Flashforward - Washington County Historical Society

Flashforward
Published by The Washington County Historical Society
118 East Dickson Street * Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
April 2015
Whole Number 82
PRESERVING OUR PAST FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Presents
The Civil War Battle of Fayetteville
History Day - April 18, 2014
1:00 pm until 3:30 pm
1:00 Lecture - Tim Nutt
“Laying the Foundation for War:
Washington County, Arkansas Before the
Battle of Fayetteville on April 18, 1863”
1:30 Heritage School Program
Honoring Arkansas’s Ratification
of the 13th Amendment
2:00 until 3:00 Tours of Headquarters House
Remembering E. B. Harrison
By Jerry Hogan
Michigan born E. B. (Elizur Butler) Harrison first came to
Fayetteville in 1862 as part of the occupying Union Army commanded by his older brother M. Larue Harrison. The following
spring, on April 18, 1863, E. B. Harrison sounded the early morning
alarm that alerted his brother’s Union forces that Rebel troops were
streaming into town ready to take it back for the Confederacy.
Around 9 a.m. that fateful morning, Lt. E. B. Harrison was an
eyewitness, and combatant, when Colonel James Monroe led his
First Arkansas Confederate Cavalry on its daring charge up what is
now Dickson Street. The Rebels were met with withering Union rifle
and pistol fire in the action that gave the corner of Dickson and
College Avenue its name “Bloody Corner.” Taking considerable
casualties, the Confederates turned back south and raced to safety
across the grounds of burned down Arkansas College (where the
First Christian Church stands today).
E. B. Harrison
At the time of the battle, Lt. Harrison had been staying in the
former home of the Reverend William Baxter (last president of Arkansas College) directly across the
street from Headquarters House, which still stands today and is the home of the Washington County
Historical Society.
During the fighting several local women were in the Baxter house when a rebel cannonball
crashed through the walls and would have exploded had it not landed in a bucket of lye which put
out the fuse on the projectile. One of the women saved by that stroke of good fortune was Sara (aka
Sallie) Yeater, daughter of a Confederate family residing in Fayetteville. Late the following year, on
December 8, 1864, E. B. Harrison and Miss Yeater were married.
By war’s end, the now Capt. Harrison and his brother both stayed on in Fayetteville. For older
brother M. Larue, however, the stay did not last long. Fayetteville’s first mayor after the Civil War, M.
Larue was such an unpopular figure that town officials requested that the state legislature vacate
the city’s charter as a way to remove Col. Harrison from office. Col. Harrison went on to lead a
survey team in what would become Boone County, whose county seat is named after him.
Capt. Harrison, however, had no such trouble in Fayetteville; in fact he became a popular
and key figure in the rebuilding and growth of the town after the war. Perhaps his marriage to a local
girl helped him fit in, but whatever the reasons his list of accomplishments (only a partial list is given
below) is impressive.
In 1867 he was appointed Assistant Commissioner of U. S. claims and held the office for 25
years. For seven years he was a collector for internal revenue and for 29 years he was U. S.
Commissioner for the Eastern District of the Cherokee Nation, serving under famed Judge Isaac
Parker of Ft. Smith.
From 1871 to 1873, Capt. Harrison was an Associate Justice for Washington County and
from 1884 to 1886 was Fayetteville Postmaster. In 1885 he served on the school board that led the
effort to get the North (Washington) School built. He worked to bring the Frisco Railway to town and
along with Col. James H. Van Hoose was instrumental in creating the city’s first electric facilities.
Capt. Harrison was also a successful businessman, investing in the hardware firm of
Jernigan and Botefuhr before buying the store himself and operating it for years on the East side of
the Square (approximately where the Palace Theatre stood during the 20th Century). In 1887, he
was a founding organizer of the McIlroy Bank and was a charter member of the group that would
become the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.
Continued on page 3
2
Remembering E. B. Harrison - Continued
During the great fire of September 25, 1894 that burned down the
Baum Brothers store next to Harrison’s building on the East side of the
Square, Capt. Harrison was knocked unconscious and nearly killed when
the third floor of his own store gave way and came crashing down upon
him. Capt. Harrison survived that incident and lived to the ripe old age of
92, having been a fixture on the local scene for close to 70 years. As part
of Fayetteville’s Centennial celebration in 1928, just four years before his
death, Capt. Harrison gave the keynote speech for the unveiling of the
Battle of Fayetteville plaque at the corner of Dickson Street and College
Avenue.
Sallie Yeater, the captain’s bride of more than six decades, passed
away July 29, 1927. Although his grave marker lists his death as 1930,
Capt. Harrison died on December 31, 1932. He and his wife are buried
side by side in Evergreen cemetery in Fayetteville.
