Northwest Arkansas Memories

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

MEMORIES Northwest Arkansas Times celebrates 150 years

Letter from the Publisher of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers It’s difficult to comprehend the changes Northwest Arkansas has experienced over the last 150 years. For many of us, the changes of the last 20 years have been so significant it’s easy to believe nothing much changed prior to then. The book you hold in your hands, NWA Memories, should quickly dispel those beliefs.

The Northwest Arkansas Times has been busy for the last 150 years, reporting on the changes,

challenges, victories and setbacks this area has experienced. Through their pages, stories were told of the people, businesses and institutions that would give this area its identity.

We’re extremely proud of our role in the development of this region, and we take this opportunity to thank our readers, advertisers and sponsors for your support. As newspapers seek to redefine themselves, you can rest assured the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers

will stay true to its mission of delivering interesting, timely and relevant news and information to the residents of Northwest Arkansas.

Sincerely, Tom Stallbaumer Publisher

Copyright© 2010 • ISBN: 978-1-59725-269-0 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.

Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. www.pediment.com Printed in Canada

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Acknowledgements Although this book was created to honor the 150-year anniversary of the Northwest Arkansas Times, it is a celebration of the history, growth and impact of the entire Northwest Arkansas region. The employees of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, LLC., which is comprised of The Northwest Arkansas Times, The Springdale Morning News, The Rogers Morning News, The Benton County Daily Record

and The Arkansas Democrat Gazette, would like to extend our gratitude to all the contributors who helped to create this memory book. Our historical celebration would have been incomplete without your time, help and photographs. Your generous contributions and hours of searching and researching helped us produce a book that reflects the pride and history of Northwest Arkansas.

A special thanks to the institutions and employees of the following: • Bella Vista POA • Bob’s Studio of Photography • Shiloh Museum of Ozark History • Fayetteville Public Library • Rogers Historical Museum • Siloam Springs Museum • University of Arkansas Special Collections

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Foreword The handsome book you are now holding, Northwest Arkansas Memories, is a pictorial history of our community over the last 150 years. It charts the evolution of Northwest Arkansas from its modest beginnings to our thriving metropolitan area. Those years are seen largely through the prism of the Northwest Arkansas Times.

In its various forms and guises, the Times has been chronicling the development of our community since the Civil War. (Indeed, a significant portion of my own family history is intertwined with that of the Times, since both my grandfather, Sam, and my father, George, managed it for many years.) Thus, a century and a half seems like an appropriate

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time to pause and reflect on what’s passed.

It’s difficult to even comprehend the changes that have occurred over that time.

From the first frame buildings that formed the campus of the University of Arkansas in 1872, to 1931 when John Tyson started his poultry business in Springdale, to the opening of Sam Walton’s first Rogers-based Wal-Mart in 1962, to the birth of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in 1969, to the ongoing development of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, the area has seen tremendous growth and change. Perhaps the magnitude of change is best illustrated by comparing the University of Arkansas graduating class of 1893 pictured on page 10 (all

fourteen of them!) with the more than 3,700 degrees conferred last spring at commencement.

This book does a wonderful job of capturing those changes and illuminating the unique history of our region—as well as highlighting where our broader history overlaps the larger flow of world events.

Enjoy your trip through Northwest Arkansas Memories. I sure have.

G. David Gearhart, Chancellor University of Arkansas

Table of Contents The Late 1800s..............................................................................................................................................7 The Early 1900s..........................................................................................................................................17 The 1920s & ’30s........................................................................................................................................ 55 The 1940s, ’50s & ’60s...............................................................................................................................77 The 1970s through today..................................................................................................................... 103 Index............................................................................................................................................................. 142 Business Profiles..................................................................................................................................... 145

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The Late 1800s Though we may never walk down the dirt roads or through the quiet hollows that typified Northwest Arkansas after the Civil War, they still seem familiar in the pictures that follow. Through these news clippings and images, we can share our ancestors’ joy at the establishment of the railroads in 1881, the incorporation of Springdale and Rogers, and the arrival of more people and businesses than the area had ever seen.

The development of more local cities was not the only major advancement; this time also brought the establishment of public schools and water systems and the arrival of electricity and telephones. The Fayetteville Democrat, the paper that would one day become the Northwest Arkansas Times, started production in 1860, and began to supply the area with local and national news. The quaint farmhouse on the McIlroy

farm, about a mile northwest of downtown Fayetteville, became Arkansas Industrial University on January 22, 1872. Twenty-six years later, that farmhouse school became the University of Arkansas, the state’s flagship institution and home to the Arkansas Cardinals. At the turn of the 20th century, Northwest Arkansas was beginning to transform into the collection of communities we recognize today.

Left: The Twin Springs in Siloam Springs, probably in the early 1880s before the wooden steps were replaced with stone. Health seekers came to this spring to drink the water, and cups are visible in the hands of some people in this group. The City Marshal and three friends are standing on the rock. Sager Creek is now higher and there are rock walls to keep the creek out of the spring. Courtesy Siloam Springs Museum

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Above: Advertisements dominate the front page of this December 28, 1888, edition of

the Fayetteville Democrat, including a healthy competition between two boot stores. Cour-

tesy Fayetteville Public Library

Right: The December 13, 1873, edition of the Fayetteville Democrat, which includes a note on the forming of the Arkansas Industrial University in Fayetteville.

