Arkansas's Only Auto Manufacturer

 

                Perhaps you’ve driven by a large old green and white building located at 1823 East 17th Street in Little Rock which appears to be a warehouse or a a former factory. Hundreds of people drive past this structure every day not knowing that at one time it housed Arkansas’s only automobile manufacturer-- the Climber Motor Corporation.

                Climber produced both cars and trucks that were meant to better handle the state’s antiquated road system than previous modes of transportation. Three Little Rock businessmen, William Drake, Clarence Roth and Davis Hopson incorporated the Climber Motor Corporation in 1919. Their goal was to produce automobiles that would drive well on paved roads, as well as the primitive dirt and gravel roads once abundant in Arkansas. The men also wanted their vehicles to be able to climb (henceforth the name Climber) the steep roads in the Ozark Mountains as well as the flat long stretches of road found in Arkansas’s delta.

                The company’s first incarnation of its board of directors was made up of Drake as president, Roth as vice president and Hopson as secretary-treasurer. A company reorganization in October 1919 resulted in Henry Buhler, Climber’s general manager, being promoted to president. Lloyd Judd became treasurer and Richard Fletcher became secretary and plant manager. Roth remained on as vice president. Two of the three founders, Drake and Hopson, both left Climber to pursue other opportunities.

                For its first production facility, Climber Motor Corporation purchased a 20-acre site on East 17th Street in Little Rock. Its location was perfect, as it was both far from the city’s residential areas and located next to tracks operated by the Rock Island and Missouri Pacific railroads.

                Construction on Climber’s first factory began in January 1919, with the truck division being the first (and ultimately only) building built. According to blueprints located in the state archives, several other buildings were planned but never constructed. The truck factory was finished later that year. As construction began on Climber’s production facility, the board of directors began raising capital, finding skilled workers and obtaining the materials and parts needed to produce automobiles. 

                Unfortunately, Climber production got off to a rocky start. Its factory was constantly dealing with a parts shortage to the point Climber employees were forced to design and make their own. In October 1919, the company was reorganized again and William Drake retired as its president. Eventually, most all of Climber’s initial production problems were resolved by early 1920.

 

                In an effort to drum up excitement about their vehicles, Climber paraded 19 cars up Little Rock’s Main Street with Arkansas governor Charles Brough riding in the lead car. In another publicity effort, a Climber car was driven up the steps of Arkansas’s state capitol building. The thought  was that if a Climber car could climb up the capitol steps successfully, it could handle any terrain in the state.   

                Despite the board’s best efforts, a constant shortage of capital plagued the company from the start. And even with an initial $1 million stock offering and a massive marketing campaign, Climber was forced to file bankruptcy in February 1924. The Pulaski County Chancery Court placed Climber under the control of a receiver, attorney Xenophon O. Pindall. Pindall sold all of Climber’s holdings and the company closed its doors. At its end, the Climber Motor Corporation produced approximately 200 cars and about 75 trucks. Following its closure, Climber’s truck factory building was used to build light aircraft, and later, toilet paper.

                Out of the nearly 300 vehicles Climber manufactured, only two are known to have survived and both are part of the collection of the Museum of Automobiles atop Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton (Conway County). 

                Today, the Climber Motor Corporation truck factory building is still standing and is currently in use. The historical significance of the building was recognized with it being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 2005. 

The de Soto Expedition of Arkansas

                

                One of the most famous people in Arkansas history also happens to be one of its most controversial and mysterious — Hernando de Soto. Perhaps you remember hearing the name from 8th grade Arkansas history or seeing his name and image on various monuments and markers across the Natural State.

                Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition through the southern United States. De Soto and his band of soldiers were the first Europeans to visit the land that eventually became Arkansas. 

                It is believed de Soto was born in Spain around 1500, but his exact birthdate is unknown. Hernando was the second son of Francisco Méndez de Soto and Leonor Arias (Tinoco) de Soto. Although the de Soto family was reportedly of noble heritage, Hernando himself was poor and forced to borrow money to travel to the new world in 1514.

                Once de Soto made it to central America, he became a soldier and fought in raids and battles in Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. In just a few years, de Soto had developed a reputation as mean but cunning. And during his time in military service, de Soto became wealthy from his involvement in the Indian slave trade.

                In November 1536, de Soto returned to Spain to marry Isabel de Bobadilla. He also petitioned Spain’s King Charles V for a governorship in central America. The Spanish king considered de Soto’s request and offered him the opportunity to explore and conquer the area known as Florida. As part of the deal, King Charles V made de Soto governor of Cuba, which served as a base for de Soto’s planned conquest of Florida. In 1537, de Soto began gathering supplies and hired an army to participate in his expedition to the new world.

                After a couple of years of preparation, de Soto and 600 men — along with horses, pigs and equipment— set out from Cuba in May 1539. His agreement with Charles V required de Soto to explore the region and establish settlements and forts in the name of Spain. After landing on the southwest coast of Florida, de Soto and crew traveled through the southeastern area of the eventual United States before crossing the Mississippi River into what is now Arkansas on June 28, 1541. 

