, S. F. Gray and Henderson Bates are still living. D. C. Edmiston, who was a native of Tennessee, came to the State when thirteen years of age. He lived in Clark County until 1835, when he removed to Washington County, and resided four miles south of Cane Hill until his death. In 1831 Lu C. Blakemore, the father of Dr. F. Blakemore, of Greenwood, Ark., came from Sumner County, Tenn., and after living a year or two in Fayetteville located eight miles east of Boonsboro. Other pioneers in the latter vicinity were Claiborne Lewis, Stephen Talkington, Elisha Dyer, John Billingsley and his father, James Billingsley, John Rutherford, William Stirman, Benjamin and William Strickler and James and David McWilliams.

Among the first settlers in the neighborhood of Walnut Grove were John Conner, Josiah Trent, David Reese, Ralph Skelton, Henry Tollett, G. A. Pettigrew, William Bonham, Joseph Lewis, John Pierce, Robert Anderson, Abel Johnson, George Lawrence, Samuel Woolsey, John Hart and Hugh, Abram and William Allen. John Conner was a Georgian by birth, but had been reared in Kentucky and Indiana, and had lived for a time in Illinois. [p.146] In 1827, in partnership with several other families, he built a keel-boat, and set out for Arkansas. He remained one year in the vicinity of Evansville, where he found John Alexander, James Simpson, Hugh Shannon and John and William McGarroh. He made a permanent location near the present village of Farmington, and his daughter, who married A. W. Arrington, is still living in the neighborhood, an intelligent chronicler of pioneer days.

Josiah Trent was also a Georgian by birth. He first located in the southern part of the State, but in February, 1829, came to Washington County, and pitched his tent on the place where his son now lives. There he remained until his death, in 1877. For many years he was a local preacher in the Methodist Church. He was the son-in-law of Samuel Woolsey, who came to the county at about the same time.

George A. Pettigrew was a North Carolinian by birth, but had lived in Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri. From the latter State he came to Arkansas in 1825, and after a residence of five years in Hempstead County removed to Washington County. Helived one year on Cane Hill, and then made a permanent location seven miles west of Fayetteville. He was a prominent Whig, and in 1840 was elected to the Legislature. He was the father of Col. James R. Pettigrew and Z. M. Pettigrew.

The Allens were brothers, and old bachelors, and lived together for many years. Anderson, Click and Pierce all lived on the Illinois River. Among the first school-teachers in this neighborhood were Pleasant Tackett, Stephen Strickland and Alfred W. Arrington.

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Of the first settlers in the Mount Comfort neighborhood may be mentioned Solomon Tuttle, William Cunningham, Isaac Murphy, W. A. and James McCurdy and Hezekiah Appleby. Tuttle and Cunningham were both men of wealth and substance, and had grown-up families. Murphy located here, and taught school before he began the practice of law. This was an intelligent and progressive community, and the first school of more than local reputation was established here. It was called "Far West Seminary," and was presided over by Robert Mecklin, the founder of Ozark Institute. The seminary was opened about 1835, in the [p.147] brick church erected at this point by the Cumberland Presbyterians.

It has been mentioned that Rev. Andrew Buchanan made a settlement in Prairie Grove Valley in 1829, but a settlement had been made by Isaac Marrs nearly two years earlier, on the creek which bears his name. This was, doubtless, the first settlement in Prairie Grove Valley. The next year, his brother, James Marrs, settled what is now known as the Patton place. Both reared large families, and several of the prominent citizens of the county are numbered among their descendants. They came to Arkansas from Logan County, Ky., as early as 1817. Alexander Marrs, a member of another family, was also a pioneeer of the county.

About 1830 James Crawford came from Tennessee and located near Viney Grove. He reared a large family of sons and daughters. The former numbered five–William, James, John, Mack and Robert, and the latter, four. Among his sons-in-law were John Moore, William Morton and James West.

One of the first settlers of the county was Eli Bloyed, who located on West Fork, several miles south of Fayetteville, and for the first year lived upon the flesh of wild animals alone. Among others of the pioneers in this portion of the county were John and Christy Horness, Samuel Mayes, P. and J. H. Estes, Jacob Coats, Alexander Rutherford and George Reed.

Among the early residents of the White River country, and that part of the county east of Fayetteville, were Dr. James Boone, Robert McCarny, Peter Mankins, Cortez Hitchcock, Rial Williams, Thomas Smith, Robert Marshall, James West, Daniel Ritter and Jacob Sheay. McCarny was from Alabama. He was the first county judge of Washington County; was elected to the Territorial Council in 1831; to the Constitutional Convention in 1836, and to the State Senate in 1836, in 1844 and 1848, retiring from the office in 1852.

Dr. Boone came to the county in 1830, and remained until his death, in 1856. He was a Whig in politics, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1836. He also served one term in the House of Representatives.

Peter Mankins came to the county from Illinois in 1832, and [p.148] although then past sixty years of age, he lived an ordinary lifetime after his arrival here. He was born on September 19, 1770, in Maryland, and died in 1881 at the age of over one hundred and eleven years.

The settlements in the north part of the county, in the vicinities of Springdale and Elm Springs, are mentioned in connection with those villages.

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To "Uncle An" Fitzgerald, of Springdale, this chapter is indebted for some of the following notes on early "Arkansaw" life, so variously pictured by our humorists, and none give them with greater gusto and humor than "Uncle An" himself. Bear, deer, elk, buffalo, wolf, panther and wildcat were their next door neighbors in those days, and in true cannibal fashion these neighbors mutually preyed on each other. Cornmeal hoe-cakes being so prominent a feature of their eatables, their ingenuity hit upon the following unique form of perpetual motion: choosing a spring with a high opening, a forked stick was fastened before it, and balanced in the fork a pole, on one end of which was placed an inclined water trough, which, when filled by the flowing spring, would drop, raising the heavy pestle hung to the other end of the pole; the water at once being spilled, the trough would resume its position, and down went the pestle into the wooden mortar below, pounding whatever the mortar contained into fine powder. A half bushel or more of corn placed in the mortar at night would be transformed into palatable meal by sunrise. Homemade clothes of cotton, flax and wool were common; the husband and wife seeding enough cotton by the light of a pine knot or "tallow dip" to keep the busy wife with spinning material for the next day. Wild honey supplied the place of sugar, and when the first coffee appeared, "we tried to bite it like ye do beans, ye know," said "Uncle An." Letters were seldom received, but the advent of a missive was the signal for the neighborhood to gather round the 'Squire, whose learning enabled him to read to them news from the hieroglyphics; and when a like document was to be written, the 'Squire sharpened his goose-quill and, dipping it into the oak-ball ink, became amanuensis for the neighborhood. Card-playing was an amusement, and the settlers knew where Troy Gordon's "still" was, but "Uncle An" and [p.149] his gray-haired compeers affirm that none of the well-known evils of to-day were attached to them then. "Hoe-downs" and reels–"none o' yer huggin' dances"–were tripped lightly, and with jollity, to the tune of "Roarin' River," etc., which some deft musicians drew from the gourd "fiddle" with its horse-hair strings and bow, and the gourd banjo with its squirrel-skin head and horse-hairs. "We had debatin' sasieties too–bony-fide (bona fide) debatin'," said "Uncle An." "Pursuit and Possession," "Art and Nature," and "Which would a man go futher fur–money 'er his best gurl?" were passed upon, and when it came time to walk home with some bright-eyed lass, "we walked a leetle ways off," said "Uncle An," "we didn't clevis arms uz they do now!"

The physical features of Washington County have undergone a very decided change in the last sixty years. When the pioneers first made it their home there were large areas of prairie which are now covered with a more or less dense growth of timber. The site of Fayetteville and several of the surrounding elevations, as well as the intervening valleys, were bare of timber, and were covered with a luxuriant growth of grasses, which afforded excellent pasturage for buffaloes and other herbivorous animals.

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For the following account of the wild animals of Prairie Grove Valley this chapter is indebted to Col. James P. Neal. With little modification it applies to the whole county. He says: "My first acquaintance with the valley was in 1829. The buffalo had then receded some fifteen or twenty miles to the northwest. Their paths were still numerous, leading mainly from one lick to another. Their heads were scattered all over the prairies, one perhaps to every three acres of land. These licks were depressions in the earth, filled with water a little brackish in wet weather. In summer, when dry, they were the resorts of buffalo for the salt with which the earth was saturated, and were known as buffalo licks. They afforded salt for stock for many years after the country was settled, and even yet when not enclosed. In an early day hunters often captured and brought in buffalo calves, and tried to domesticate them, but they invariably died in one or two years. In that day buffalo skins were used for carpets, door mats, hearth rugs, mattresses, bed covers, saddle blankets and [p.150] numerous other things. It is said that Thomas Wagnon, an old timer, while out hunting, wrapped himself, arms, hands and all, from shoe-top to chin, in a green buffalo hide at night. In the morning it was frozen and would not enroll, and when found he was well nigh dead. This same man burned out the first stump in which to pound corn into meal at this place, which was the only vidence

of civilization when we first camped here. This we used until mills were built.

