Caddo Valley, Arkansas

            

            Located in northeastern Clark County, the town of Caddo Valley is just 4 miles north of Arkadelphia and is about the halfway point between Little Rock and Texarkana. The town is often referred to as “The Gateway to Lake DeGray,” with DeGray Dam and DeGray Lake Resort State Park within 5 miles of the area to the north.

            Before the Europeans settled in the area now known as Caddo Valley, Native Americans, particularly the Caddo (for whom the town is named), lived there. This part of the future state of Arkansas was known for its dense forests, abundance of fish and wildlife, fertile soil, springs, clear rivers and streams. Much archaeological work has been done in and around Caddo Valley. In fact, Henderson State University in Arkadelphia hosts one of the largest collections of Caddo artifacts in the world.

            The first known white settler, Jacob Barkman, arrived in the Caddo Valley area in 1811 and built a home on the south bank of the Caddo River. Caddo Valley proved to be a perfect location for commercial farming and, with the Ouachita River nearby, goods were easily shipped to market.

            Barkman’s house was used as Clark County’s courthouse in the early days of the Arkansas Territory. Eventually, a permanent county seat was established at Greenville, located to the southwest along Military Road. In 1842, Arkadelphia (once known as Blakelytown) became the county seat and has remained so ever since.

            Caddo Valley grew over the next century. In 1904, a school was built in the area. In 1968, the Arkansas Children’s Colony, Arkadelphia Unit — now the Arkadelphia Human Development Center — opened in Caddo Valley. After the town was officially incorporated on Sept. 11, 1974, the construction of a city hall soon began, as did the creation of a police department and fire station.

            Caddo Valley is a crossroads of sorts — both rivers and highways meet in town. The two rivers that cross in Caddo Valley are the Caddo River and the Ouachita River, and the town is located at the junction of Interstate 30, Highway 67 and Highway 7. As of the 2020 Census, the town’s population was 595.

            The small town attracts a great number of visitors to nearby DeGray Lake or those on their way to Texas thanks in part due to the strip of businesses (including numerous hotels, restaurants, craft stores and gas station) that line Highway 7. The 40-mile Caddo River starts in the Ouachita Mountains in southern Montgomery County and flows near the communities of Caddo Gap, Glenwood and Norman before being damned to create the ever-popular and beautiful DeGray Lake. 

            Above the lake, the Caddo River is considered an excellent family float stream. Local outfitters, quaint cabins and other lodging are available along the river. Below DeGray Dam, the Caddo continues some 5 miles before joining the Ouachita River north of Arkadelphia.

            Built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DeGray Lake is known for its beautiful clear water and is home to the DeGray Lake Resort State Park, which is operated by the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism. Thousands of visitors use the lake and parks that surround it every year, pumping millions into Caddo Valley’s economy.

            Whether you’re someone looking to explore the Natural State’s beautiful outdoors, feast on local cuisine, or shop for unique gifts made by local artisans and crafters, the little town of Caddo Valley is definitely a place to spend some time in Arkansas.

All Around Arkansas: JFK in Arkansas

                

                Not only do we as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving this week, but on Nov. 22, we will observe the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. 

                I’ve always been fascinated by the young president, silenced in his prime. While I didn't grow up in the Kennedy era, my parents did, and they were devoted fans. I first heard about JFK from mom and dad, and my first political button (now part of a collection that numbers a thousand) was obtained by the local Kennedy for President headquarters by one of my grandfathers in 1960.

                As the nation remembers Kennedy this week, I wanted to take a look at the times he visited Arkansas both as a candidate and president.

                The first recorded visit by Kennedy to the Natural State was on Sept. 13, 1960, when, as the Democratic presidential nominee, he participated in the annual Four States Fair parade in Texarkana. 

                The young senator from Massachusetts rode in a Pontiac Bonneville convertible through the streets of Texarkana before making a brief campaign speech at the federal courthouse and post office on State Line Avenue. Kennedy would speak later that day at the fair. On stage with Kennedy were U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright and U.S. Rep. Wilbur Mills, both of Arkansas; Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn; and U.S. Rep. Wright Patman of Texas.

