All Around Arkansas: Cadron Settlement Park

                

                Years ago, when I attended college in Conway, I often visited Toad Suck Park at the lock and dam on the Arkansas River that shares its unusual name. 

                The view of the river was beautiful, and the park was a peaceful place to study or take a break from the rigors of academia. It was thanks to a brochure I picked up at Toad Suck Park that I learned about another nearby park, Cadron Settlement Park. 

                The brochure made it clear that the park was historically significant, so being a lover of Arkansas history, I knew I had to pay a visit. Cadron Settlement Park is indeed a beautiful and historic site, and I’ve visited it several times throughout the years.

                Cadron Settlement Park is located where Cadron Creek meets the Arkansas River a couple of miles north of Conway. According to several early Arkansas historians, the site was the location of a native American village before 1541 and was visited by the legendary Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto.

                When the French took over the area in the early 1800s, the settlers established a fort, which they referred to as Quadron. The name eventually became anglicized to Cadron. A settlement and trading post formed around the fort. The trading post was quite prosperous and, according to a letter written by a fur trader named William Frazier to a friend in 1810, the site was home to about 100 men and women, both "whites and Indians."

                Noted botanist Thomas Nuttall, who traveled Arkansas in the early 1800s, visited Cadron in 1818 and made note of a trading post and a mercantile store in operation. Nuttall didn't stay long, but he did return in December 1819 and remained until January of the following year. In his journal, Nuttall wrote that excessive drinking, jockeying, fighting and gambling were popular pastimes at Cadron.

                In 1820, a post office was established at Cadron and a wagon road to the capital of the Arkansas Territory, Arkansas Post, was built. Mail arrived at Arkansas Post every other week. 

                Another road was built from Cadron to southern Arkansas, which allowed mail to be transported as far as New Orleans. Cadron would eventually become part of the historic Butterfield Mail Route, which connected Memphis to San Francisco.

                By 1820, Cadron was home to around 720 people and the Arkansas Territorial Legislature voted to move the territory’s government to the town in June. Unfortunately for Cadron residents, the acting territorial governor, Robert Crittenden, vetoed the decision and opted to move the capital to Little Rock just five months later.

                Over 700 Cherokee Indians were forced to stay at the settlement during the Trail of Tears in April 1834, as low water levels on the Arkansas River stopped steamboats as a means of transport to reservations in what is now the state of Oklahoma.

                While Cadron was a booming settlement during much of the early 1800s, it began to lose its prominence when the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad laid tracks 2 miles north in 1874 and people left Cadron to follow the railroad.

                In 1976, the Faulkner County Historical Society, in conjunction with the Conway Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, created Cadron Settlement Park. Trails and a pavilion were constructed, as was a replica of the blockhouse written about by Thomas Nuttall in 1820. In 1991, vandals set fire to the structure, but a second one was built in 1998.

                If you’re in the Conway area and looking for a place to get some peace and quiet off the beaten path or want to experience an important location in Arkansas history, take some time to visit Cadron Settlement Park. You won’t be disappointed.

All Around Arkansas: Greers Ferry Lake and Dam

 

                This past Saturday, my wife and I attended a wedding on a hillside overlooking one of my favorite places in the Natural State — Greers Ferry Lake. 

                I spent many summer weekends as a child and teenager camping, fishing and boating at this beautiful body of water nestled in the Ozark Mountains. Some of the fondest memories of my youth were made at Greers Ferry Lake, so it’s a very special place to me.

                Greers Ferry Lake is located in Cleburne and Van Buren counties in north central Arkansas, about 60 miles north of Little Rock. The lake was formed by Greers Ferry Dam, which was built by the Little Rock District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between March 1959 and December 1962 on the Little Red River, about three miles north of Heber Springs. 

                Both the dam and the lake take their name from Bud Greer and the ferry he ran across the Little Red near the site where the dam was built. The dam measures 1,704 feet in length and stands 245 feet above the streambed of the Little Red. It cost about $46.5 million to build, creating a 40,000-acre reservoir and 340 miles of shoreline.

