I’ve
had many jobs in my life: political aide, high school government teacher,
living historian, state park visitor center manager and, believe it or not,
pastor of a small Southern Baptist church in Lonoke County.
The church’s name was Brownsville Baptist Church and the joke was that the members loved me so much they named the church after me. While the congregation did love me (at least I think they did), the church wasn’t named after me, rather the town that once existed where the church stands today.
The community of Brownsville is just a couple of miles north of Lonoke (which was named after a lone oak tree — we’ll get to that someday) and at one time was the county seat of Prairie County. The town was named for Major Jacob Brown of Little Rock (no relation), who was one of the first American casualties of the Mexican-American War.
Brownsville was located on a federally constructed road that connected Little Rock to Memphis and later a major railroad, The Memphis and Little Rock Railroad. After the road’s completion in 1824, more settlers began moving to the area. A wooden building used as a courthouse and for other government business was constructed, as was a brick jail.
The town of Brownsville was officially incorporated in December 1856, and by 1860, Brownsville had about 2,000 citizens. Several businesses including a hotel served the community. A couple of churches, a primary school and a Masonic lodge were built as well. In 1858, I.C. Hicks started the town’s first newspaper, The Echo, which was later sold and renamed The Brownsville Banner.
Unfortunately, in August 1863, the American Civil War came knocking at Brownsville’s door. The Battle of Brownsville involved about 7,000 combined Union and Confederate forces. After a brief artillery exchange, Confederate forces fell back and then pushed back a Union attack before retreating down Military Road toward Reed’s Bridge near Jacksonville. The battle was the first of a series that ultimately led to the fall of Arkansas’ capital city of Little Rock by Union forces in September.
The town of Brownsville never quite recovered from the destruction of the battle. A new survey was made for the completion of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad in 1867. When tracks were laid three miles south of Brownsville near Lonoke, the population began moving along with the railroad. And in 1867, Lonoke County was created, encompassing Brownsville and making the town almost irrelevant.
Today only three churches and a cemetery founded in 1851, where many members of my former flock have been laid to rest, remain. Several Civil War veterans are also buried in the cemetery. There are three historical markers that mark the site of the original Prairie County Courthouse and two at the Brownsville Cemetery that interpret the Battle of Brownsville.
On a personal note, I would like to dedicate today’s column to the memory to a few of the brothers and sisters that made my time as the pastor of that little church in that little community such a wonderful experience: Geneva Evans (my former song leader) and three of the greatest deacons a pastor could ever hope to serve with: Merle Evans, Limuel Simpson and Bob Frizzell. Like the town of Brownsville, they might be gone but they will never be forgotten.
A
proud sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell W. Brown is a lover of all things
Arkansas. He served several years with the Arkansas Department of Parks,
Heritage and Tourism, and worked in all three divisions. He lives in Saline
County with his wife, Amy, and two beloved Boston Terriers. You can email him
with questions, comments, and story ideas at AllAroundArkansas@Yahoo.com.
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