                Kennedy won both Arkansas and Texas, which primarily voted Democrat at the time, and went on to narrowly defeat Republican Richard Nixon to become our nation’s 35th commander-in-chief.

                There's a marker in front of the federal courthouse and post office in Texarkana where Kennedy spoke in 1960. Inscribed on the granite monument is the iconic quote from Kennedy’s inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” The marker can be found not far behind “Photographers’ Island,” where millions have taken their picture standing in the two states at once.

                As president, Kennedy returned to Arkansas nearly three years after his first visit to dedicate Greers’ Ferry Dam near Heber Springs on Oct. 3, 1963. Again, he was accompanied by Fulbright and Mills, but also U.S. Sen. John McClellan of Arkansas and Arkansas’ controversial governor, Orval E. Faubus.

                Kennedy spoke about how the dam and lake would affect the local area and the states. 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 mark the only time a sitting president has 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 River just below the dam, is named in his honor.

            Kennedy, again accompanied by Faubus, Mills, Fulbright and McClellan, spoke later that afternoon at the Arkansas State Fair and Livestock Show in Little Rock.

            Kennedy’s speech hinted at the racial problems of the region and focused on the promises of an economically prosperous new South. 

            "The old South has its problems, and they are not yet over," Kennedy said, "nor are they over in the rest of the country, but there is rising every day, I believe, a new South.

            "This rising tide in this state and in the South and in the nation must continue," Kennedy said. "We must build those dams. We must use our resources. We must educate our children. We must provide jobs for our people. These are the great assignments, which this generation of Americans in the '60s has before it."

            On Nov. 22, just seven weeks after Kennedy’s visit to Arkansas, he was murdered while riding in a motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas.

            Kennedy didn’t make many visits to Arkansas during his short life. But by all accounts, they were impactful and fondly remembered.

All Around Arkansas: Historic Hollywood Cemetery

                

                Hot Springs is notorious as a bastion of famous (and infamous) people throughout its long and storied past. And these characters need somewhere to “rest in peace” once they pass away. Thankfully, the Spa City is not only home to historic bathhouses and great restaurants, but to many cemeteries as well.

                My wife and I stumbled across one such cemetery a couple of Saturdays ago. We were looking for the Hot Springs Bark Park to take our Boston terrier, Dixie, to play and interact with other canines. We noticed the cemetery across from the park, so after Dixie had had all the dog park fun she could stand, we paid a visit.

                It turns out that Hollywood Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Hot Springs, with its oldest marked grave dating to 1856. The cemetery is located in the southeast portion of downtown Hot Springs near Hot Springs Creek. It is bounded by Hollywood Avenue, Mote Street and Shady Grove Road. According to the website, FindaGrave.com, there are 2,038 graves in Hollywood Cemetery.

                The cemetery’s notable burials include Medal of Honor recipient Private Christian Steiner and U.S. Congressman Lewis E. Sawyer. 

                Steiner was a German-born soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 8th U.S. Cavalry during the Apache Wars in the Arizona Territory. He was one of 32 men awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry for successfully fighting the Apache and Cochise Indians in a battle that took place in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona on Oct. 20, 1869. Steiner died on Aug. 5, 1880, at the young age of 37.

                An Alabama native, Lewis E. Sawyer moved to Hot Springs in 1908 to practice law. He served two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1913 and 1915, and was its speaker in the latter year. Sawyer, a Democrat, was later elected to the U.S. Congress in 1922. His time in Washington was brief, as he only served from March 4, 1923, to May 5, 1923.

                Of particular note to Civil War buffs is the Confederate section of Hollywood Cemetery. This section is a 60-ft. by 54-ft. plot surrounded by a low concrete wall with ornamental concrete posts at all four corners and an opening on the western side inscribed “Confederate Veterans.” 

                The plot contains 34 marked burials, a large stone memorial monument honoring the dead and four concrete benches.