"There never were many panthers here. Capt. Mark Bean, who resided in the valley a few years in an early day, often related his panther experiences. He was on the snow looking for deer when he came across panther tracks. He followed the trail for an hour or more, when, passing under a large post-oak tree, he looked up and saw the panther crouched on a limb about twelve feet above his head, intently watching him. It was with an effort that he suppressed a scream. His hair stood straight up on his head. He walked on some steps, adjusted his hunting knife, turned and fired. The panther made a leap, screamed and fell to the ground dead. "Bear were never numerous in this valley, the smooth open country not suiting them.

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"The wolf, the great depredator on small stock, comes next in the scale of importance, and their name was legion, the black and gray. About dark in the evening they began to howl in four or five directions. At first their howls were piteous and doleful, making the most cheery household lonely. One or two at the different points at first, then others would join in until the packs would increase seemingly to forty or fifty, and as they joined in the howl became more earnest, increasing until it became an indescribable medley of whining, yelping, yelling, howling, discordant sounds that would make the hair rise on one's head. Then they would hold up five or ten minutes, after which a repetition of the performance would occur, the whole lasting from one to two hours. At about the hour the wolves opened, each family would begin to blow a horn. Some had two or more. This would put the dogs to howling, and was thought to keep the wolves near their hiding places. The hour of hornblowing soon became of much interest to the settlers. It was a [p.151] sort of evening roll-call, and if any family had failed to join messengers would have soon been at their doors inquiring the cause."

Up to the year 1838 the peaceful settlements of Northwestern Arkansas were rarely disturbed by serious crimes or acts of violence. It was almost Arcadian in its virtue and simplicity. Rarely were the courts called upon to investigate anything more serious than some trivial misdeameanor, and frequently the grand jury reported that there was no business before them. In 1838 the Cherokee Indians were brought from Tennessee and Georgia, and located on the territory since known as the Cherokee Nation. This immigration brought with it a cloud of those doubtful characters that have always been found upon the extreme frontiers of our civilized settlements. They were attracted here in unusual numbers by the fact that the Indians had been paid a large sum of money for the improvements upon their old reservation, and all were flush with gold and silver. They came to sell them whisky, to gamble and to trade with them.

Footnote

Arrington

"Runaways from every State in the Union were collected along the Cherokee line, and preyed alike upon the whites and the Indians. For the especial benefit of these desperadoes, as it seems, groceries were erected immediately upon the line, one-half the house being in Washington County and the other in the Cherokee Nation, so that when a crime was committed in one part of the grocery, the offender had but to step across a plank in the floor, and, lo! he was in another jurisdiction, beyond the reach of legal process issued by the court on the side he had left."*

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With the advent of these desperadoes peace and quiet were at an end. Murders, robberies and other outrages were of almost monthly occurrence, but what was still worse these crimes went unpunished. Numerous suspected persons were arrested, indicted and tried, but convictions did not follow. The culprit had only to summon a few of his friends, prove an alibi, and be discharged. This state of things existed until law-abiding citizens lost confidence in the courts, and declared that they were in [p.152] league with the assassin and the robber. The culmination was reached on both sides of the State line in 1839. On the Indian side the rival parties of Ross and Ridge had continued the deadly quarrel begun in their native country. On the night of June 20, 1839, the leaders of the Ridge party, Maj. Ridge, his brother, Elias Boudinot and his son John Ridge were assassinated by members of the Ross party. John Ridge was taken from his bed by a band of men, and in the presence of his family stabbed to death. Maj. Ridge had started for Van Buren, and was waylaid and shot from a bluff near the road, about seven or eight miles from Evansville. Boudinot was killed near his home at Park Hill, within about a mile of John Ross' house. Others of the Ridge party fled to escape a similar fate. These disturbances in the Cherokee Nation enabled the white desperadoes to commit crimes along the borders, and to cast the suspicion upon their savage neighbors, which proved a most convenient cloak to cover their evil deeds. On the night of June 15, 1839, the people living in the vicinity of Boonsboro, on Cane Hill, were aroused by the burning of the house of William Wright, and the cries for help from his terror-stricken wife and children. A neighbor was awakened by Mrs. Wright, who informed him in accents of indescribable terror that the Indians were upon them, that they had killed her husband and children and burned the house, and that they would all be massacred if they did not flee for their lives. In a few minutes the scattered neighbors were aroused, and many of them, taking their families upon horses, in buggies or on foot, set out to seek refuge from the savage hordes that were swooping down upon them. They spread the news of the Indian invasion, and soon the entire country was aroused. Others of the Boonsboro people, more courageous, decided to hold their ground until the danger became more imminent, and finally two young men, that had previously lived with Esquire James B. Russell, who resided a short distance from the Wright family, observing that he had not put in an appearance, resolved to reconnoitre his house and ascertain whether he had been killed. They did so, and found Mr. Russell unharmed and asleep in his bed. He was aroused, and the fear of the Indians having somewhat subsided, a party was made up to visit the scene of the [p.153] murder at Wright's. There a harrowing sight met their eyes. In the yard and close to the burning house lay the body of Wright, pierced with a half dozen dagger thrusts and burned to a crisp; beside it was the body of his second daughter, a girl fourteen or fifteen years of age, with a bullet hole in the forehead. At a little distance was an infant, its brains dashed out. Upon the bed in the burning dwelling could be seen the forms of two little girls interlocked in each other's arms, as they lay when the revolvers and the bowie knives of the assassins began their bloody work. Upon further search two little boys, aged about six and ten years, respectively, were found at some distance from the house administering as best they could to their elder brother, a youth of some eighteen years, whose skull had been fractured. Another child, a little toddling thing, was found uninjured in a cornfield near by. The eldest daughter had also made her escape.

page 154

A jury was impaneled, and, in the absence of the coroner, an inquest was held by Esquire Russell, when the following facts were ascertained: Mr. Wright, who was a hard-working, honest farmer, and one of the first settlers on Cane Hill, had the previous autumn purchased a large number of hogs, which he converted into bacon, and during this spring had been selling it to the newly arrived Indians. From this source he had received a considerable sum of money, a part of which he had deposited with his brother, a merchant at Boonsboro, and a part he kept in his house. On the night of the murder the family retired early, but about 10 o'clock Mrs. Wright arose to get a drink of water for one of the children. While in a back room she heard a noise at the gate, and, peering out at a crevice between the logs, she saw three men approaching. A sudden pang of fear and suspicion seized her, and she crouched down where she stood. The next instant a knock was heard at the door, and her husband arose and opened it. Instantly three gleaming bowie knives were sheathed in his bosom, and he was dragged, dying, out of the door. His daughter, awakened by the disturbance, sprang to his assistance, only to receive a bullet in the forehead from the revolver of an assassin, who was so near that the powder burned her face. Mrs. Wright saw no more, but fled from the back door, [p.154] and escaped to a neighbor's. The two older children, aroused by the confusion, attempted to make their escape; the girl was successful, but the boy was stretched upon the floor by a blow from the butt of a pistol, which fractured his skull. The two little girls were shot as they lay in bed, and the butchery was made as atrocious as possible to give color to the suspicions against the Indians. Two little boys were sleeping in a trundle-bed, under the one occupied by the parents, and were not noticed by the assassins. They did not awake until after the departure of the robbers, when the heat from the burning house aroused them. They arose, and with wonderful presence of mind succeeded in rescuing the wounded elder brother from the flames.

