A History of Independence County, AR

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Independence County Part One

Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northeast Arkansas

INDEPENDENCE COUNTY–FORMATION AND ORGANIZATION–PUBLIC STRUCTURES–
CATALOGUE OF OFFICIALS–THE FRANCHISE–ADMINISTRATION OF LAW–THE COMING OF
THE PIONEERS–LOCATION OF THE COUNTY–ITS WATER COURSES–NUMEROUS
PERSONALAND BUSINESS SKETOHES–TIMBER AND MINES–LANDS AND CROPS–CENSUS
RETURNS–RAILROADS–RELIGIOUS GROWTH–TOWNS–POPULAR INSTRUCTION–WAR
RECORD–FACTS AND STATISTICS.

In ancient times the sacred plow employ'd The kings and awful fathers of
mankind, And some * * have held the scale of empire Then, * * with unwearied
hand, * * * Seized the plow, and greatly independent lived.– Thomson.

THE county of Independence was organized in accordance with the provisions of
an act of the legislature of Arkansas Territory, approved October, 20, 1820. As
then organized it embraced much territory which has since, from time to time,
been out off and included in other counties as they were formed. Originally it
composed a part of Lawrence County.

The town of Batesville having been established prior to the organization of the
county, and being centrally located, as well as enjoying the advantages of a
navigable river, was chosen as the seat of justice, and as such still
continues. The first court-house, a brick structure, was erected in 1821, close
to the bank of White River, and above the mouth of the bayou, on the public
square, as shown by the town plat. The present court-house, which stands on
block 15, at the corner of Broad and Main Streets, was erected in 1857 by
Messrs. J. H. Peel and J. E. Wama****, at a cost of $10,000. It is a plain two-
story brick building, with six rooms on the first floor, and court-room, jury
and witness-rooms on the second. It has a wooden tower containing a town clock.
The Paul Jail Company, of St. Louis, Mo., is now repairing the two-story stone
residence of the jailer, and completing a new jail attached, for the contract
price of $7,500. It stands on the opposite side of the same block on which the
court-house is located, the jail proper having seven cells for prisoners.

The county has a poor farm and asylum for the use of the paupers. It is six
miles northeast of Batesville, and has good buildings, and about fifty acres
under cultivation. The county furnishes food and clothing for the indigent, the
superintendent caring for them for the use of the farm.

page 622 [p.622] The following is a list of names of county officers of
Independence County from its organization, with date of their terms of service:


County judges: James Boswell, 1829-32; Richard Peel, 1832-40; D. W. Lowe, 1840-
44; John Kyler, 1844-46; John Mannikin, 1846-48; D. W. Lowe, 1848-54; J. C.
Brickey, 1854-56; N. Peed, 1856-64; H. Hogan, 1864-66; G. W. Shaw, 1866-68; H.
Hogan, 1868-72; commissioners, 1872-74; Henry Neill, 1874-76; W. M. Steel,
1876-78; S. A. Hail, 1878-80; W. M. Steel, 1880-82; R. H. Griffin, 1882-86; A.
J. Craig, present incumbent, first elected in 1886.

Clerks: R. Searcy, 1820-21; T. Curran, 1821-27; J. Redmond, 1827-32; C. H.
Pelham, 1832-36; William Moore, 1836-38; C. H. Pelham, 1838-44; D. W. Lowe,
1844-48; W. R. Miller, 1848-54; R. R. Kellogg, 1854-56; Henry Powell, 1856-58;
J. A. Price, 1858-62; M. A. Wycough, 1862-64; R. Harpham, 1864-66; Robert
Neill, 1866-68; R. Harpham, 1868-72; W. H. Berry, 1872-74; E. M. Dickinson,
1874-86; M. A. Wycough, present incumbent, first elected in 1886.

Sheriffs: Charles Kelly, 1820-32; J. Egner, 1832-35; J. H. Egner, 1835-36; H.
A. Engles, 1836-42; W. L. McGuire, 1842-47; A. Alexander, 1847-52; U. E. Foot,
1852-56; G. W. Daugherty, 1856-60; John Bailey, 1860-62; Dan James, 1862-64;
John Palmer, 1864-66; F. D. Denton, 1866-68; J. J. Palmer, 1868-72; J. W.
Kennedy, 1872-74; John Bailey, 1874-76; R. R. Case, 1876-82; R. M. Desha, 1882-
86; McCurdy Hail, present incumbent, first elected in 1886.

