One of Arkansas’ least visited state parks contains the remains of one of the most important figures in Arkansas political history-- Conway Cemetery State Park. Conway Cemetery State Park is near Walnut Hill (Lafayette County) in southwest Arkansas. The park preserves the half-acre Conway family cemetery, which contains the grave of Arkansas’ first governor, James Sevier Conway. It is the second-smallest Arkansas state park. Herman Davis State Park near Manila is the smallest.
Conway came to Arkansas from Tennessee in 1820 and formed a surveying company in Little Rock (Pulaski County.) In 1832, Conway was appointed surveyor general of the Arkansas Territory by President Andrew Jackson. When Arkansas became the 25th state on June 15, 1836, Conway was elected as the state’s chief executive and served from 1836 to 1840. Conway was a member of “The Family,” a powerful dynasty that dominated the early politics of Arkansas. His younger brother, Elias, was Arkansas’ fifth governor who served from 1852-1860. The Conways’ cousin, Ambrose H. Sevier, was one of Arkansas’ first U.S. senators. Another one of the Conways’ cousins, Benjamin Johnson, was one of the state’s first supreme court justices. Benjamin’s brother, Richard Johnson, served as Vice President under President Martin Van Buren. Several other relatives of the Conway family served in various other state and local offices.
During his time in office, Gov. James Conway was responsible for a budget surplus and many of the state’s first institutions-- including roads, a prison system, and a state bank. A firm believer in the importance of a quality education, he unsuccessfully requested that the Arkansas General Assembly use the state’s budget surplus to create a public school system and a state university. Suffering from poor health, Conway resigned as governor in 1840 due to poor health. He passed away on March 3, 1855.
Conway Cemetery State Park is located on grounds once part of Conway’s cotton plantation. While none of the plantation’s structures remain, several tombstones and gravesites of Conway family members stand. The earliest graves on the site date back to 1845.
Area residents initially maintained the cemetery, which also contains the graves of Conway’s wife, Mary Jane Bradley Conway, and more than forty other members of the Conway and Bradley families.
A grassroots campaign led by the McCalman family of Walnut Hill helped persuade members of the Arkansas General Assembly to secure funds to preserve the historic cemetery. Legislation was passed in 1975 to authorize the state to acquire and develop the site.
The Conway Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1977. On March 27, 1984, the cemetery was placed under the supervision of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism in March 1984. The park was officially dedicated on March 29, 1986, as part of Arkansas’ sesquicentennial celebration. Since then, several improvements have been made to the site, including the installation of a paved parking lot, wooden fencing, and picnic tables. The park offers no amenities (such as camping and restrooms). Several interpretive signs have been erected which detail the life and accomplishments of James Conway.
Beginning in 1985, the town of Bradley (Lafayette County) celebrated James Conway with an annual Gov. Conway Days festival held during the last weekend in March.
While it may not have the popularity of a Petit Jean or Pinnacle Mountain or the scenery of a Mount Magazine or Queen Wilhemena, Conway Cemetery State Park is a must-visit for those interested in learning more about the Conway family.
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