page 155

By daylight on the morning after the murder people from the surrounding country began to come in, and by noon hundreds, perhaps a thousand, had assembled. That night a council of old citizens was held, and the question of public safety was discussed in all its phases. The powerless condition of the courts was recognized, and after a long debate it was decided to take the matter into their own hands. A committee of thirty-six discreet and reliable citizens was selected to direct investigations and to punish the criminals should they be apprehended. The names of the members of the committee, as given by Col. James P. Neal, are as follows: Mark Bean, Rev. Andrew Buchanan, James Coulter, Levi Richards, Rev. Samuel Harris, Robert Bedford, John R. Pyeatt, Lewis Evans, John D. Moore, Rev. B. H. Pierson, William Oliver, Garvin Dunn, Leander Burnham, James Buchanan, James Hamilton, Aaron Parks, Robert Parks, T. C. Wilson, James Mitchell, William D. Crawford, Samuel Carnahan, James Crawford, Sr., Henry E. Campbell, John Tilly, Sr., Thomas Tiner, Rev. Thomas W. Norwood, William Crawford, Richard Bean, M. W. McClennan, Robert Buchanan, Isaac P. Spencer, William Munkress, Samuel Marrs, John Campbell, Henry E. Campbell and John Latta. Rev. Samuel Harris was chosen president of the committee. One hundred able and energetic men were selected as a company of light horse. They were sent in tens over the county, with instructions to arrest and bring before the committee all suspicious persons, gamblers, idlers and stragglers. Meantime the committee was engaged in [p.155] trying to get some clue. Suspicion finally rested on James Barnes, William Bailey, Taylor S. Barnes, John Asbury and Alexander Richmond and Ellery Turner, all of whom were taken into custody and brought before the committee. Witnesses both for and against the prisoners were summoned before the committee, and several days were consumed in the trial. One by one they succeeded in establishing plausible alibis, and it became evident that all must be discharged. Bailey was a gambler and a stranger in the country, and was looked upon with greater suspicion and dislike than any of the others. The circumstantial evidence was much stronger against him, although he had proven as good an alibi. While the guards were conveying him to Boonsboro, where the committee was in session, he threw away a letter, which was recovered. It was written to his father, and stated that he had killed a man, and was about to leave for Texas. Also a shirt, sprinkled with blood, was found in his saddle-bags. For these he had a plausible excuse, and his alibi was good, but some of the citizens were not satisfied of his innocence. The night before the men were to be released they took him from the guards, and taking him to a neighboring mountain, endeavored to extort a confession from him by whipping him, but failing in this they turned him loose, and he disappeared from the neighborhood.

All of the suspected men lived near the Cherokee line. John and Alexander Richmond were small farmers, and Turner a farm laborer, who lived with his mother and sister. James Barnes was much superior to the others in education and intelligence. He had come from Howard County, Mo., a few years previous, and had lived in the family of Rev. Andrew Buchanan at Prairie Grove, where he attended school. He came of a highly respectable family, and is said to have been a man of unusually fine appearance. At this time he was married, and was keeping a grocery on the Cherokee line.

page 156

After the discharge of these prisoners the people returned to their homes and the excitement abated, but the light horse continued to ride, and the committee came together whenever circumstances rendered it necessary. About ten days or two weeks later Asbury Richmond was at his brother John's, and being intoxicated became angry with his brothers, John and [p.156] Alexander. A Mr. Hornage lived some sixty or eighty steps from John Richmond's, and he, his wife and daughter, and a young man who was boarding with him, heard Asbury Richmond accuse his brothers of several acts of stealing, and at last say: "You, you d–d rascal, helped to murder that family on Cane Hill, and I was taken up for it and disgraced in consequence." This was communicated to the committee, who had Asbury Richmond brought before them. He there made a statement in substance as follows: He said that his brother, John Richmond, James Barnes and William Bailey once proposed to him to go into an arrangement to get some money, but that he did not join them; that on Sunday after the murder John Richmond told him that they had done the business on Cane Hill, and that in a few days he would be able to pay the money he owed him. Upon his testimony John Richmond, James Barnes and Ellery Turner were arrested and taken before the committee. William Bailey had fled the country, but a search for him was instituted. As at the former trial witnesses were summoned for both the prosecution and the defense. James Barnes produced several witnesses to prove an alibi. Nathan Wofford testified that Barnes was at his grocery until about sunset, and that at dark they ate supper. After supper himself and one McCrackin went to the grocery and slept there, leaving at the house James Barnes and his wife, Taylor S. Barnes and Jacob and Patsy O'Bryant. Jacob O'Bryant, ho was an honest and highly respectable young man, testified that he and his sister, having been belated on a journey, had slept for the night at Barnes'; that he had slept in the same room with Barnes; that from this room the only means of egress was by a door, and the night being warm he had placed his pallet mmediately in front of the door, so that Barnes could not have left the house except by passing over him.

This testimony was corroborated by the others present.

page 157

Against Barnes was introduced the testimony of Mrs. Wright, who swore that he had been at their house for bacon two or three times; that on the day before the murder Wright's wagons, loaded with bacon, had passed Barnes' grocery on the way to the Nation, yet during that day Barnes had called at Wright's for bacon, and while waiting for Wright to come from the field had [p.157] asked many questions concerning the amount of bacon he had sold, the money received, etc.; that Wright had asked Barnes why he did not get his bacon from the wagons, and that he replied, he had not seen the wagons when

they passed.

James Shelby, the driver of one of the wagons, was then called, and testified that he had stopped and talked with Barnes at his grocery on the morning referred to. This constituted the case against Barnes, outside of the confession by John Richmond.

In behalf of Turner, William Hunter, his brother-in-law, Mrs. Turner, his mother, and Mrs. Hunter, his niece, all testified that he, accompanied by William Bailey, had come home on the fatal night from a ball play, a short time after dark, and that they were at home at the hour at which the murder was committed. John Raymond, when brought before the committee, denied the charges that had been made by his brother Asbury, and refused to answer the questions of the committee. Finally, watching an opportunity, he broke from his guards, and made a dash for liberty, but being weighed down by chains he was quickly recaptured. After sitting speechless for a time, under pressure from the committee he at last agreed to make a full confession. He stated that the murder and robbery had been planned and committed by himself, Jack Nicholson, a resident of the Cherokee Nation, who was never captured, James Barnes, William Bailey, Ellery Turner and another man whose name has been forgotton. He related all the harrowing details of the horrible butchery, stating that their object had been to do the murder in Indian style.

page 158

After this confession Barnes and Turner still denied all knowledge of the affair, and demanded to know if they had not proved good alibis. The prisoners were remanded to the guardhouse, an old log building formerly used as a school-house. After some deliberation, the committee took a vote upon the question: "Shall these men suffer death?" and it is said that but one vote was cast in the negative. The condemned men were then once more brought before the committee, and were sentenced to be hung on the following Monday, July 29, 1839. On the morning of that day about a 1,000 people assembled at the scene of the execution, just south of the present town of [p.158] Boonsboro, near the residence of Thomas Pogue. By 10 o'clock, the hour appointed for the execution, the gallows was surrounded by a surging mass of humanity, white, black and red, all impatient for the exciting event, and fearful lest it be postponed. At last the wagon bearing the victims appeared. Each sat on his coffin, Richmond wearing a shroud, and Turner and Barnes in their accustomed dress. Arrived at the scaffold, they were given. a few minutesin which to take leave of their relatives and friends. The confession of Richmond and the evidence produced at the trial was then read from the stand, after which the prisoners were ordered to stand up, facing the people. The chairman of the committee arose and requested all who sustained the action of the committee to raise their hands. About ninety-nine out of every 100 pairs of hands went up. The ropes were then adjusted, the victims standing on the rear of the wagon. A fervent prayer was offered by the Rev. Andrew Buchanan, the order to move on was given to the driver, and the next instant three writhing forms hung swaying to and fro beneath the gallows tree. Thus ended the first chapter in one of the most remarkable incidents in the whole history of lynch law. A second was to follow. William Bailey, whom more than any f the others was thought to have deserved punishment, had escaped, but the committee had been tracing his footsteps. He had gone from Cane Hill to Van Buren; thence to Shreveport, and from there to his father's home on the Hiwassee River, in East Tennessee, where all trace of him was lost. About the middle of December following a message was received on Cane Hill from Rev. Guilford Pylant, who lived a few miles south, that Bailey was at his house in charge of Creed Taylor and "Bill" Mussett, who had captured him in Pulaski County. A guard was sent down to bring him to Cane Hill, and the committee of thirty-six was again convened. The trial began the next morning, and, before the close of the day, the sentence of death was passed upon William Bailey. The execution was fixed for the next day but one, and at the appointed time he was hung in the same way, and at the same place, as his alleged confederates, David Donaldson acting as hangman. It had been thought that at the last moment he would confess the crime, but he died protesting his innocence.