Treasurers: J. H. Egner, 1836-40; S. B. Wycough, 1840-50; B. Lee, 1850-54; G.
W. Dougherty, 1854-56; Thomas Womack, 1856-58; R. Harpham, 1858-60; T.
Chaplain, 1860-64; Franklin Perrin, 1866-68; J. Van Emberg, 1868-72; J. H.
Foster, 1872-74; B. F. Howard, 1874-80; R. H. Lee, 1880-86; J. A. Hinkle, 1886-
88; L. C. Lindsay, present incumbent, elected in 1888.

Coroners: John Reed, 1820-21; John Bean, 1821-23; J. L. Daniels, 1823-27; John
Ruddell, 1827-29; A. Cresswell, 1829-30; Robert Bruce, 1830-32; J. Carroll,
1832-35; J. Merriweather, 1835-36; C. McArthul, 1836-38; H. W. Bandy, 1838-40;
W. W. Baltimore, 1840-42; George Case, 1842-48; William O'Conner, 1848-52;
Martin Cason, 1852-54; G. M. Miniken (or Minnikin), 1854-56; William O'Conner,
1856-58; H. Blevins, 1858-60; J. Thomas, 1860-62; J. Bethel, 1862-64; S. J.
McGuffin, 1866-68; Charles Caw, 1868-72; W. R. Joplin, 1872-78; C. B. Grigsby,
1878-80; C. D. McCormack, 1880-82; K. E. Lawrence, 1882-84; Kent Lawrence,
1884-86; W. S. McGuire, 1886-88; J. L. Ellis, present incumbent, elected in
1888.

Surveyors: C. H. Pelham, 1827-30; J. Trimble, 1830-35; E. Frazier, 1835-40;
Samuel Weldin, 1840-42; A. Bowman, 1842-44; A. Manning, 1844-46; George Gill,
1846-48; T. S. Carter, 1848-52; J. Ireland, 1852-56; E. D. Rushing, 1856-58; C.
P. Head, 1858-60; Robert Neill, 1860-62; Z. D. Bozart, 1862-64; James Grisham,
1864-66; J. S. Carter, 1866-68; J. S. Smith, 1868-72; J. M. C. Southard, 1872-
76; W. A. Hill, 1876-78; J. M. C. Southard, 1878-82; John Hindman, 1882-88; G.
M. Thompson, present incumbent, elected in 1888.

Assessors: W. H. Grigsby, 1862-64; E. D. Rushing, 1864-66; R. H. Lee, 1866-68;
T. A. Baxter, 1868-72; E. C. Patchell, 1872-74; D. R. Ford, 1874-76; William
Taylor, 1876-82; T. B. Padgett, 1882-84; Thomas Owens, 1884-86; C. H. Webb,
1886-88; Josiah Martin, present incumbent, elected in 1888.

Delegates in constitutional conventions: 1836, John Ringgold and Townsend
Dickinson; 1861, M. S. Kennard, U. E. Fort and F. W. Desha; 1864, C. C. Bliss;
1868, Peter G. Misner and George W. Dale; 1874, J. W. Butler and J. Rutherford.
Peyton Tucker represented Independence County in the council of the Second
Territorial legislature, in 1821, and J. Ringgold represented Independence and
Jackson Counties in the senate of the First State legislature; at the same time
T. Dickinson representing Independence County in the house.

page 623 The political aspect of the county may be inferred from the votes cast
for the several candidates at the last State and Presidental elections, which
were as follows: September election, 1888, [p.623] for governor, James P. Eagle
(Dem.), 2,012; C. M. Norwood (Com. Opp.), 2,051; for secretary of State, B. B.
Chism (Dem.), 2,002; George W. Terry (Com. Opp.), 2,050; Presidential election,
1888, Cleveland (Dem.), 1,789; Harrison (Rep.), 324; Streeter (U. L.), 1,220;
Fisk (Prohibition), 36.

As the county was created October 20, 1820, it is most likely that the first
session of court was held in the latter part of that year or early in the year
following; but no record of any court appears on file until the “Common Pleas”
court convened at Batesville on Monday, November 19, 1821, with Judges Richard
Peel and William Moore, presiding. This court assumed jurisdiction over all
business, including county, probate and criminal affairs. So far as the record
shows, this was the last term of the common pleas court. The same volume of
records immediately following the last proceeding of the above shows that in
January, 1822, the Hon. Richard Searcy, judge of the First judicial district,
appeared and produced his commission as such, and opened the first term of the
circuit court at Batesville. A grand jury was then chosen, and sworn to perform
their duties, and Thomas Dickinson was appointed prosecuting attorney for the
term. This court had jurisdiction now over all kinds of business, and was the
only court held until 1829, when the county court was created by the
legislature.