Courtesy Fayetteville Public Library

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Above: View of the first building on the University of Arkansas

campus, 1872. The two frame buildings were two stories and were connected by a hallway, enclosed with a roof over it.

Courtesy University of Arkansas Special Collections

Top left: View of First Street between Walnut and Elm streets, Rogers, 1882. Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum Middle left: Ozark & Cherokee Railway at Lincoln, 1889.

Courtesy Bob’s Studio of Photography

bottom Left: Street scene in Lincoln, circa 1890.

Courtesy Bob’s Studio of Photography

Below: One of the earliest views of Fayetteville, 1870. This view is the south side of the square. Courtesy Bob’s Studio of Photography

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Above: W. R. Cady’s General Merchandise in Rogers, circa 1893. The man behind the counter at right is

identified as W. R. Cady. Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum

Below: University of Arkansas, class of 1893. Students in the upper row are identified as Louis Russell Ash, unidentified, Cal Armstead, Albert Wood, Mr. Brewer, Blanch Bibb (Humphrey) and Harvey Moore.

Lower row, Frank Moore, unidentified, Alexander Milton Vance, Hadgie Booker Davis (Ash) and Scott Pharr. Courtesy University of Arkansas Special Collections

Above: Family photo, late 1800s. Front row, seated are Martin

Harrison and Amanda Levisa Thornsberry Looney. Second row, seated are James Franklin (1877-1942), John William (1875-1951) and Ellis Eddie (1886-1970). Back row, standing are Virgil Austin (1880-1974), George Matthew (1884-1973) and David Oscar (18821948). Courtesy Reba Love

Below: John Shimpaugh, mayor of Rogers, rides a horse-drawn buggy in the late 1800s. Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum

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Left: Garfield Baptist Church Group. Identified in the photo are Russell Parks, Ray Herod, Elwood Clark, Jim Doak, Clark Doak, Rhoda Doak, Joe Ellison, Earl Blansett, Marion Doak, Wallace Haswell, Jim McKinlay, Ray Taylor, Edith Poe, Helen McKinlay, Mrs. Clark, Ollie Summers, Lyda Poe, Mary Parks, Jewel Haswell, Mamie Haswell, Lucy Payne, Coila Parks, Grace Parks, Mrs. Ellison, Josie Summers, Joda Herod, Beulah Blansett, Mary Payne, Verbal Wilks, Leonard Doak, Pete Doak, Mr. Doak, Frankie Haswell, John Mc Kinlay, Fay Herod, Mr. Clark, Frank Haswell, John Blansett, Margaret Blansett, Clara Haswell, Agna Reddick and Clara Johnson.

Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum

Right: Interior of Bank of Rogers, late 1800s. From left, inside cage at front are W.R. Felker, president; and Pierce Weaver. Others unknown. The bank was established by W.R. Felker in 1883 at the southwest corner of 18th and Elm streets. Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum Below: First Street, Rogers, late 1800s. Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum

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Right: This fancy wall stood at the Siloam Springs City Park in downtown Siloam Springs from 1882 to about 1892. Dams and pipes behind the wall directed the medicinal spring water to three pipes along this wall. The steps and well-worn path probably lead to another spring. Eight springs feeding into this part of Sager Creek were once considered medicinal, and summer visitors here to drink the waters were once an important part of the town’s economy. A hand-painted sign threatens a $5 fine for washing face and hands at this spring. Courtesy Siloam Springs Museum Bottom right: Business block including Bates and Meador

Grocery Store, Democrat Office, and Carnahan and Co. Harness Shop, Rogers, late 1800s. Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum

Opposite: Easter chorus at the Christian Church in Rogers, circa 1898. Fourth row, Meeks, unknown, Forest Saunders, Allie Grimes and Will Grimes. Third row, Vida Baker, Sudie Lynn, Maggie Peck, Josephine Dodson, Eva Shoud, Julia Blake, Elder Jorden, unknown, Dela Lynn and unknown. Second row, Dot Ferrenburg, uknown, Bertie Duckworth, unknown, Leliah Oakley, Glade Saunders, Mary Ramsey and Myrtle Mayers. First row, Ruth Turney, Jennie Grimes, Mabel Keller, unknown, unknown, Bessie Johnson and unknown. Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum Below: Grants Free Show at Siloam Springs High School, late 1800s. Courtesy Rogers Historical Museum

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Above: Students who attended Dean School in Fayetteville. The

school was near Porter Road, Mount Comfort and Shiloh, 1896. The school was later moved to the north corner of what is now Agri-Park on Arkansas 112 and Garland Avenue. The school became Meadow Valley. Courtesy Joan Hays

Top left: The “Great Train Wreck” at Greenland, 1897.

Courtesy Bob’s Studio of Photography

Left: University of Arkansas football team, 1899. Coach John Clinton Futrall is pictured on the left, second row, wearing a suit and cap. He joined the university in 1894 and later became president of the University of Arkansas. Courtesy Bob’s Studio of Photography Opposite: Group of cadet officers, circa 1898. Those known, back row are Ashton Vinceheller and Tom Trimble. Third row, Mr. Aburnathy, Hughy, Will Ross and Don Taylor. Second row, Lyford Horner, Frank Kirby, Will Rattenberry, Edgar Brown and Frank Horsfall. No one is identified sitting on the ground.

Courtesy University of Arkansas Special Collections

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