page 159

[p.159] After the excitement attendant upon these executions had somewhat subsided, a reaction naturally set in, and it began to be asserted that the men who had been hung were innocent, and the severest censures were placed upon the committee. In time there grew up two distinct parties in the county, the one upholding the action of the committee and the other condemning it, and to this day a reference to the "Cane Hill" tragedy arouses the gray haired pioneer, and you are soon made aware to which party he belonged. Some seven or eight years after the occurrence of these events A. W. Arrington, the talented preacher and lawyer mentioned in another chapter, wrote a highly imaginative account of the Cane Hill affair, which was published in a pamphlet entitled "The Desperadoes of the Southwest." It very unfairly reviewed the trial, and was filled with abuse of some of the leading members of the committee, and was justly denounced by those persons and their friends as an infamous slander. The members of the committee of thirty-six were men of high character, in fact it embraced some of the ablest Christian men in the county. The work they did they thought to be necessary, and they performed it deliberately and conscientiously. If they erred in their judgment it was an awful thing, but it was an error of the head and not of the heart.

page 160

In the year 1840 the committee officiated at another execution. This time a slave-girl, Caroline, was hung for the murder of her mistress, the wife of Andrew A. Crawford. Mr. Crawford lived at what is now known as the Neil place. He was subsequently a judge of the county court, and died at Corinth during the war. After the chores about the house had been done, it was customary for Caroline to assist her master on the farm, which was some half mile from the house. One morning upon reaching the field she informed her master that a tramp had called at the house just before she left, and she feared that he had some evil intentions upon her mistress. Mr. Crawford paid but little attention to this, but when he reached the house at noon he was horrified to find the bleeding and mangled body of his wife lying upon the floor near the fire, with wood piled around it as though the intention had been to burn it. He quickly gave the alarm, and the surrounding country was searched for the tramp who had [p.160] committed the foul deed, but no such individual could be found. Caroline, however, by peculiar actions, attracted attention, and suspicion was turned upon her. She was examined and blood was found upon her clothes. She was tried by a committee of citizens, and made a full confession of the crime. A gallows was made by putting a pole in the forks of two dogwood trees standing about fifteen feet apart. The girl was placed in the hind end of a wagon, and the rope adjusted. All was in readiness for the fatal movement of the wagon, when the wretched creature appealed for one more drink of water. There was none at hand, and she was somewhat roughly denied this last request. With the cry of "water" upon her lips, she was swung off. When life was pronounced extinct, they cut her body down, and buried it at the foot of the gallows tree.

From this time matters quieted down, and although occasional crimes were committed, society resumed the even tenor of its way. In 1849 the "gold fever" reached the county. and many of the citizens became infected with it. From a letter written in April, 1849, to the Van Buren Intelligencer, the following facts concerning the Washington County company which went to California are gleaned.

The company met on April 21, and elected the following officers: Lewis Evans, of Evansville, captain; Thomas Tyner, first lieutenant; P. Mankin, second lieutenant; James S. Vaun, secretary, and Martin Scrimpsher, of the Cherokee Nation, commissary. The company left the rendezvous on April 24, and five days later they had reached Grand Prairie. The company consisted of nearly ninety members from Washington County, thirteen from Madison, nine from Benton and fourteen from the Cherokee Nation. Those from Washington County were as follows: Lewis Evans, Hiram Davis, A. G. Evans. Leonard Shuler, Gus A. Shuler, William Hoge, Enos Slover, Isaac Hale and wife, James Blake, William Wilson, William Goddard, John Van Hoose, George Lewis, Wiley Cosby, Peter Mankins, James Dickinson, Jacob Strickler, Nathan Lewis, John Lewis, Nathan Thorp, John Ingram, John Powers, W. F. Woodruff, John Sanders, James L. Cartwright, J. R. Cline, George C. North, Edward Freyschlag, H. J. McRoy, Samuel McCulloh, James L. McCulloh. [p.161] George McKey, James Carter, George McClure, K. Crumley, Thomas Creamer, James Morrow, Hugh Morrow, A. B. Crawford, J. M. Mathews, J. P. Kellum, A. B. T. Pyatt, Squire B. Marrs, James Carnahan, John Carnahan, James Pierce, John Carter, Cane Hill, Thomas and Aaron Tyner, William and Hiram Shores, Thomas Maxwell, John Newman, B. Whitley, Christian reyschlag, Henry Freyschlag, Joseph Chew, William Mallett, W. R. Cunningham, Fred P. Sime, James

Ingram, William Crawford, Holy and James Hand, Misses Barbara and Mira Freyschlag, James Cartwright, Isaac Murphy, E. W. Avaid, James and William Irvin, Jacob Meyers, John M. Wham, James Divin, Mathew A. Divin, J. T. Edmondson, A. E. Edmondson, J. S. Crawford, A. A. Crawford, Robert Epperson, C. H. Holmes, J. J. Bean, Oscar Bean and Benjamin Sanders.

The territory now embraced in the State of Arkansas was included in the purchase made from France in 1803. It belonged to what was denominated Upper Louisiana, which was formally transferred to the United States in March, 1804, and by Congress was placed under the jurisdiction of the Territory of Indiana, of which William Henry Harrison was governor. Soon after the transfer Congress passed an act for the organization of two Territories, Orleans and Louisiana, the boundary between which was the thirty-third parallel of north latitude. The latter Territory was divided into five districts, one of which, New Madrid, included the present State of Arkansas. In 1806 the district of Arkansas was created, but it was abolished the following year, and remained a part of New Madrid until after the organization of Missouri Territory. On December 31, 1813, the Territorial Assembly passed an act creating the county of Arkansas, and the following year Lawrence County was organized. The latter embraced all of the present State north of the mouth of Little Red River. On December 15, 1818, the southwestern part of the county of Arkansas was divided into three separate counties, Pulaski, Clark and Hempstead. By an act of Congress approved March 2, 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was established, and on August 3, of the same year, it was organized. The first session [p.162] of the Territorial Assembly was held at the post of Arkansas in 1820, and during the session two new counties, Miller and Phillips, were organized. Upon the reassembling of the Legislature in October of the same year, Pulaski County was divided and Crawford County was formed. At the same time Independence County was erected from a portion of Lawrence County. In 1823 Chicot County was organized from a part of Arkansas County, and two years later the counties of Crittenden and Izard were established. During the session which convened in October, 1827, the counties of St. Francois, LaFayette and Lovely were created. The last named county included the western part of what is now Washington County, and also extended into the Cherokee Nation. It was formed by an act approved on October 13, 1827, and was in existence but one year. To understand its organization and abolition it is necessary to refer to some of the Indian treaties. The first treaty was made and concluded on November 10, 1808, between Pierre Choteau, agent for the Osages, and the chiefs and warriors of the Big and Little Osages at Fort Clark, on the Missouri River, in the then Territory of Louisiana. The Osages agreed that the boundary line between them and the United States should begin at Fort Clark, and run thence south to the Arkansas River. They did not claim below the Arkansas, and all the territory north of the Arkansas and east of the above line were by this treaty relinquished to the United States. Later, by treaties in 1818 and 1825, the Osages gave up their title to the greater portion of the land lying west of the line. The treaty of 1825 was made at St. Louis between Gov. William Clark and a deputation of chiefs and warriors of the Great and Little Osages. By it the title to the following territory was relinquished: "Beginning at Arkansas River at where the Osage boundary line strikes it at the mouth of Frog Bayou, thence up the Arkansas and Verdigris to the falls of the Verdigris, thence eastwardly to the said Osage line at a point twenty leagues north from the Arkansas River, and thence to the place of beginning." This tract was known as "Lovely's purchase," and afterward constituted Lovely County.

By a treaty between the United States and the Cherokees, who had been located in Arkansas, made on May 6, 1828, the [p.163] western boundary of the State was defined as follows: "A line shall be run commencing on Red River at a point where the eastern Choctaw line strikes said river, and runs due north with said line to the river Arkansas, thence in a direct line to the southwest corner of Missouri." This cut off the greater part of Lovely County, and October 17, 1828, the Legislature passed an act extinguishing the county and establishing the county of Washington with the following boundaries: "Beginning at a point where the western boundary line of the territory strikes the northern boundary line of Township 12 north; thence east with the northern boundary line of Township 12 north to the western boundary line of Range 25 west; thence north with said line to the south boundary line of the State of Missouri; thence with said boundary line to the southwest corner of the State of Missouri; thence south with the western boundary line of the Territory of Arkansas to the beginning." By reference to a map it will be seen that Washington County at that time embraced all of its present territory, all of what is now Benton County, a little more than one-half of Madison County, and about onefourth of the present county

of Carroll.