Judge Searcy presided over the circuit court until November, 1825, when he was
succeeded by Judge James Woodson Bates. The first term of the county court
began April 5, 1830, with James Boswell, judge presiding.

The circuit court now belongs to the Third judicial district, composed of the
counties of Jackson, Lawrence, Stone, Randolph, Independence and Sharp, with
Judge J. W. Butler, of Batesville, presiding, and J. L. Abernethy, of Evening
Shade. as prosecuting attorney. The sessions of this court are held in
Independence County, commencing on the first Monday of January and July of each
year. The sessions of the county court begin on the first Mondays of January,
April, July and October, and the probate court the first Mondays of February,
May, August and November.

The legal bar of Independence County is composed of the following named
attorneys: H. S. Coleman, J. C. Yancey, Robert Neill, W. A. Bevens, J. J.
Barnwell, Ex.-Gov. Elisha Baxter, Samuel Peete, W. B. Padgett, Charles Bourne,
J. C. Bone and W. B. Ruddell.

Independence County has been comparatively free from the perpetration of the
grosser crimes. Since the Civil War there has been only one execution for the
crime of murder committed here– the hanging of Jesse Kemp for the murder of
Marion Hulsey. He was tried on a change of venue and executed in Sharp County.
Another person suffered capital punishment in the county for a murder committed
elsewhere.

French traders and trappers ascended White River long before the permanent
settlement of the country traversed by it began. A party of these people
encamped and hunted bear in the region now known as Oil Trough Bottom, in
Independence County. Here they slew many bear, from which they rendered the
oil, filled their barrels and had a surplus left. This letter was put into
wooden troughs and left in the camp, the intention probably being to return for
it. However, no one called, and the oil spoiled in the troughs. Hence the name
Oil Trough Bottom. These traders and hunters left many marks of their travels
at various places up and down the river, which were plainly visible to the
pioneer settlers. Not a few of the streams and other natural objects were named
by the French and Spaniards.

page 624 The permanent settlement of this territory is believed to have
commenced about the year 1810, or perhaps a little earlier. John Reed located
at the site of Batesville in 1812. Samuel Miller, of Tennessee, came in 1813,
and subsequently settled on the creek that bears his name in this county. Col.
Robert Bean ran the first keel-boat up White. River and established himself at
the mouth of Polk Bayou (Batesville) in 1814. James Micham settled near the
same place in the same year. In 1817, James Trimble and his family, including
Jackson S. Trimble, who now lives at Sulphur Rock, and who was then a small
child, came from Kentucky and chose a location five miles southwest of
Batesville. [p.624] Col. Hartwell Boswell, John H. Ringgold, John Redmond and
Henry Engles all came from the same State to Batesville some time prior to
1820.

The following named persons composed the first grand jury empaneled for the
county in the circuit court, in January, 1822: George Teil, Byrd Candrey, James
Akin, John Morgan, Henry Morris, David Magness, John Cochran, William Sneed,
George Trimble, Peter Taylor, William Matney, Benedict White, Joshua Minyard,
Amos Friend, William Friend, Robert Bruce and Morgan Magness. These, of course,
were all prominent pioneer settlers. John Magness, father of Morgan Magness,
was also a pioneer of note. Space only permits the mention here of a few of the
most prominent early residents, but two of whom, so far as known, are now
living: James Micham and Jackson S. Trimble. For other pioneers the reader is
referred to the list of early county officers and biographical sketches.

Independence County, located in the northeastern part of the State, is bounded
north by Izard, Sharp and Lawrence Counties, east by Jackson, south by Jackson
and White, and west by Cleburne and Stone. It has an area of 700 square miles,
a considerable portion of which remains unimproved.

Its boundary lines are as follows: Beginning on the line dividing Townships 14
and 15 north, where Black River lastly crosses it in its downward course;
thence west on the township line to the range line between Ranges 4 and 5 west;
thence north to the corner between Sections 13 and 24, Township 15 north, Range
5 west; thence west on section lines to the southwest corner of Section 18,
Township 15 north, Range 7 west; thence south 45º west seven and a half miles
to White River; thence down White River to the mouth of Wolf Bayou; thence up
Wolf Bayon to the line dividing Townships 12 and 13; thence east to the
northeast corner of Township 12 north, Range 8 west; thence south on the range
line to the line dividing Townships 10 and 11 north; thence east on the
township line to the line dividing Ranges 3 and 4 west; thence north on the
range line to White River; thence down White River to the mouth of Black River;
thence up Black River to the place of beginning.