Sources: W. S. Campbell, 100 Hundred Years of Fayetteville; The Encyclopedia of Arkansas
History and Culture; Russell L. Mahan, The Battle of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Fayetteville Daily
Democrat, December 31, 1932
Photo Courtesy of the City of Fayetteville Hall of History
WCHS Donates to University of Arkansas Special Collections
A small but enthusiastic crowd met in the parlor of Headquarters House on
Wednesday afternoon, March 25, for a donation event. Tim Nutt, WCHS Board
Member and Director of Special Collections at the University of Arkansas, received
historical materials the WCHS had been given by local donors.
WCHS President Jerry Hogan presented UA Special Collections with a book of
photos and biographies of Arkansans who served in World War II titled Fighting
Men of Arkansas. The book was donated by Les Haynie, owner of the Blue Moon
music store in Fayetteville, whose father William B. Haynie, Jr. is included in the
publication. Several scrapbooks donated by Charles Agee from local baseball legend Jake Drake, who played professionally and semi-professionally in our area
from the 1930s through the 1950s, were also given to UA Special Collections.
Jami Roskamp, representing the Rogers Historical Museum, donated a set of offset
plates used to print the WCHS journal Flashback from back in the early 1960s.
Jerry Hogan gave a box of writing materials to add to his collection at the U of A
and Martha Hogan Estes presented a box of architectural drawings and other
materials of her late husband, local architect and Fayetteville’s first poet laureate,
Kirby L. Estes.
Left: Tim Nutt,
Jerry Hogan, &
Jami Roskamp
Right: Tim Nutt,
Martha Estes, &
Jerry Hogan
3
LET FREEDOM RING
To Honor the Ratification of the 13th Amendment in Arkansas
Tuesday - April 14 - Headquarters House
118 East Dickson Street - Fayetteville, AR
Mayor Jordan will begin our celebration at 12:45 p. m
On April 14, 2015, the Arkansas Civil War
Sesquicentennial Commission is asking churches,
public buildings, educational institutions, and
individuals around the state to ring bells 13 times
at 1300 hours (1 p.m.) to celebrate passage of the
13th Amendment in Arkansas. WCHS invites
you to join us in our celebration.
The 13th Amendment reads as follows:
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall exist within
the United States, or any place subject
to their jurisdiction. Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.”
The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial
Commission is part of the Arkansas Historic
Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. The Arkansas
Historic Preservation Program is responsible for
identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving
the state’s cultural resources.
April 14, 1865
4
Cincinnati Arkansas Heritage Researchers Meeting
On Saturday, March 29, 2015 the Cincinnati Arkansas Heritage Researchers (CAHR) held
their monthly meeting at the rebuilt Cincinnati Fire Station. The Fire Station was destroyed
by the killer tornado that devastated the small, western Washington County community on
New Year’s Eve of 2010.
About twenty people gathered on this past sunny and warm Saturday to share photographs, stories and memories of people, places and events from the local area.
The members of CAHR are dedicated to enthusiastically saving and recording the history
of the Cincinnati, Summers and other nearby communities in the western section of
Washington County.
Shown below from left to right are: Shirley Martin Spears, vice president of CAHR, president Samantha Barnes Paul and (with back to camera) Glenita Randolph Guthrie, camerashy CAHR historian.
Glenita, Samantha and possibly other members of CAHR
are working on history articles that we may hopefully use
in future issues of our Flashback quarterly journal or our
Flashforward newsletter.
Tours of Miller-Robb and Rieff’s Chapel Cemeteries
by Jerry Hogan
Sunday, March 29, 2015, Farmington local historian Dee Steele Ness and her husband
Kenny gave WCHS president Jerry Hogan tours of the historic, yet all but abandoned MillerRobb Cemetery and the Rieff’s Chapel Cemetery, both of which are west of Interstate-49,
southeast of Fayetteville.
The Miller-Robb cemetery, sitting on top of a rise and marked off by a low stone wall, has
many fieldstones and two impressive above ground mausoleum-like crypts, but only one
marked gravestone.
Barely legible
gravestone of Wm
(William) Rob(b)
The photograph above shows the above ground site at
Miller-Robb Cemetery that is reportedly the last resting
place of Miller family ancestors of Dee Steele Ness.
5
Tours of Miller-Robb and Rieff’s Chapel Cemeteries
continued
Rieff’s Chapel, in contrast to Miller-Robb, is a beautifully cared for cemetery sitting atop a
quiet hill. It does, though, have a low rock wall around it similar to Miller-Robb but showing signs of recent care.