The first court for the county was held in March, 1829. The following is a transcript of the record of the first day's proceedings:

At a circuit court in and for the county of Washington and Territory of Arkansas, on Monday, the 2d day of March, 1829, present: The Hon. James Woodson Bates, circuit judge, Lewis Evans, sheriff, returned into court list of grand jurors to serve as a body for the county at this term of the court, viz.: James Buchanan, foreman; James Billingsley, John Billingsley, John Conner, David Conner, James Simpson, Hugh Shannon, William L. Weddington, John Woody, William B. Woody, Benjamin Garvin, Daniel Vaughn, Alexander Buchanan and R. G. Crisp, who were sworn, received their charge and withdrew to deliberate. Lewis Evans, sheriff, was sworn into office and gave bond and security for faithful performance of his duties as sheriff of Washington County, which is approved by the court.

Ordered, That Larkin Newton, John Billingsley and Nathan Caughin be appointed a committee to view and work a road leading from the county seat to the southern boundary of the county at or near Cove Creek.

Ordered, That all that part of the county south of a line commencing at a point where the western boundary of the county crosses Matthew's Mountain, thence easterly with the boundary of said county until it strikes the Barren Fork, thence up the same to the forks, thence eastwardly through the prairie, so as to leave John Ish to the south of said line 100 yards, thence direct to a [p.164] point 100 yards north of Coleman Cook's, thence due east to the eastern boundary line of the county, be established as a separate and distinct township, to be known as Vineyard Township.

Ordered, That that part of the county north of Vineyard Township and south of a line commencing where the western boundary of the county crosses Illinois River, thence up said river to the mouth of Marrs' Creek, thence up said creek to the forks near the Widow Edwards', thence up the left hand fork of said creek to its source, thence due south until it strikes Vineyard Township, be established a separate and distinct township, to be known and called by the name of Cane Hill Township.

Ordered, That all that part of the county lying north of Vineyard and Cane Hill Townships, and west of a line commencing where White River leaves the county, thence up said river to the mouth of Friend's Fork, thence with the dividing ridge between Friend's Fork and the middle fork of said river until it strikes Vineyard Township, be established a separate township, to be known and called Prairie Township.

Ordered, That all that part of the county north of Vineyard Township and east of Prairie Township be established a separate and distinct township, to be known and called by the name of Richland Township.

It is ordered by the court that John Woody, James Simpson and James Buchanan be appointed as commissioners to view and blaze out a road leading from the town of Franklin to George McInturff's mill, thence to the south boundary of the county toward Damon's Lick on Lee's Creek.

On motion, ordered that Thomas Wilson be appointed constable of Prairie Township, and that the clerk take bond and security of said Wilson in the sum of $400.

James Simpson is appointed constable of Cane Hill Township with the same bond.

Benjamin Garvin is appointed constable of Cane Hill Township.

Samuel Vaughn is appointed constable of Richland Township, bond and security $400.

John Wilson is appointed county surveyor of Washington County.

Ordered, That court now adjourn until 9 o'clock to-morrow morning.

On the following day the grand jury returned an indictment against Hiram Johnson for larceny, and reported their business completed. They were discharged, and court adjourned until court in course.

page 165

At the July term following Judge Benjamin Johnson presided. Thomas Garvin acted as foreman of the grand jury, which body, after one day's investigation, reported no business before it. Up to this time the courts were held in the dwelling house of John McGarrah. McGarrah had built two log cabins, one of which had a floor of puncheons, while the other was without a floor. The courts were held in the former; the latter was used as a dining room. At this term of the court the sum of $49.75 was appropriated for the purpose of building a court-house. [p.165] The contract was awarded to Samuel Marrs, and was completed before the next term. The building was made of logs, and a fire-place occupied an entire end of the house.

At the July term, 1829, a new township, called Illinois, was formed, with the following boundaries: "Beginning on the western boundary of the county, and running eastwardly with the north boundary of Vine Township to the forks of Barren Fork Creek, a little west of John Ish's; thence up the left hand fork near Pyeatt's mill, so as to leave all the present settlers on said creek east of said line; thence northwardly to the top of the dividing ridge between the Barren Fork and May's Creek; thence on said ridge with its meanders to Marrs' Creek; thence due north to the northern boundary of the county."

At this time, also, judges of election were appointed for the various townships, as follows: Illinois, elections to be held at the house of Joseph St. Clair, Richard Price, Job Ratliff and William Bowers; Richland, elections to be held at the house of Robert McCarny, Rial Williams, Stephen Holmesly and Robert Fletcher; Cane Hill, elections to be held at the house of William B. Woody, John Dodson, James Buchanan and Thomas Kiser; Vineyard, elections to be held at the school-house near Hugh Marrs', Jonathan Allen, Hugh Shannon and John Ish; Prairie, elections to be held at the court-house, Larkin Newton, John Wilson, Jr., and Christopher Harness.

In 1830 a county court was established, and Robert McCarny appointed county judge. No record of this court, prior to 1835, could be found. Meantime several new townships were formed, as is indicated by the following list of judges of election appointed for August, 1836: Prairie Township, Solomon Tuttle, James Byrnside, W. S. Wallace; Osage Township, J. B. Dixon, George Wallace and David Woods; Benton Township, Samuel Tiner, John McPhail and John McLaughlin; Clear Creek Township, Joseph Sinclair, William Clary and Isaac Cate; Illinois Township, Thomas Wagner, John Odle and A. Smith; Vineyard Township, Jacob Chandler, William Hunter and Jesse Goddard; Cane Hill Township, Henry E. Campbell, James Mitchell and H. Crawford; Mountain Township, John Ferguson, Samuel Stevenson and William Stirman; Helburn Township, William [p.166] Ake, Ambrose H. Helburn and J. P. Cross; Bowen Township, William Cantwell, John Bowen and Henry McElhany; War Eagle Township, John Long, William Gage and Isaac Crow; Brush Creek Township, Abram Buck, Nathaniel Henderson and John Harp; Richland Township, Ryal Williams, John Slover and Thomas M. Duckworth; Sugar Creek Township, William Reddick, William Ford and Stephen Case.

The first Legislature created the counties of Madison and Benton, and the townships of War Eagle, Bowen, Osage, Sugar Creek, Clear Creek, Benton and Helburn, and parts of Richland and Brush Creek were cut off. In January, 1837, the court re-established Brush Creek and Richland Townships, and at the following April term made an order creating White River Township, which included all the territory south of White River, and the northern boundary of Township 15, and west of the range line between Ranges 29 and 30. In 1839 Mountain Township was divided, and the eastern portion was erected into a new township by the name of West Fork. Three years later Mountain Township was again divided, and the part south of the dividing ridge, between the waters of the Illinois River and Cove Creek and Lee's Creek, was erected into a new township, called Cove Creek. Prior to this time, however, in July, 1841, Clear Creek Township was re-established, and in 1852 it was divided, and Elm Springs Township created. From that time until the close of the war there were no further changes in the municipal townships.

The first county court after the organization of the State government was begun and held on January 9, 1837. There were present the following magistrates: John Cureton, John G. Stout, James Owens, Booker Smith, John T. Edmiston, L. C. Blakemore, Thomas Wilson, John Robinson, Lorenzo D. Pollock, Nathaniel Burdire, Samuel Wilson, John Campbell and John D. Moore. John Cureton was elected judge; B. H. Smithson, clerk, and Lucius C. Pleasants, sheriff.

At about this time a new court-house was completed by the contractor, William M. Kincaid, at a cost of over $5,000. It was a brick structure, and was a very creditable building for a new county. In October, 1839, the county court made an order for [p.167] the erection of a new jail, and appropriated $5,000 for the purpose. Archibald Yell was appointed to superintend its construction. It was to be built of stone, and was to be 42×22 feet, two stories high. In the lower story were to be the dungeon and the debtors' room, and in the upper story the jailor's residence. The walls of the dungeon were to be forty-two inches thick, constructed of rock in two layers, with upright sawed timber or round locust poles, six inches thick, between them. The contract was let to Mathew Leeper for $4,460, and the building was erected in accordance with the above specifications.