The surface of the county, in general, is quite broken and hilly, and in some
places it might be considered mountainous. Along the streams there are
beautiful valleys, and on the summits of the ridges between the streams many
tracts of fair table lands are seen. A large proportion of the hilly lands are
so completely covered with stone and bed rock as to render their cultivation
impossible. The famous Oil Trough Bottom is a tract of very rich alluvial land,
fifteen miles in length and about three miles in width, lying on the southwest
side of White River, in the southeast part of the county. It is level, but not
subject to overflow, and is especially well adapted to the production of wheat
and corn. At its head is the Oil Trough Ridge, with a height of 152 feet. In
this ridge is a black limestone capable of a superior polish. About five miles
above Batesville a bold headland on the south side of White River, known as
“Shields' Bluff,” or White River Mountain, is a conspicuous object. This
mountain is some 570 feet above the river, and is a noted land-mark in Arkansas
as having been the point where the old Cherokee line commenced at White River,
and ran southwest along the dividing ridge, of which it forms the terminating
bluff on the river.

From Miller's Creek to Batesville the hills are from 130 to 240 feet in height.
Red shales, running downward into brown and black shales, with calcareous
septaria, occupy the base of the hills around Batesville; these shales are
surmounted by 150 to 180 feet of sandstone. Between Batesville and the “Big
Spring,” there are high ridges elevated about 450 feet above White River,
composed in their upper part of both compact and cellular chert; the latter
partaking of the character of buhr-stone. The descent from these chert ridges
to the “Big Spring” is some 260 feet. (State Geological Report). Building stone
of excellent quality exists in unlimited quantity in Independence County, and
in the cavernous limestone regions, hundreds of caves, from small to great
dimensions, are numerous.

page 625 White River, the largest stream in the county, [p.625] passes through
it in a direction a little south of east, leaving the larger portion of the
area to the north. The creeks that flow into this river from the south are Wolf
Bayou, which forms a portion of the western boundary of the county, Greenbriar,
Salido and Goodie; and those flowing into it from the north are Lafferty,
Spring Creek, Polk Bayou and Big Creek. South Big, Elbow, Fourteen Mile, Ten
Mile and Departee Creeks drain the extreme southern part, flowing southward.
Cura and Dota Creeks, in the northeastern portion of the county, flow into
Black River, where the latter forms a portion of the eastern boundary line.
With the streams here named, and their various tributaries, the locality is
well drained. Many springs abound, the most noted of which is Big Spring, about
six miles northwest of Batesville. Here a volume of the clearest water rises
from a cavernous passage at the foot of an amphitheatre of hills of cherty,
siliceous limestone, sufficient in quantity to turn a small gristmill, which
stands a short distance below. This spring is quite a noted locality in
Independence County. Good well water can be obtained at various places at a
moderate depth, while cisterns are generally in use. From the several sources
named an abundant supply of water is obtained for all purposes. White and Black
Rivers are both navigable to points above this vicinity. The former may be
traversed by the large steamers that ply the lower waters, as far up as
Batesville, and by small veasels, to Leadville in Missouri. The latter is
navigable for boats of medium size as far as Pocahontas, in Randolph County,
and for smaller vessels to points at a greater distance above.

Independence is in the mineral belt of this part of the State. The ores found
are oxides of iron and manganese, galena and occasionally copper pyrites. The
richest beds of manganese are located in the vicinity of Lafferty Creek and the
town of Cushman, to which latter place the railroad has been extended from
Batesville, on account of the rich mineral deposits thereabouts. Lead has been
mined to some extent on Cura Creek, in the northeast part of the county.
Throughout this mineral belt manganese ore is found in different degrees of
purity, from that which is worthless, up to the best, which is very rich and
remarkably free from phosphorus and silica. It is usually detected between a
top covering of burnt flint and limestone at various depths beneath. The
principal mines now worked are the Southern Mine and the Turner Mines, both in
Stubbs Township. The Keystone Iron & Manganese Company, of Johnstown, Pa., one
of William Carnegie's companies, own the former and control the latter. They
have a very extensive plant of machinery at the Southern Mine, and generally
keep about fifty men employed. The ore from this and the Turner Mines is of the
finest description. Considerable work is being done in other mines in the way
of developing them.

 Footnote From the Batesville Guard of October 26, 1888.