                It is accepted by most Arkansas historians that Hernando de Soto and his men were the first Europeans to set foot in Arkansas. There are four known accounts of the expedition through the lands of Arkansas that describe the Indians the Spanish group encountered in the next two years. Historians and scholars have long been unsure of de Soto’s actual route, but throughout the years, archaeologists have discovered Spanish artifacts at a few archaeological sites named in the accounts — solid evidence of the de Soto expedition.

                Hernando de Soto and his group’s relations with most of the native Americans of Arkansas were for the most part friendly, but de Soto and his soldiers also had no qualms of torturing and savagely killing those who refused to cooperate.

                After traveling around the area for almost a year (reportedly through modern-day cities such as Benton, Helena and Hot Springs), de Soto led his party back to the Mississippi River, somewhere in southeast Arkansas. By that time, he and most of his entourage were disillusioned and tired of the difficult journey and the battles with Indians over the past three years. De Soto eventually fell ill with fever and died at Guachoya, which many experts believe is now the city of Lake Village (Chicot County) in May 1542.

                Fearing the vandalism of his body and the consequences if the natives confirmed de Soto’s death, his men dug up the body at night, weighted it down and dumped it into the Mississippi River. 

                De Soto’s expedition in Arkansas was largely considered a failure, as fame and fortune escaped him. When he arrived in Arkansas, he was a proud, resilient conqueror. But in the end, the future land of opportunity offered none to de Soto and his party.

The Hoo-Hoo of Gurdon

                If you’ve driven through the town of Gurdon (Clark County), you might have noticed an old log building adorned by a strange black cat with the words, “The International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo.” And unless you’re a member or know your Arkansas history, you’ve wondered who or what the Hoo-Hoo are. 

                Recently, my wife and I found ourselves in a similar situation in the south Arkansas timber town. Having just visited a couple of nearby state parks, we both noticed the strange name and symbol just off Main Street. I knew I had to learn more.

                Turns out, the International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo is an active fraternal society for male workers in the timber industry that was founded in Gurdon in January 1892.

                The story goes that while stuck in Gurdon waiting on a delayed train, Bolling A. Johnson, a writer for The Timberman trade newspaper based in Chicago, and George Smith, secretary for the Southern Lumber Manufacturers Association in St. Louis, discussed the possibility of forming a unified lumber fraternity. The two approached fellow lumbermen George Washington Schwartz, William Starr Mitchell, William Eddy Barns and Ludolph Strauss (who were all waiting on the same delayed train) with the idea. 

                From that discussion, a new fraternal order was created. The name first suggested for the new fraternity was "The Ancient Order of Camp Followers." But it was decided the name was “uninteresting” and a new name was chosen — “The International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo.” The term “hoo-hoo” had become a nickname for a lumberman. Its emblem — a black cat with its tail curled into the shape of a figure nine — represents a cat’s nine lives. 

                Members of the Hoo-Hoo take an oath that says: “I promise that I will aid in every way possible, in the promotion of the welfare and interest of our country, and of our Order, and of the forest product industry. I will do all in my power, in the promotion of friendship, confidence and education, so that to others as well as myself, there may result health, happiness and long life.”

                The first regular gathering of the Hoo-Hoo was held Feb. 18, 1892, at the elegant St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, when 35 of the leading lumbermen of the country were initiated.

                Initially, membership in the Hoo-Hoo was limited to white men ages 21 and older who were engaged in the lumber industry as lumbermen, newspapermen and railroad workers. Mrs. M.A. Smith of Smithton (Clark County) was initiated before the gender requirement was passed, so she was allowed to remain as the organization’s only female member. In the late 1890s, membership had grown to more than 5,000. By the early 1920s, it had grown to about 7,000, and by the 1950s, Hoo-Hoo boasted 15,000 active members.

                According to the official Hoo-Hoo website (hoohoo.org), membership today is limited to people 18 and older who are of “good moral character” and are “engaged in the forestry industry or genuinely interested in supporting the purpose and aims of our order.” The group has grown into an international organization, with more than 100,000 dues paying members in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and South Africa.

                The Hoo-Hoo International office and museum share a log cabin built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the early 1930s at 207 Main St. in Gurdon, one block from the site where Hoo-Hoo was founded in 1892. The museum was dedicated on April 11, 1981.

                Now you know who the Hoo-Hoo are and so do I. Stay safe and warm this week, Arkansas!

The Battlefield of Poison Springs

                

                In last week’s column, I wrote about White Oak Lake and the state park alongside its shore. I mentioned that one of the park’s great amenities is its visitors’ center, which includes artifacts from nearby Poison Springs Battlefield State Park. These historic items, which include ammunition, belt buckles, buttons and other pieces, are located in the White Oak Lake State Park visitors’ center because there is no visitors’ center at Poison Springs. But there is a lot to see and do, especially if you love visiting Arkansas Civil War battle sites as much as I do.

 

                Poison Spring Battlefield State Park is located about 10 miles northwest of Camden. The park commemorates the Civil War battle fought on its grounds on April 18, 1864. 