                President John F. Kennedy officially dedicated the dam and lake on Oct. 3, 1963, in what would be his last major public appearance before his assassination in Dallas about a month later. Also in attendance were Congressman Wilbur D. Mills and Gov. Orval Faubus.

                Kennedy spoke about how the dam and lake would impact both the local area and the state of Arkansas. He also predicted the project would bring positive financial change to the area, especially for the tourism industry. 

                The dedication of the dam and lake marked the only time a sitting president ever visited Cleburne County. A bust of Kennedy stands near the site where he delivered his remarks overlooking Greers Ferry Dam. John F. Kennedy Park, located on the Little Red just below the dam, is named in his honor. A bust of Mills, who helped get funding for the project, is also located nearby.

                The dam and lake transformed many small towns in the area. Seven towns had to be deserted once the lake bed began to fill. The original sites of Choctaw, Edgemont, Eglantine, Higden, Miller, Mudtown and Shiloh are now at the bottom of Greers Ferry Lake. The Corps of Engineers also had the tedious task of relocating 27 area cemeteries. At first, there was a great deal of outrage over the relocation of the towns, utilities, cemeteries and railroad, but local residents came to realize the benefits of the lake far outweighed those complications.

                Today, the Corps of Engineers operates 18 parks along the lake with the majority of them offering camping, swimming, cliff jumping, marinas, hiking trails and other recreational opportunities. The lake is popular for water sports, boating and fishing. Completed in 1983, the William Carl Garner Visitors Center, located near the dam, features exhibits highlighting the history of the dam and lake, as well as the history of Cleburne and Van Buren counties. The center is named for the late Carl Garner, who was the lake's longtime resident engineer and was known as “the Father of Greers Ferry Lake.”

                Greers Ferry Lake is ranked among one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in the nation. Thousands from across the state and country visit the area each year spending millions of dollars at local shops, marinas, restaurants and other businesses. The lake is easily one of the top five tourist destinations in Arkansas. 

                If you ever visit and spend some time there, as my family did so many years ago, you will definitely understand why Greers Ferry Lake is truly a special place.

All Around Arkansas: Justin Matthews

                

                Two Arkansas cities very special to me are my birthplace of North Little Rock and my hometown of Sherwood. As city historian of Sherwood in the mid to late 2010s, I learned about a man who played an important role in making those cities into what they are today — Justin Matthews, a businessman, real estate developer, community leader and true visionary.

                Matthews was born on a farm near Monticello in December 1875. The Matthews family was wealthy. His father, Samuel, was an attorney who owned a nursery and fruit business. He also served as a Drew County judge. He encouraged his son to study law, but Justin decided to pursue a career as a pharmacist.

                Justin Matthews married Mary Somers in 1901. Around that time, he sold the three drugstores he owned in the Monticello area and moved to Little Rock. 

                In 1902, Matthews founded the Rose City Cotton Oil Mill in North Little Rock. Five years later he invested the money made from the business into real estate on both sides of the Arkansas River.

                Within a short time of arriving in central Arkansas, Matthews began advocating for two major projects: one aimed at paving streets in North Little Rock and the other to build two bridges across the Arkansas River linking Little Rock and North Little Rock. In 1913, he began a petition drive to form two improvement districts to pave 152 blocks of North Little Rock streets. He also led a campaign to build the Broadway Bridge. Both of these projects, financed publicly through improvement districts, were crucial to his land development plans.

                In North Little Rock, Matthews' company, the Matthews Land Co., developed the Park Hill community. Early development included construction of modest houses, built as efficiently and inexpensively as possible, aimed at first-time homebuyers.

                In 1927, after six years of opening sections of Park Hill for development, Matthews decided the time was right for a grander development that would compete for the upper-income residents who were buying homes in several recently opened “restricted” additions in Pulaski Heights in Little Rock. He would call this upscale section of Park Hill "Edgemont."

                At the same time, Matthews began building homes along the Ark-Mo Highway (now Highway 107) north of North Little Rock, in an area he named Sylvan Hills, which eventually became part of Sherwood. As part of his plans for this subdivision, Matthews began building the Sylvan Hills Country Club and Golf Course (now known as The Greens at North Hills) in 1926. In 1927, Matthews was appointed to the Arkansas State Highway Commission by Gov. John Martineau.