 There are millions of tons of the better class of ore in this belt awaiting
only the investment of the intelligent capitalist to reap a rich reward for his
investment; but capital is necessary.*

The timber growth of Oil Trough Bottom is pin oak, red oak, water oak, elm,
pecan, black walnut, sweet gum, hackberry and buckeye, with an undergrowth of
large pawpaw, grape vines, spicewood, etc. The bottom lands, though of limited
extent, in the northwest part of the county support a growth of black walnut,
Spanish oak, ash, and over-cup oak, with an undergrowth of spice and large
grape-vines. A similar growth of timber is found in the valleys throughout the
county. Much of the upland is covered with black and white oak, hickory and
dogwood, and the principal growth on the cherty limestone land consists of
black-jack, sassafras and persimmon.

page 626 A large proportion of the more broken lands still belong to the United
States, and are subject to homestead entry. The State also owns considerable,
which can be procured very cheap. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern
Railroad Company have a large amount of land within the county, and the balance
belongs to individuals. The soil of the Oil Trough Bottom is unsurpassed in
fertility. It is dark colored and of a clayey consistency, having a depth of
from five to six feet. It yields from a bale to a bale and a half of cotton,
fifty to one hundred bushels of corn, and from [p.626] twenty to forty bushels
of wheat per acre. The soil of the other bottom lands are generally composed of
alluvial deposits, and are very rich and productive, while that of the uplands
is, as a rule, light and sandy. Much of the upland will not produce more than
from five to ten bushels of wheat, and from ten to twenty bushels of corn, and
from one-half to three-fourths of a bale of cotton per acre. All kinds of fruit
trees flourish and do well when cultivated, even where scarcely any thing else
can be grown. A State Geological Report published before the late Civil War,
speaks of the soil in general as follows: “A considerable diversity of soil is
to be found in Independence County, corresponding to changes in the underlying
geological formations. Though the surface is considerably broken, still there
are extensive areas of table land underlaid by cherty subcarboniferous
limestones. These soils are rich, and being based on red clay, are retentive
and durable; they are similar in composition to the land in the barrens of
Kentucky. There are, also, extensive tracts of bottom land, bordering on the
numerous small streams which water this county, that are well adapted for
cultivation.’

Much of the timber of the county has been cut into logs and rafted down White
River to distant market points, while some has been sawed into lumber and
shipped away by rail; an abundant supply, however, remains for domestic
purposes, and wood for fuel seems almost inexhaustible. Thus far the county's
chief sources of income have been the growing of cotton and corn and the
raising of live stock. It is believed, however, that are long the mineral
products will become equally profitable. When thousands of men are employed to
dig the ores from the earth, and other thousands are engaged in manufacturing
the products at or near home, and home markets are established for the surplus
farm yield, greater prosperity must reign!

In 1880 the United States cenaus showed that Independence had 2,465 farms and
84,766 acres of improved land. From these the vegetable productions for the
year 1879 were as follows: Indian corn, 691, 188 bushels; oats, 61,209 bushels;
wheat, 57,104 bushels: hay. 396 tons: cotton, 11,156 bales; Irish potatoes,
11,251 bushels: sweet potatoes, 16,583 bushels: tobacco, 21.726 pounds. In the
production of tobacco, the county then ranked seventh in the State. It will be
interesting to compare with these figures the productions of the present year
(1889). when the census of 1890 shall be published. The number of head of live
stock here in 1880, was: Horses. 3,742; mules and asses, 2,297; neat cattle,
15,553: sheep, 11,351; hogs, 32.911. The live stock as shown by the abstract of
taxable property for the year 1888 was: Horses, 4,199; mules and asses, 2,707;
neat cattle, 20,570; sheep, 5,642; hogs, 26.675. By comparison it will be seen
that since 1880 there has been a large increase in horses. mules and asses, and
neat cattle, but a decrease of nearly 50 per cent in the number of sheep and a
large apparent decrease in the number of hogs. In 1880, and for years prior
thereto, the Arkankas Woolen Mills, located on Sullivan Creek. some seven miles
north of Batesville. were in operation, manufacturing all kinds of woolen
goods. These mills furnished a home market for wool, in consequence of which
the raising of sheep in the county had become a leading industry. On the 9th of
May, 1882, these valuable mills were washed away and destroyed in a flood. Thus
the home market for wool was to some extent overthrown. This. together with the
reduced price of wool in general. probably accounts for the falling off in the
number of sheep. There was no real decrease in the number of hogs raised,
though the figures might indicate such to be the case.

In 1880 the county real estate was assessed for taxation at $1,465,271, and the
personal property at $865,869, making a total of $2,331,140, the taxes upon
which amounted in the aggregate to $34,719. In 1888 real estate was assessed
for taxation at $2,464.413, and the personal property at $1,759,488, making a
total of $4,223,901: the total amount of taxes charged thereon was $55,445.90.
These figures show that since 1880 the taxable wealth of the county has almost
doubled.

page 627 The population of Independence County at the end of each census decade
since its organization has been as follows: 1830, 2,031; 1840, 3,669; [p.627]
1850, 7,767; 1860, 14.307; 1870, 14,566; 1880, 18,086. The colored population
in 1860 was 1,337; in 1870, 908, and in 1880, 1,382.