One of the more interesting gravestones in Rieff’s Chapel Cemetery
is that of Oscar L. Rogers who was a member of the Woodmen of
the World, a fraternal benefit society founded in the late 1800s.
Rieff’s Chapel Cemetery
Gravestone of
Oscar L. Rogers
I would like to thank Dee Steele and Kenny Ness for the
tour of these historic cemeteries.
CHICKASAWS ATTED ARKASAS COLLEGE
It is generally known that the children of wealthy Cherokee families attended the early
Washington County schools, especially Cane Hill College, the Fayetteville Female Seminary, and Ozark Institute at Mt. Comfort. But it was something of a surprise to find the
Chickasaws enrolled in Fayetteville's Arkansas College. The following article appeared
in the Fayetteville Southwest Independent, Sept. 30, 1854:
Chickasaw Nation
A large delegation of young gentlemen from the Chickasaw Nation arrived in town on
Monday last for the purpose of entering Arkansas College. We notice among them
several who were students at the last term.
There are but few of our readers abroad who are aware of the amount of intelligence,
refinement and wealth contained in this nation. It is true they have good Schools among
them, but many are sending their children abroad to the best Schools and Colleges in the
States, that nothing may be omitted to render their daughters accomplished and elegant
ladies, and their sons well educated gentlemen.
We welcome with pride to our town such delegations as these. And it must be gratifying
to any philanthropist to see our neighbor's of the West entering with so much ardor and
zeal into that spirit of progress and improvement which marks the age we live in.
.
The students in Arkansas College, from the Chickasaw Nation, at the last session were
noted for their orderly and gentlemanly deportment.
Reprinted from Flashback Vol. XI, No. 3, August 1961
6
Arkansas Statehood Day
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Please join us at Headquarters House
from 3 until 4:30 pm to celebrate
the 179th birthday of the state of Arkansas
Mark your calendars now!
Give someone a GIFT MEMBERSHIP in WCHS
Or Renew Your Membership
New Vision for Celebrating History Gift Form
I wish to contribute to the WCHS New Vision Endowment
Fund in the following amount:
__$100,000 History Heroes __$75,000 Platinum Visionary
__$50,000 Gold Visionary
__$25,000 Silver Visionary
__$5,000 Visionary
__$2,500 Jonas Tebbetts
__$1,000 Matilda Tebbetts __$500 Hale Tebbetts
__ $250 Marian Tebbetts
__$100 Lillian Tebbetts
Other Amount ___________________________________
Make checks payable to: WCHS New Vision Endowment
Mail to: 118 East Dickson Street; Fayetteville, AR 72701
Please acknowledge and credit this gift as follows:
_$15 Senior, Student, Libraries __$25 Family/General
__$50 Trail Blazer
__$100 Explorer
__$250 Wagon Master __$500 Pioneer
Name __________________________________________
Phone _________________________________________
Address________________________________________
City, State, Zip__________________________________
Your Name_____________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Name(s) (please print the way you want the donation shown)
Your Address___________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Street
Your City, State & Zip ____________________________
Special Occasion ________________________________
_____________________________________________________
City
State
Zip Code
I/we wish to remain anonymous ____
WCHS is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. The portion of your
membership above $25 is tax deductible.
7
The Washington County Historical Society
118 East Dickson Street
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
479-521-2970
[email protected]
www.headquartershouse.org
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Permit 1
Museum Hours
Tuesday—Thursday ,
1:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m.
April 14 - Let Freedom Ring
April 18 - Battle of Fayetteville History Day
June 14 - Statehood Day
Officers
Jerry Hogan, President,
Steve Litzinger, First Vice President
Kim Smith, Second Vice President
Scott Van Laningham, Recording Secretary
Judy Brittenum, Corresponding Secretary
Jane Davis, Treasurer
Charles Alison, Flashback Editor-In-Chief
Judy Costello, Director of Historic Programs
Hoyt Purvis, Past President
Flashforward
Published by the
Washington County Historical Society
118 East Dickson Street
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
Phone: 479-521-2970
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.headquartershouse.org
Charles Alison, Flashback Editor
Tess Kidd, Flashforward Editor
Board of Directors
Nancy Allen, Sheree Alt, Brenda Blagg, Margaret Clark,
Ellen Compton, Dave Demorotski, Don Deweese, Greg
Herman, , Bill Kincaid, Carolyn Leonard, Allyn Lord, David
Martinson, Timothy Nutt, Conrad Odom, Pierce Osborne,
Janet Ousterhout, Susan Parks-Spencer, Dustin Seaton,
Jackie Stites
Tess Kidd, Museum Manager
8