 

                In March 1864, Union Gen. Frederick Steele led about 15,000 trained soldiers out of Little Rock to join in the Union’s Red River Campaign. The goal of the plan was to join Gen. Nathaniel Banks’ troops in northern Louisiana and eventually invade Texas. 

                Steele and his troops seized Camden on April 15 but did not continue onward to Louisiana. Instead, Steele sent troops to gather supplies from nearby farms. On April 17, Col. James M. Williams led roughly 600 federal troops, many of whom were former slaves, to forage the farms and forests west of Camden. When Williams and his men were returning to Camden the following day, they were attacked by Confederate forces led by generals John Marmaduke and Samuel Bell Maxey. 

                Union forces suffered more than 300 casualties while the Confederates lost only 114. This defeat, along with a similar loss to the rebels at Marks’ Mills on April 25, caused Steele and his troops to abandon the Camden area and return to Little Rock on May 3.

 

                Interestingly, no one seems to know why the battle and the park are called Poison Springs. The name Poison Spring was known to Camden-area residents at the time of the action and was used in battle reports, but its origins are uncertain. Years after the Civil War’s end, local tales claimed that the Union troops became sick after drinking the cold spring water, which the Confederates had poisoned. But there is no evidence to confirm the story.

 

                The 85-acre Poison Springs Battlefield State Park is located on both sides of Arkansas Highway 76. The highway was built along the road used by the Union supply train when it was roadblocked and attacked by the Confederate force during the battle of Poison Springs. But the battle covered a much larger area, estimated by historians to be as large as 9,000 acres. 

 

                    Act 182, passed by the Arkansas General Assembly in 1961, established Poison Spring Battleground State Park, and it is one of three state parks that commemorate the Camden Expedition (including Jenkins’ Ferry and Marks’ Mills). The day-use only park is operated by the state parks division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism and features outdoor interpretive signage, trails and picnic sites. As there is no visitors’ center on site, there are no bathrooms or exhibits. For those, you will need to visit nearby White Oak Lake State Park. But for those of you participating in the Arkansas State Parks Club 52 passport program, there is a place where you can make a pencil rubbing of the stamp at the park.

 

                    Poison Springs Battlefield State Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and along with eight other sites, is part of the Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark. The park was declared part of the National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1994.

White Oak Lake and State Park

 

                Located in Nevada and Ouachita Counties in southwest Arkansas, White Oak Lake State Park near Bluff City sits alongside the lake from which it takes its name. The park offers access to fishing on White Oak Lake, as well as other activities such as camping, picnicking and hiking. The lake itself is a fisherman’s oasis, as it’s filled with bass, crappie, catfish and bream. And for those who love to see wildlife, the state park has an abundance of great blue herons, egrets, ospreys, green heronsand bald eagles.

                The land that is now under White Oak Lake was purchased by the federal government in the late-1930s as a result of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. This act of Congress was passed to assist farmers during the Great Depression making it possible for farmers to own their own land rather than staying in tenant arrangements. In 1957, the Arkansas state legislature acquired the land and specially designated it for conservation and recreational purposes. 

                In 1961, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) built White Oak Lake. The lake actually consists of two sections: a 1,031-acre upper lake south of Highway 387 and a 1,735-acre lower lake north of the highway. White Oak is the second largest lake created by the AGFC with the largest being Lake Conway in central Arkansas. 

                In Nov. 1964, the AGFC leased land for a state park on the lower section of White Oak Lake to the Arkansas Publicity and Parks Commission (now the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism). The 510-acre park opened to the publicon April 1, 1967. On March 7, 1969, the park received official legislative approval as a state park by Act 192.

                Since its opening in 1967, White Oak Lake State Park has experienced significant further development and expansion. Thanks to the state’s Amendment 75 conservation tax, which is a one-eighth-percent sales tax that was approved by voters in 1996, a complete renovation of the park’s camping facilities was completed in June 2000.

                Located on park grounds is a visitors’ center which not only features exhibits about the state park, but also nearby Poison Springs Battlefield State Park, where a Civil War battle took place in April 1864. Ammunition, belt buckles, buttons and other items found at the Poison Springs battlefield site are part of the display. White Oak Lake State Park is home to a marinaand store which rents fishing boats, party barges, canoes and other watercraft. The park also features a campground, bathhouse, boat launch ramp, a picnic area with pavilions and a playground. During summer months, park staff offer interesting interpretive programs. For more information on camping rates, rental fees and park programming contact the park office at 870-685-2748.

            Biking and hiking trails are also very popular at White Oak Lake State Park. In several places along the park’s three trails, snow white sand can be seen on the forest’s floor. This sand is a remnant of when the Gulf of Mexico covered much of what today is the southern United States approximately 40-60 million years ago. 

            Both White Oak Lake and the state park are quite popular with local residents. However, its location in a part of our state where few tourists visit keeps them from being crowded and burdened with traffic. It is estimated nearly 70,000 people visit the park each year.

            If you’re looking for a great place to fish and spot some wildlife, White Oak Lake and state park is a great place to go.Whether you go for just a day or camp a few nights, you will definitely enjoy this part of the Natural State that’s a bit off the beaten path.

            Happy new year, Arkansas!