The Batesville branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad was
completed to Batesville in 1882 and extended on to Cushman in 1886. It leaves
the main line at a point near Newport. This is the only railway outlet with
which this locality is favored.

The Methodists were the pioneer religious workers in Independence County. the
Baptists coming next. Of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, there are now
Batesville station, Rev. J. C. Brown, pastor– membership 220; Sulphur Rock
circuit, embracing five appointments, Rev. D. W. Reid, pastor, with an
aggregate membership of 590; Bethesda circuit, having about five appointments,
Rev. A. P. Saffold, pastor, with an aggregate membership of 510; and Jamestown
circuit, including seven appointments, Rev. T. A. Craig, pastor, with an
aggregate membership of 460. Some of the circuits perhaps embrace a few
appointments beyond the county limits. All these organizations belong to the
Batesville district of the White River conference, of which Rev. H. T. Gregory,
of Batesville, is the presiding elder.

There are within the county the following Baptist Church organizations, pastors
and memberships: Batesville, Elder A. J. Barton, 90. Bellview, Mt. Olivet,
Maple Spring and Union Grove, James Purcelley, respective memberships 60, 76,
87 and 55; Center Grove, R. B. Belomy, 172: Eatopia, M. M. Burge. 41; Martin's
Chapel. G. W. James, 23; New Prospect, 25; Olive Branch. O. M. Wood, 46;
Providence, J. D. Faulkner, 21; Pleasant Plains, C. W. Betts, 44; Rehobeth. J.
W. Goodwin, 95; Sulphur Rock, J. W. Bell, 7: and Cave Spring, J. L. McCord, 83.
All of these belong to the Independence Association of Missionary Baptists.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, at Batesville. with a membership of about 90, is
the only organization of that denomination within the county.

The Batesville Presbyterian, is the only “Old School” church organization
within the county. A. R. Kennedy, D. D., is the pastor, and the membership is
128. The Cumberland Presbyterians have the following organizations and pastors:
Jamestown, Philip Jeffrey; New Hope, James Bone; Sulphur Rock and Mount Zion,
Henry Gibson. These will average about forty members each. In addition is a
mission at Batesville, with Rev. A. N. Nunn as pastor.

Other denominations of less numerical strength within the county, having few
organizations, are the Christian, Methodist Episcopal, and perhaps some others.
The colored people have two Methodist and one Baptist Church organizations in
Batesville. Sunday schools are generally taught in connection with the stronger
churches. Upon the whole the community is well supplied with churches and
schools.

Batesville, the county seat, is situated on the north side of White River, at
the mouth of Polk Bayou. In 1812, one John Reed, from Missouri, cut down the
first tree on the site where it now stands, and erected a small store house,
and with a supply of notions and whisky traded with the Indians, trappers and
hunters. His example was followed during the next five years by C. Kelly.
Robert Bean, Boswell, Ringgold and Redmoud. The town was named after Judge
James Woodson Bates, the first delegate to Congress from Arkansas Territory.
The principal trade of the place during its early existence was that of
supplying the settlers with groceries and provisions, for which hides and furs
from the then numerous wild animals were taken in exchange. At that period the
only means of intercourse with the older States was by keel-boats, and the
trade was principally with New Orleans. But as time passed on and the country
improved. Batesville became, as it now is, a beautiful and substantial city of
nearly, if not quite, 3,000 inhabitants. It is attractively located on a plane
inclining from the north toward White River, and on both sides of Polk
Bayou–the business portion being mostly east of the latter stream.

page 628 The business part of the town begins at Chestnut Street and extends up
Main Street on both sides for about five blocks. In this vicinity, extending
out also on the cross streets, are nineteen substantial buildings of sandstone,
this stone having [p.628] been procured near by. These nineteen buildings
embrace the Arlington Hotel, the cotton warehouse and twenty stores. There are
seven brick buildings (all two stories except one), containing fourteen stores.
Two buildings are covered with corrugated iron, and many others are made of
wood. Many fine brick, stone and frame residences are also found. The Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, and the Baptists have each a large and commodions
stone church edifice; the Presbyterians have a fine brick, and the
Episcopalians a neat frame building. The colored people have three church
houses. The public school-house is a large two-story brick, with a one-story
stone building attached. The Arkansas College, a substantial brick structure of
two stories, occupies a commanding position in the eastern part of town. There
are also numerous other fine buildings and manufacturing establishments here,
indicating thrift and energy above most places.