In January, 1852, James P. Neal, William M. Bowers and A. W. Brownlee were appointed to select and purchase a poor farm. At the April term they reported that they had purchased the farm of Elias Muncie in Township 17, Range 29 west, containing eighty acres. It was then ordered that two log buildings be erected for the accommodation of the paupers, and John R. Glazebrook was appointed poor-house commissioner. Here the poor of the county have since been cared for. The present superintendent is John A. Beckett. In June, 1854, James H. Stirman, Alfred M. Wilson and Jonas M. Tibbetts were appointed to let the contract for a new court-house, which was accordingly done. George D. Baker bid $6,900, and received the contract. He completed the building and turned it over to the county in October, 1855. This building was burned during the late war, and in April, 1868, the county court appointed James H. Van Hoose and Thomas J. Pollard, commissioners to superintend the erection of a new court-house. The contract was let to Alexander Hendry for $22,500, and was completed about two years later.

page 168

Within the past ten years a large number of new municipal townships have been formed. On July 5, 1878, Goshen Township was erected from portions of Richland and Brush Creek, and in October of that year a part of West Fork Township was constituted Crawford Township, with the voting place at Crawford school-house. In 1880 three new townships were established as follows: Lee's Creek, from parts of Crawford and Cove Creek; Reed, from a part of White River, and Center, from portions of Prairie and Marrs' Hill. In July, 1884, the townships of Durham, Price, Star Hill and Winslow were formed, and since that [p.168] time three others have been added: Dutch Mills, in January, 1885; Wheeler, in July, 1885, and Weddington, in July, 1886.

The following is a complete list of the officers of Washington County since its organization:

Footnote

Died March, 1879.

Judges.–Robert McCarny, 1830-32; John Wilson, 1832-33; J. M. Hoge, 1833-35; W. B. Woody, 1835-36; John Cureton, 1836-38; Thomas Wilson, 1838-44; Jonathan Newman, 1844-60; A. A. Crawford, 1860-62; R. W. Mecklin, 1862-64; C. G. Galbreath, 1864-66; L. Tankersley, 1866-68; C. G. Galbreath, 1868-72; Hiram Davis, 1874-79*; Thomas Mullins, 1879-86; H. P. Green, 1886.

Associate Justices.–William Kiser, W. S. Oldham, R. W. Reynolds, David Williams, April to October, 1837; Thomas Wilson, 1837-38; Booker Smith, 1837-39; William Kiser, 1839-40; John Robinson, 1839-40; James Pittman, 1840-41; Noah Reeder, 1840-41; J. C. Pittman, 1841-43; Jonathan Newman, 1841-45; William S. Hamby, 1843-44; Cyrus G. Galbreath, 1844-45; John Robinson, 1845-47: Asa Combs, 1845-47; C. G. Galbreath, 1847-51; W. O. Spencer, 1847-48; Asa Combs, 1848-51; William O. Spencer, 1851-52; A. W. Brownlee, 1851-56; Ed. S. Dawson, 1852-53; T. D. Wisener, 1853-57; William E. Smith, 1856-57; A. W. Brownlee, 1857-60; Jones Pierson, 1857-58; M. D. Frazer, 1858-59; C. G. Galbreath, 1859-62; M. D. Frazer, 1860-61; Larkin Tankersley, 1861-62; Samuel May, 1864-66; Abraham C. Males, 1864-66; William C. Graham, 1866-67; J. L. Carlisle, 1866-67; John B. Rainwater, 1867-68; Lee C. Blakemore, 1867-68; Elijah Davidson, 1868; John Pearson, 1868-71; Abraham Jack, 1870-71; J. L. Carlisle, 1868-70; E. B. Harrison, 1871-73; William Todd, 1871-72; M. H. Mayes, 1872-73.

Clerks of the County Court.–Larkin Newton, 1828-30; B. H. Smithson, 1830-40; Benjamin H. Pierson, 1840-44; James Pittman, 1844-46; P. R. Smith, 1846-62; S. D. Lowery, 1862-64; G. W. M. Reed, 1864-66; P. R. Smith, 1866-68; G. W. M. Reed, 1868-72; P. R. Smith, 1872-80; H. F. Reagan, 1880-84; J. B. Shannon, 1884-88.

Clerks of the Circuit Court.–Jo. Holcomb, 1866-76; A. S. Gregg, 1876-84; John N. Tillman, 1884-88.

Sheriffs.–Lewis Evans, 1828-36; L. C. Pleasants, 1836-40; P. R. Smith, 1840-44; Elijah O'Brien, 1844-48; B. H. Smithson, 1848-52; Z. M. Pettigrew, 1852-56; John Crawford, 1856-60; George Gibson, 1860-62; A. S. Gregg, 1862-64; J. W. Carney, 1864-66; Jacob Yoes, 1866-68; Benjamin F. Little, 1868-72; Z. M. Pettigrew, 1872-80; C. M. Henry, 1880-84; George F. Dean, 1884-88.

Treasurers.–Isaac Murphy, 1836-38; W. S. Wallace, 1838-40; Mathew Hubbard, 1840-44; William M. Bowers, 1844-52; James B. Simpson, 1852-60; W. A. Watson, 1860-64; Thomas Carlisle, 1864-66; James B. Simpson, 1866-68; Thomas Carlisle, 1868-72; A. B. Lewis, 1872-74; Lafayette Boone, 1874-80; J. B. Rainwater, 1880-84; W. S. Tunstill, 1884-88.

Assessors.–Wilson Shreve, 1868-72; G. H. Pettigrew, 1872-74; William Mitchell, 1874-78; J. W. M. Trent, 1878-86; G. W. Morrow, 1886-88.

Coroners.–John Skelton, 1828-30; James Marrs, 1830-32; James Coulter, 1832-33; James Crawford, 1833-35; W. W. Hester, 1835-36; D. Callaghan, 1836-38; L. W. Wallace, 1838-40; John Brickey, 1840-42; Ewing Rabb, 1842-44; W. Skelton, 1844-46; H. W. Fincher, 1846-48; Peter Van Hoose, 1848-50; H. W. Fincher, 1850-62; J. R. Jackson, 1862-64; M. Gregg, 1864-66; Peter Mankins, 1866-68; William Graham, 1868-72; W. D. Holland, 1872-78; J. J. Mount, 1878-80; George W. Van Hoose, 1880-82; W. R. Phillips, 1882-86; George W. Van Hoose, 1886-88.

Surveyors.–Y. Caruthers, 1830-32; J. T. Edmundson, 1832-33; John McClellan, 1833-40; E. H. Shipley, 1840-44; W. D. Sullivan, 1844-48; H. P. Ross, 1848-54; E. H. Shipley, 1854-56; H. P. Ross, 1856-64; William Mitchell, 1866-68; G. W. Cline, 1868-72; L. A. Buchanan, 1872-74; A. Buchanan, 1874-78; J. A. Buchanan, 1878-82; Hugh Scott, 1882-84; William Mitchell, 1884-88.