                In 1900, David Stone Ryan, a former lieutenant in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, purchased what would become known as the Confederate Section in Hollywood Cemetery. Ryan bought the land on behalf of the local camp of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) to ensure a final resting place for his fellow former Confederate soldiers. 

                The Albert Pike UCV Camp was dissolved in 1906, and the members voted to transfer ownership of the plot to the Hot Springs chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) to maintain.

                After taking control of the Confederate section of the historic cemetery, the ladies of the UDC raised money to buy a Confederate monument for the plot. The project was finally completed in 1919, with the placement of a large granite monument inscribed “Our Confederate Dead.” The monument stands in the southern end of the plot and is impossible to miss. In 1974, four concrete benches were placed in the plot by the UDC. 

                The Hollywood Cemetery, filled with the graves of so many historic figures, made history itself when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The cemetery is one of 94 listings in Garland County on the National Register.

All Around Arkansas: A Place Called Piggott

 

                I have driven through the northeast Arkansas town of Piggott, but I've been mostly unaware of its long and fascinating history — one that begins with a prominent doctor and includes one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.

                The Clay County seat — one of two there today — was named for James A. Piggott, a medical doctor from Illinois who came to the area in 1872, settling near what is now modern-day Piggott.

                The town was originally named Huston after another prominent citizen, but was later renamed for the highly respected doctor, who led the effort to successfully petition the U.S Postal Service for a post office at the rural settlement.

                Both the town and post office were established in 1882, the same year railroad tracks were laid to haul out valuable timber. With the shift of residents toward the railroad, Clay County’s original seat of government, Boydsville, was no longer convenient for citizens. As a result, a special election in 1891 awarded the county seat to Piggott.

                The town went through a major population growth in the 1910s. In 1913, two of what would become Piggott’s most famous residents, Paul and Mary Pfeiffer, moved with their children to the town from St. Louis. 

                The Pfeiffers purchased 65,000 acres in the Piggott area, which they divided into farmsteads and rented to tenants who came to Arkansas from all around the country.

                When the Pfeiffer family arrived in Piggott, the growing city featured a town square built around the two-story brick Clay County Courthouse constructed in 1889. Businesses and stores lined the square. Many of the businesses in Piggott were agriculture related, such as farm implement dealers, leather shops, blacksmiths and a grain mill and elevator. 

                Piggott’s largest hotel, the Palace Hotel, opened in 1912, across from the railroad depot at the corner of Front and Main streets. Hotel advertisements boasted of the establishment’s 14 well-ventilated rooms with all the “modern conveniences.”

                 In spite of the Pfeiffers' many civic and philanthropic contributions to Piggott, they are no doubt best known as the parents of Pauline Pfeiffer, who married the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway. During their marriage, which lasted from 1927 to 1940, the Hemingways regularly visited the Pfeiffers in Piggott. The Pfeiffers even converted an old barn behind their home into a writing studio for their son-in-law. It was in this studio that Heminway wrote parts of “A Farewell to Arms” and other short stories. 

                Supposedly, Hemingway had mixed feelings about his in-law’s hometown, including a strong dislike of the hot and humid Arkansas summers. But he did write in the February 1934 issue of Esquire magazine that one of the places he would rather be, other than Paris, was “Piggott, Arkansas, in the fall.”

                Today the Pfeiffer’s former house and property are owned by the Arkansas State University System and operated as The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center. The museum features exhibits on Hemingway and life in Arkansas in the 1930s. It also serves as the northern anchor for Crowley’s Ridge Parkway, a National Scenic Byway that goes through eight counties in eastern Arkansas. Just across the street from the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum is the Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center, which focuses on the lives and unique collections of Pauline Hemingway’s brother and sister-in-law.

                I’ve never been to these two museums, but they are definitely on my Arkansas bucket list. I’ve actually been to Hemingway’s home in Key West, Florida, so I need to pay his Arkansas museum a visit as well. There are many other attractions to see and experience in Piggott that perhaps I’ll explore in a future column.