Batesville contains two banks, fourteen general stores, eleven groceries, two
book and notion stores, three hardware stores, three drug stores, one dry goods
and clothing store, two millinery, one furniture and two jewelry stores, two
auction houses, one music and sewing machine store, a merchant tailor, two
harness stores, three meat markets and a bakery; also a full complement of
mechanies and their shops; the town is also supplied with two public halls, two
large and commodious hotels– the Arlington and the McDowell House–and several
smaller ones, a number of restaurants, two livery stables, a telephone
exchange, connecting the town with Jamestown, Melbourne, Barren Fork, Cushman,
Sulphur Rock, the Oil Trough district and Newport, a Pacific Express office,
the Batesville Iron Works, a steam planing-mill and sash and door factory, two
steam saw mills, two flouring-mills, a wool carding-mill, a cotton-gin, a large
canning and evaporating factory, a neat railroad depot, a well arranged post
office, an abstract office, etc. The professions are also supplied. The various
prominent secret societies are well represented.

The trade of the place is extensive. Several of the leading stores do a large
wholesale business, supplying the country merchants and merchants of many
smaller towns with goods.

During the cotton season of 1887-88 over 20,000 bales of cotton were shipped
from this point, 12,000 of which belonged to the trade proper of Batesville,
and the number of car loads of other commodities shipped away were as follows:
Cedar, 824; railroad ties, 89; manganese ore, 152; zinc ore, 2; stone
(dressed), 127; lime, 16; general merchandise, 171; cotton, 1,013; cotton seed,
32; total, 2,426. About a mile from the court-house is the fair ground of the
Independence County Agricultural and Mechanical Fair Association, being an
enclosure of twenty acres, containing a good race track, a grand stand and an
agricultural hall. Very near the fair ground is Oaklawn Cametery, owned by the
corporation of Batesville. The town is incorporated, and has a full set of
corporate officers and five aldermen. The present mayor is the Hon. J. C.
Yancy. As a prosperous, growing and beautiful little city, and one whose
cleanliness is proverbial, Batesville certainly compares most favorably with
any in Northeast Arkansas.

Footnote For the history of Batesville acknowledgments are made to the
Batesville Guard.

This is a terminal point in the navigation of White River. It is the head of
navigation for the large steamers that ply the lower waters, and the foot for
the smaller up-river crafts. A powerful steam elevator belonging to the
railroad company transfers the freight between the railway and the boats.*

The place also contains two weekly newspapers, the Batesville Guard, a
Democratic paper of general news, now in its thirteenth volume, edited and
published by M. Y. Todisman, and the Wheel, in its third volume, edited and
published by Messrs. Martin and Bradley, deaf-mutes. The latter advocates the
cause of the order known as the “Wheel,” an organization professedly opposed to
tyranny and monopoly. Both of these papers are ably conducted, and have proven
a prominent factor in the influence exerted toward the advancement of the
community.

page 629 Cushman, situated at the present terminus of [p.629] the railroad,
nine miles northwest of Batesville, contains three general stores, three
groceries, a blacksmith and wood shop, a postoffice, several dwellings, etc.
Though only three years old, its growth has been steady.

Jamestown, on the Batesville and Clinton road, seven miles south of Batesville,
contains four general stores, a postoffice, a blacksmith and wood shop, three
school-houses, a public school building, a grist mill and cotton-gin, and about
200 inhabitants.

Newark is on the railroad, in the eastern part of the county, and has a depot,
post-office, four general stores, a drug store, two saloons, a still house, a
saw and grist-mill and cotton-gin, a church edifice, a school house, and about
300 people.

Pleasant Plains, on the Batesville and Little Rock road, about twenty miles
south of the former place, is comprised of three general stores, a blacksmith
and wood shop, postoffice, academy, a church house, and about 200 inhabitants.

 Sulphur Rock, on the railroad, eight miles east of Batesville, is a
substantial old village, containing a postoffice, eight general stores, three
drug stores, two groceries, pottery works, several mechanics shops, a hotel,
livery stable, two churches, two school-houses–academy and free school, lodges
of several secret societies, and a complement of professional men. The town is
incorporated and does a large amount of business. Its population is about 500.