Representatives in the Legislature.–Session October 5 to November 25, 1829, John Alexander; session October 3 to November 7, 1831, James Pope and A. Whinnery; session October [p.170] 7 to November 16, 1833, J. B. Dixon, J. Reagan, John Alexander and James Byrnsides; session October 5 to November 16, 1835, no record of members to be found; first State Legislature, session September 12 to November 8, 1836, A. Whinnery, James Boone, J. C. Blair and J. M. Hoge; session November 6, 1837, to March 5, 1838, A. Whinnery, James Boone, J. C. Blair and W. B. Woody; second Legislature, session November 5 to December 17, 1838, W. S. Oldham, W. L. Wilson, John McGarroh, R. Bedford, G. W. Sanders and Robert Hubbard; third Legislature, session November 2 to December 28, 1840, John McGarroh, W. L. Larremore, L. C. Blakemore, W. D. Reagan and G. A. Pettigrew; fourth Legislature, session November 7, 1842, to February 4, 1843, W. S. Oldham*, A. W. Arrington, Lee C. Blakemore, George Cline and Moses Stout; fifth Legislature, session November 4, 1844, to January 10, 1845, John Billingsley, C. A. Miller, I. Strain, Lee C. Blakemore and Thomas Wilson; sixth Legislature, session November 2 to December 23, 1846, R. Buchanan, John Billingsley, R. A. Sharpe, M. Stout and Isaac Murphy, eighth Legislature, session November 4, 1850, to January 13, 1851, Lee C. Blakemore, G. B. Anderson, George Cline, J. M. Tibbetts and Thomas Wilson; ninth Legislature, session November 1, 1852, to January 12, 1853, George Cline, W. N. Bowers, Thomas Wilson, S. R. Moulden; tenth Legislature, session November 6, 1854, to January 22, 1855, Lafayette Gregg, S. R. Moulden, B. H. Smithson and Thomas Wilson; eleventh Legislature, session November 3, 1856, to January 15, 1857, John Billingsley, Benjamin F. Boone and William T. Neal; twelfth Legislature, session November 1, 1858, to February 21, 1859, William T. Neal, Thomas Wilson and Jeremiah Brewster; thirteenth Legislature, sessions November 5, 1860, to January 21, 1861, November 4 to November 18, 1861, and March 5 to March 22, 1862, John Crawford, B. F. Boone, J. Mitchell and L. M. Bell; fourteenth Legislature, session November 5 to December, 1862, E. H. Phillips, J. M. Tuttle, R. C. Byrd and C. R. Fenton; fifteenth Legislature, sessions April 11 to June 2, 1864, November 7, 1864, to January 2, 1865, and April 3 to April 22, 1865, J. Pierson, W. H. Nott, Y. D. Waddle and William J. Patton; Confederate [p.171] Legislature, session September 22 to October 2, 1864, E. H. Phillips and R. C. Byrd; sixteenth Legislature, session November 5, 1866, to March 23, 1867, J. R. Pettigrew, J. B. Russell, W. H. Brooks and John Enyart; seventeenth Legislature, sessions April 2 to July 23, 1868, and November 17, 1868, to April 10, 1869, S. Bard and J. Yoes; eighteenth Legislature, session January 2 to March 25, 1871, Thomas Wilson and James M. Pittman; nineteenth Legislature, session January 6 to April 25, 1873, D. Bridenthal and T. W. Thomason; twentieth Legislature, sessions November 10, 1864, to March 5, 1875, and November 1 to December 10, 1875, W. F. Dowell, J. S. Williams and T. J. Patton; twenty-first Legislature, session January 8 to March 8, 1877, T. W. Thomason, W. C. Braley and C. W. Walker; twenty-second Legislature, session January 13 to March 13, 1879, W. C. Braley, B. F. Walker and E. B. Moore; twenty-third Legislature, session January 8 to March 19, 1881, E. B. Moore, T. W. Thomason and S. E. Marrs; twenty-fourth Legislature, session January 8 to March 28, 1883, E. B. Moore, S. E. Marrs and W. C. Braley*; twenty-fifth Legislature, session January 12 to March 28, 1885, B. F. Walker, H. P. Green and R. A. Medearis; twenty-sixth Legislature, session January to March, 1887, Robert J. Wilson, W. M. Davis and H. M. Maguire.

Members of the Upper House of the General Assembly.–Territorial council, James Billingsley, 1829; Robert McCarny, 1831; Mark Bean, 1833; State Senate, W. McK. Ball and Robert McCarny, 1836; O. Evans and A. Whinnery, 1838; O. Evans and David Walker, 1840; David Walker and M. Bean, 1842; Mark Bean and Robert McCarny, 1844; Robert McCarny and J. E. Mayfield, 1846; J. E. Mayfield and R. McCarny, 1848; R. McCarny and J. Billingsley, 1850; John Billingsley, 1852; John Enyart, 1854, also 1856; B. H. Smithson, 1858; R. W. Mecklin, 1860; Hiram Davis, 1862; J. M. Gilstrop, 1864; F. R. Earle, 1866; T. J. Hunt,† 1868; A. Caraloff,† 1870, also 1872; B. F. Walker, 1874; A. M. Wilson, 1876, also 1878; J. S. Williams, 1880; Thomas Wainwright, 1881, also 1882; T. W. Thomason, 1884, also 1886.

ELECTIONS.

Members of Constitutional Conventions.–Convention of 1836, [p.172] David Walker, Mark Bean, A. Whinnery, William McK. Ball, James Boone, Robert McCarny; convention of 1861, David Walker (president), J. H. Stirman, J. P. A. Parks and T. M. Gunter; convention of 1868, Charles W. Walker and James M. Hoge; convention of 1874, Benjamin F. Walker, M. F. Lake and T. W. Thomason.

Washington County has always been strongly Democratic in politics. In its early history the Whig party had some very able leaders, and through their superior ability were frequently able to secure an election to some legislative or judicial office. In 1836, and again in 1838, the Democrats elected solid delegations to the Legislature, but in 1840 David Walker, a Whig leader, was elected to the Senate, and two of the representatives, W. D. Reagan and G. A. Pettigrew, were Whigs. In 1842 the failure of the State Bank still farther strengthened the Whigs, and Mark Bean, another Whig leader, was elected to the Senate, while David Walker held over. At this election there were also two Whigs chosen representatives. Two years later the Democrats regained their lost ground, and held it until the opening of the Civil War.

The first election statistics that could be obtained were for the year 1860. The September election resulted as follows:

Governor, R. H. Johnson, 969; H. M. Rector, 1,305. Representative in Congress, J. N. Cypert, 662; T. C. Hindman 1,606. Circuit judge, J. M. Wilson, 718; J. J. Greene, 1,440. Representatives in the Legislature, R. West, 1,132; John Crawford, 1,530; W. Hulse, 1,044; L. M. Bell, 1,293; G. W. Tate, 505; B. F. Boone, 1,194; D. C. Smithson, 407; James Mitchell, 1,297; T. J. Kelly, 354; Dr. Cansler, 282. Prosecuting attorney, John R. Cox, 744; Lafayette Gregg, 1,534. Clerk of the courts, Z. M. Pettigrew, 946; P. R. Smith, 1,424. Sheriff, W. P. Taylor, 557; George Gibson, 1,688. County judge, Jonathan Newman, 944; A. A. Crawford, 1,225. Treasurer, Joseph Holcomb, 833; W. A. Watson, 978. Surveyor, H. P. Ross, 1,703. Coroner, A. Beattie, 476; H. Fincher, 829. School commissioner, F. Smiley, 739; P. P. Van Hoose, 1,375.

[p.173] In 1866 the Union party nominated the following county ticket: Representatives in the Legislature, Thomas J. Hunt, Jacob Yoes, W. H. H. Nott and Wilson Rizley; county judge, W. E. Graham; sheriff, J. W. Carney; circuit court clerk, George W. M. Reed; treasurer, Thomas Carlisle; coroner, J. J. Hutchinson; surveyor, G. M. Cline. This ticket was defeated by the Conservative Democrats, but by what majority could not be ascertained. In 1868, at the election to vote upon the adoption of the new onstitution, the majority against adoption was 550, but it was adopted by the State as a whole, and under its provisions the Radical party easily maintained its ascendancy.

The campaign of 1872 marks the beginning of the end of "carpet-bag" rule in Arkansas. The Radical party became divided within itself, and two tickets were placed in the field. One was headed by Elisha Baxter and supported by Gov. Clayton, and the other by Joseph Brooks, a "carpet-bagger" from Ohio, supported by those who opposed the administration, which included the Democratic minority. The result of the election in Washington county was as follows: For governor, Joseph Brooks, 1,178; Elisha Baxter, 738; for lieutenant-governor, Daniel J. Smith, 1,216; V. V. Smith, 710; for secretary of state, Edward A. Fulton, 807; James M. Johnson, 712; for auditor, James R. Berry, 1,232; Stephen Wheeler, 696; for treasurer, Thomas J. Hunt, 1,024; Henry Page, 715; for attorney-general, Benjamin T. DuVal, 1,211; T. D. W. Yonley, 702; for congressman-at-large, William J. Hyne, 1,227; John M. Bradley, 696; for congressman third district, T. M. Gunter, 1,218; W. W. Wilshire, 701; for representatives to the Legislature, David Bridenthal, (Dem.), 1,216; T. W. Thomason (Dem.), 1,183; James H. Berry (Dem.), 805; David Chandler (Dem.), 824; W. E. Gould (Dem.), 254; – McGaugh (Dem.), 273; H. S. Coleman (Rad.), 608; J. F. Johnson (Rad.), 393; – Rutherford (Rad.), 433; for sheriff, Z. M. Pettigrew (Dem.), 1,060; William Mayes (Lib.), 304; W. J. Gilliland (Rad.), 497; for circuit clerk, J. H. Van Hoose (Dem.), 529; Joseph Holcomb (Dem.), 663; J. Q. Benbrook (Rad.), 652; for county clerk, P. R. Smith (Dem.), 1,082; R. Putnam (Lib.), 214; G. W. M. Reed (Rad.), 536; for treasurer, A. B. Lewis (Dem.), 1,061; John A. Pearson (Rad.), [p.174] 769; for assessor, – Moore (Dem.), 1,127; – Reed (Rad.), 445; for county judge, E. T. Stirman, 665; A. J. Hale, 603; for coroner, W. D. Holland, 998; – Cate, 431; for surveyor, L. A. Buchanan, 1,089; W. L. Alexander, 376.