                Unfortunately, the Great Depression complicated the Sylvan Hills project and the opening of Edgemont in Park Hill. Only 16 houses in Edgemont and a handful of homes in Sylvan Hills were built before construction came to a halt.

                From 1931 to 1933, Matthews developed a park in the Lakewood subdivision, which he named T. R. Pugh Memorial Park in honor of his close friend, Thomas R. Pugh. Today, the park is more commonly known as “The Old Mill.” The park features a re-creation of an 1880s water-powered grist mill and other structures, which were designed and created by Mexican sculptor Dionicio Rodriguez. The Old Mill is the only surviving structure to appear in the movie “Gone With the Wind,” as it briefly appeared in the film’s opening credits. In 1936, Matthews’ company built a uniquely-shaped gas station for the Pierce Oil Co. on the old Highway 67 in Sherwood known as the Roundtop Filling Station.

                Matthews died on March 21, 1955, at his residence on Cherry Hill in North Little Rock. He was buried in Little Rock’s Mount Holly Cemetery. An Arkansas Gazette editorial paid tribute to the man who, “on the high ground overlooking North Little Rock,” had “transformed an untamed wilderness into a great community with homes, stores, schools, churches and service establishments.”

All Around Arkansas: Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park

                

                As I wrote in last week’s column, I took a trip to north Arkansas during my spring break. My first stop was the historic Oark General Store. Afterwards, I headed to Rogers to see what remains of the lost resort town of Monte Ne, which I wrote about in this column several months ago. Unfortunately, due to the high waters of Beaver Lake and the recent demolition of many of the major structures by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, there isn’t much to see. 

                The following day I decided to make a stop at one of my favorite state parks, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, just outside of Fayetteville. The park was the site of a major conflict between Union and Confederate troops on Dec. 7, 1862. 

                The battle of Prairie Grove marked the deadliest day in Arkansas during the Civil War and was the last major Civil War engagement in northern Arkansas. The park is considered by many historians as one of America’s most intact and well-preserved Civil War battlefields. 

                In 1908, the United Daughters of the Confederacy purchased 9 acres where the battle was fought. The organization maintained the land as a meeting spot and held commemorations of the battle on the site for nearly 50 years. 

                A local businessman and state representative, J. Sherman Dill, sought money during the 38th Arkansas General Assembly to expand and make improvements to the park. Dill was successful in obtaining $10,000 in state funds, which helped pay for the construction of the stone archway at the park’s entrance, a wooden bandstand and a gravel driveway to the park. These additions and improvements were made in 1925. Unfortunately, due to the lack of money and maintenance, the park fell into disrepair during the Great Depression and was banned from public use for several years.

                In 1953, the local chapter of the Lions Club adopted Prairie Grove Park and raised money through the community to clean up the park and build benches, picnic tables and sidewalks. In 1957, the 55-foot stone chimney from the nearby historic Rhea's Mill was moved to the park site as a monument honoring the fallen soldiers from the 1862 battle. Other historic buildings from the Prairie Grove area, including an 1834 log home and a blacksmith shop, were moved to the park site in the following years.

                A museum interpreting the battle was built in the park at the urging of Biscoe Hindman. Hindman’s grandfather, Confederate Major-General Thomas C. Hindman, commanded the 1st Corps, Trans-Mississippi Army, during the battle of Prairie Grove. Later named Hindman Hall, the museum was officially dedicated in May 1964. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1970. Prairie Grove Park was added to the Arkansas state park system in 1971 by then-Gov. Dale Bumpers. 

                Hindman Hall museum features several exhibits about the history of the battle, including artifacts recovered from the battle site. The museum was temporarily closed to the public in 2010 for renovations and reopened in 2012. Officially known today as Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, the park has expanded several times over the years through the acquisition and donation of land.

                Now operated by the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism, the park offers walking and driving tours, living history programs, and other special events. Arkansas’ largest Civil War battle reenactment takes place during even-numbered years on the first weekend in December. Admission to both the park and museum is free.

                If Civil War history — particularly Arkansas Civil War history interests you — I can’t think of a better place to learn and experience it for yourself than at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.