The educational facilities of Independence County are best shown by the
following statistics, from the report of the State superintendent of public
instruction, for the year ending June 30, 1888: Scholastic population, white,
males, 3,599; females, 3,268; total, 6,867; colored, males, 289; females, 276;
total, 564; total white and colored, 7,432. Number of pupils taught in the
public schools, white, 3,682; colored, 337; total, 4,019; number of school
districts, 81; number of teachers employed, males, 76; females, 12, or a total
of 88. Average monthly salaries paid teachers of first grade, males, $45.00;
females, $40.00; in second grade, males, $37.50; females, $30.00; third grade,
males, $32.50, females, $25.00. There was expended for the support of the
public schools during the year, $21,202.15 for teachers' salaries; $521.84 for
treasurer's commissions, and $1,504.89 for other purposes; total $23,228.88.
The number of districts voting tax was 32. According to these official
statistics, about 72 per cent of the white and about 60 per cent of the colored
scholastic population were taught in the public schools during the year. It is
believed, however, that the statistics do not give the whole number of pupils
who received instruction in the schools. The free school system is gaining
popular favor and becoming more and more efficient.

The Arkansas College, located at Batesville, is a noted institution of
learning, under the management of the Presbyterian denomination. It was founded
in 1872, and has long been an established success. Then, as now, Rev. I. J.
Long was president of the faculty. There are four courses of study: Primary,
common school, bachelor of science, and the classical, mathematical and
scientific. The college buildings consist of a large two story brick and a
large one-story stone house. They are pleasantly located in the eastern part of
the city. The school is well patronized both at home and from abroad.

page 630 There has always been in Independence County a strong sentiment of
loyalty to the general government. Out of about 1,800 votes east in the county
for delegates to the State convention before the first guns were fired in the
Civil War, only about 300 were given to the candidates favoring secession. As
soon, however, as the “dogs of war” were let loose, the loyal sentiment was
suppressed and the secession element became predominant. Many Union men
refugeed to the North, and many others were pressed into the Confederate
service. Companies for the Confederate army begun to be organized in the spring
of 1861, and before the struggle was over the county had furnished about
fifteen companies for that army. These were commanded respectively by Capts. W.
E. Gibbs, John H. Dye, George W. Rutherford, J. W. Cullins, S. C. Jones, S.
Carson, J. S. Tracy, W. S. Smalley, T. J. Morgan, N. Floyd, E. Bridewell, S. J.
McGuffin, James McCauley and others. The most of these companies served in the
Seventh and Eighth Arkansas Confederate regiments. On the 3rd of May, 1862,
Gen. Curtis, of the Federal army, arrived at and established his headquarters
at Batesville, and sent portions of his army to occupy other points in this
part of the State. Immediately afterward a battalion of six companies,
commanded respectively by Capts. Turney, H. V. Gray, Davis and others, was
organized at Batesville under the charge of Col. Elisha Baxter, for the Federal
army. After marching this battalion to Helena, Col. Baxter, who declined
further to command it, turned it over to Lieut.-Col. Bundy, of Chicago, who
assumed command. This battalion was raised principally in Independence County.
In the fall of 1863, Col. Baxter recruited and organized another battalion of
six companies at Batesville, known as the Fourth Arkansas Mounted Infantry, or
“Steele Guards,” the latter name being in honor of Gen. Steele. The nucleus of
this battalion was the company of Capt. William P. Berry. This command was also
raised mostly in Independence County. It served about a year for the Union
cause, and was disbanded without having been mustered into the United States
service. A number of loyal men joined Col. Phelps' Missouri and other Federal
regiments. By the best authority it is estimated that from first to last about
1,000 men of the county served in the Union army.

Gen. Curtis remained with his army at Batesville until nearly July 1, 1862.
This place was reocoupied about the 1st of January, 1864, by a Federal force
under Col. Livingston, who held it for several months, and at the close of the
war, and for some time after, it was garrisoned by Federal troops. In January
or February, 1864, while Col. Livingston commanded the post of Batesville, he
sent a forage train into the country under an escort of about 180 soldiers.
This force was attacked, a few miles out, by a Confederate force under Capt.
George Rutherford. The escort was defeated, with some loss in killed and
wounded, the forage train was captured and some forty-odd wagons were burned,
and the mules taken away by the Confederates. This was known as the “Waugh
Fight,” and was the only engagement in the county between the contending
parties worthy of mention. The county was over-run by both armies, the results
of which were somewhat felt by private citizens.

 Independence County is undoubtedly in the center of a community rich in
everything that tends to contribute to the happiness and welfare of man.
Liberally supplied by nature with unsurpassed advantages of soil, climate and
location, it needs no argument to convince the most skeptical of its
desirability as a place of residence. Time will demonstrate the wonderful
resources here awaiting development.