In 1874, at the first election after the adoption of the present constitution, there was no Republican State ticket, and B. F. Walker was elected to the State Senate without opposition. For circuit judge J. M. Pittman received 1,994 votes, and J. H. Huckleberry, 242. For prosecuting attorney the vote was: Peel, 1,247; Cullom, 482; Dougherty, 192. Two county conventions were held. The first met at Prairie Grove, and nominated what was termed the farmers' and laborers' ticket, which was elected by a large majority. A week or two later a second convention was held at Mt. Comfort, and an "Independent" ticket placed in the field. The result was as follows:

Representatives in the Legislature: J. S. Williams, 1,731; W. F. Dowell, 1,721; T. J. Patton, 1,430; William Alexander, 660; J. B. Russell, 570; John Enyart, 127. Sheriff, Z. M. Pettigrew, 1,376; J. D. Henry, 977. County clerk, P. R. Smith, 1,952; J. P. Pyeatt, 201. Circuit clerk, Joseph Holcomb, 1,517; Dr. Putnam, 855. County judge, Hiram Davis, 1,403; George Gibson, 99; A. J. Hall, 643. Assessor, William Mitchell, 1,699; "Sid" Williams, 455. Treasurer, Lafayette Boone, 1,429; John Mayes, 858. Surveyor, A. Buchanan, 1,706; Mark Cline, 714. Coroner, W. D. Holland, 1,859; – Arnett, 450.

In 1876 the Republicans met in convention and decided to nominate no county ticket, but to give their support to the best men announced as candidates. The result was the distribution of the votes among a large number of candidates. The following was the vote:

Representatives in the Legislature: W. E. Braly, 1,576; T. W. Thompson, 1,342; C. W. Walker, 1,327; W. C. Roberts, 1,250; D. M. Fields, 945; John Billingsley, 577; Thomas Wainwright, 305; John Enyart, 289; S. T. Kennedy, 292. County judge, Hiram Davis, 1,888; W. W. Brownlee, 749. Sheriff, Z. M. Pettigrew, 1,755; J. D. Henry, 1,216. Circuit clerk, A. S. Gregg, 1,409; R. H. Smith, 1,228. County clerk, P. R. Smith, 1,964; C. C. Conner, 1,069. Assessor, William Mitchell, 1,113; [p.175] G. W. Van Hoose, 207; John Pearson, 500; A. Tankersly, 124; George Gibson, 437; O. M. Rieff, 50; W. B. Brodie, 294; F. F. Curtis, 47; J. F. Johnson, 262; C. B. Pettigrew, 34. Treasurer, Lafayette Boone, 1,754; A. B. Lewis, 991. Surveyor, A. Buchanan, 1,694; G. M. Cline, 645. Coroner, W. D. Holland, 1,207; H. West, 170.

At the same election the vote for governor was W. B. Miller, 2,320; A. W. Bishop, 751. For prosecuting attorney, E. T. Stirman, 1,682; George J. Crump, 950. For senator, A. M. Wilson, 1,404; W. D. Reagan, 1,060; B. F. Williams, 505. For congressman, T. M. Gunter, 1,936; J. H. Huckleberry, 774. For President, Tilden, 1,888; Hayes, 817; Cooper, 87.

The election of 1878 resulted as follows: Circuit judge, J. H. Berry, 1,872; J. M. Pittman, 1,406. Prosecuting attorney, H. A. Dinsmore, 1,799; E. I. Stirman, 1,562. Representative, W. C. Braly, 2,191; Thomas Mullins, 1,272; E. B. Moore, 2,071; Thomas D. Boles, 1,060; W. T. Walker, 2,128; Trueman Niman, 1,054. Sheriff, Z. M. Pettigrew, 1,761; John Garrett, 943; William Mitchell, 934. County clerk, P. R. Smith, 2,236; John Mayes, 1,202. Circuit clerk, A. S. Gregg, 2,481; Thomas Wainwright, 876. reasurer, Lafayette Boone, 1,280; John Pearson, 901; T. H. Cartner, 291. County judge, Hiram Davis, 1,980; Harris, 1,150. Assessor, J. W. M. Trent, 2,120; A. B. Lewis, 204; J. R. Beaman, 1,030. Surveyor, – Hale, 1,648; J. A. Buchanan, 1,362. Coroner, J. J. Mount, 1,855; Hanna, 226; – West, 228.

The Republicans nominated no State ticket this year, but at the November election there were three candidates for Congress, and the vote was as follows: T. M. Gunter (D), 1,253; James F. Cunningham (I), 405; Byrd Smith (G), 79.

In 1880 there were two county tickets, the straight Democratic ticket and an Independent ticket, supported by the Republicans and Greenbackers, with the following result:

Representatives: E. B. Moore (D), 1,884; Trueman Niman (I), 1,416; S. E. Marrs (D), 2,107; R. R. Fallen (I), 1,495; T. W. Thomason (D), 2,118. County judge, A. S. Vandeventer (D), 1,381; Thomas Mullins (I), 2,343. Sheriff, G. H. Pettigrew (D), 1,264; C. M. Henry (I), 2,466. Circuit clerk, A. S. [p.176] Gregg (D), 1,915; T. W. Cline (I), 1,806. County clerk, P. R. Smith (D), 1,417; H. F. Reagan (I), 2,312. Treasurer, A. B. Lewis (D), 1,695; J. B. Rainwater (I), 1,997. Assessor, J. W. M. Trent (D), 2,093; Pearson (I), 1,533. Surveyor, J. A. Buchanan (D), 1,810; P. R. Bates (I), 1,807. Coroner, A. A. Maguire (D), 1,504; George Van Hoose (I), 1,682.

At the November election the vote for congressman was T. M. Gunter, 1,430; S. W. Peel, 719, and Samuel Murphy, 816. For President, Garfield electors, 788; Hancock electors, 1,936, and Weaver electors, 262.

In 1882, in the county election, the contest was the same as in 1880, and resulted as follows:

Representatives: E. B. Moore (D), 1,908; H. D. Gorham (I), 1,246; S. E. Marrs (D), 1,879; Jesse Jones (I), 1,082; W. C. Braly (D), 1,722; T. L. Harvey (I), 931; R. R. Fallen (I), 235. County judge, Robert J. Wilson (D), 1,704; Thomas Mullins (I), 1,781. Circuit clerk, A. S. Gregg (D), 1,578; Thomas Welch (I), 554; Mack Devin (D), 827; Henry Cartner (I), 487. County clerk, P. R. Smith (D), 974; Hugh F. Reagan (I), 2,434. Sheriff, C. M. Henry (D), 1,469; C. M. Henry (I), 1,538; P. McGuire (D), 467; Z. M. Pettigrew (I), 135. Treasurer, J. B. Rainwater (D), 1,369; J. H. Van Hoose (I), 1,257; A. B. Lewis (I), 793. Assessor, J. W. M. Trent (D), 1,705; J. R. Beaman (I), 1,036; William Mitchell (I), 741. Coroner, W. R. Phillips (D), 1,705; George Van Hoose (I), 1,120. Surveyor, Hugh Scott (D), 2,124; Thomas J. Campbell (I), 986. The vote for governor was, for J. H. Berry, 2,296; for R. K. Garland, 506, and for W. D. Slack, 688.

In 1884 the contest lay between Republicans and Democrats in the State and county elections, with the following result:

For governor, S. P. Hughes, 2,692; Thomas Bates, 1,176. Representatives: B. F. Walker, 2,390; E. Webb, 1,115; H. P. Greene, 2,574; C. L. Howell, 1474; R. A. Medearis, 2,484; D. M. Moore, 1,481. County judge, R. J. Wilson, Thomas Mullins. Circuit clerk, J. N. Tillman, 2,318; T. W. Cline, 1,978. County clerk, J. B. Shannon, 2,342; H. B. Collier, 1,832. Sheriff, George F. Drane, 2,196; Pat. Mouldin, 1,937. Treasurer, W. S. Tunstill, 2,425; J. B. Rainwater, 1,849. Assessor, J. W. M. [p.177] Trent, 2,415; J. C. Fletcher, 1,350; G. H. Cartner, 424. Coroner, W. R. Phillips, 2,473; J. R. Harris, 814. Surveyor, William Mitchell, 2,288; P. R. Bates, 1,964.

The vote at the November election was, for Congressman: S. W. Peel, 2,496; W. R. Keener, 1,275. For President: Cleveland electors, 2,455; Blaine electors, 1,387.

In 1886 the vote for governor was 2,730 for S. P. Hughes and for Lafayette Gregg, and 50 for C. E. Cunningham.

For county officers the vote was as follows:

Representat