Talk:Clark County, Arkansas

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Wondering how to edit this U.S. County Entry? The WikiProject U.S. Counties standards might — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rambot (talk • contribs) 21:06, 26 July 2003 (UTC)

On Lynchings
Unless anyone can provide more information, in three days I will remove the phrase "which were common in 19th century Clark County" from the sentence about lynchings. I am a resident of Clark County, and my own survey of the relevant research indicates only(!) two lynchings in Clark County: one in 1892 and one in 1903. Two despicable incidents simply do not constitute a 'common' practice. This unsourced statement appears to represent slanderous hearsay. Tallil2long (talk) 09:01, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

User:Elaenia (‎External links: keep external links to a minimum + rm spam)

 * Jane Ross - Businesswoman and philanthropist.
 * Clark County at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture

Questionable entries
During a quick review of other counties in Arkansas, the following entries appear to be out of place, and some of these entries border on being not only offensive, but intentionally slanderous and divisive. Though some of these entries are true, they would probably fit better in a separate article(s) because they are more about the Civil War, crime, and negative aspects of history and do little to provide a WP:NPOV. For these reasons, I have moved the entries here.

Realizing the value of these entries; however, I invite others to move these sections where they would be more appropriate and to help in making them more concise and impartial. Curley Wolf (talk) 03:05, 14 March 2016 (UTC)


 * I won't edit this directly, since I guess it's an archive of past material. But, FWIW, Pitner and Trickett were entered into the Confederate Roll of Honor. There was no Confederate Medal of Honor until 1977, when the SCV created one. Mobi Ditch (talk) 22:07, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

Civil War era
Clark County was very active in its support of the Confederacy during the Civil War, both in its maintaining an arsenal to manufacture arms, as well as large numbers of Clark County men going off to serve in the army. At the outbreak of the war, in May, 1861, the artillery battery, 2nd Arkansas Light Artillery, was organized for service in the Confederate Army. Recruited for and organized in Arkadelphia by local watch maker Franklin Roberts, who would serve as the battery's captain, the battery would later be commanded by Captain Jannedens H. Wiggins, and would see considerable action while under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Of the more than 160 men who served in the battery, most of whom were from Clark County, only 11 remained at the time of its surrender on April 19, 1865, the rest having been killed, wounded or captured.

Most of the Clark County men who joined the Confederate Army enlisted into the 1st Arkansas Infantry, which served under Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, as a part of the Army of Tennessee. The state of Arkansas formed some 48 infantry regiments during the war, along with several cavalry units, with the most famous being the 3rd Arkansas of the Army of Northern Virginia. With the exception of the 3rd Arkansas, no other regiment from the state served for the duration of the war in the "eastern theater", but instead were assigned in the "western theater", which was the case with the 1st Arkansas. Of the 48 infantry regiments formed by Arkansas, the most active was the 3rd Arkansas and the 1st Arkansas, followed by the 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles and the 4th Arkansas. The 1st Arkansas fought in the Battle of Shiloh, Battle of Murfreesboro, Battle of Chickamauga, Battle of Chattanooga, Battle of Franklin, Battle of Perryville and the Battle of Bentonville in North Carolina, along with several other minor battles.

Most of the men of Clark County served in "B Company", commanded by county residents Captain Charles S. Stark, 1st Lieutenant George W. McIntosh, and 2nd Lieutenants Frederick M. Greene and William E. Lindsey. Two Clark County men, both serving in "B Company", were awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor. Both medals were awarded for bravery in action during the Battle of Chickamauga. They were Lieutenant Andrew J. Pitner, who was killed in action and whose medal was posthumous, and Private Charles Trickett, who survived the battle, dying in 1939. The regiment was with the Army of Tennessee when it surrendered in Greensboro, North Carolina on April 26, 1865.

The Confederacy employed the use of numerous arsenals during the war. One of those was located in Arkadelphia. That arsenal manufactured large quantities of ammunition and rifles, as well as a newer version of previous muzzle loaded rifles. This newer version of rifle, called the "Arkadelphia Rifle", came toward the end of the war, and was initially believed to be superior to previous versions. However, in its limited use, it proved to be no more reliable than any previous versions, and in some cases was reported to be insufficient. One of these "Arkadelphia Rifle"s is on display at the Civil War Museum in Washington, Arkansas.

There were numerous pro-Confederate guerrilla bands operating in Clark County, and Union forces moved though Clark County during the Camden Expedition. The Elkin's Ferry Battleground, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark.

1865 and later
Following the war, the local economy was devastated, as it was in most of the south. From 1859 through 1868 the county had been home to Arkansas Institute for the Blind, one of the few education centers to remain open during the war. In 1873 the Cairo and Fulton railroad (now Union Pacific) connected Arkadelphia and Little Rock. This helped to revive the local economy, and bolster the logging industry. The nearby towns of Amity, Graysonia, and Gurdon became thriving mill towns.

In 1889, James H. Abraham was appointed Sheriff by Arkansas Governor Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr., following the death of former Sheriff Joseph Hulsey. Abraham would hold that position through regular election for the next 25 years, the longest sheriffs term in Clark County history. It would be Abraham who investigated and ultimately arrested Benjamin Standford for the 1893 murder of Hans Sellars, despite Standford's claim of self defense. Of the five men who were sentenced to death in Clark County that actually had their death sentences carried out, four would be during Abraham's tenure, and the fifth during the year of his death.

Education was segregated during this period, with two colleges (Arkadelphia Methodist College and Ouachita Baptist College) opening for white people, and two secondary schools (Bethel AME, and Presbyterian Industrial School) opening for African-Americans.

As in most of the south, segregation presented a cultural change for blacks and whites in Clark County. Those changes caused tensions that did not immediately resolve in the years following the end of the Civil War, and they continued into the early and mid-20th century. In late January 1879, an African-American named Ben Daniels, and two of his sons; who were accused of robbery, arson, and assault, fell victim to insurrection and were lynched in Arkadelphia. On November 20, 1891, another African-American, Nat Hadley, was accused of murder and was lynched in Gurdon. And, on December 21, 1900, an Unknown African-American man, having been accused of rape, was also lynched in Arkadelphia.

Education in Clark County was integrated in 1969, allowing students to share educational resources, strive for unity, and work together though the difficulties that remain.

On December 18, 1914 Arthur Hodges became the first person in Clark County to be executed by use of the electric chair. Prior to that, the primary way of execution was either by hanging or firing squad. It was the 314th documented execution in Arkansas history, the fourth by electrocution. He was executed for the 1913 murder of Clark County Constable Morgan Garner. The execution was the subject of an article by The Kansas City Star entitled "Eight to die in Arkansas", making reference to eight men being executed in Arkansas over a sixteen-day period.

Although Clark County has sentenced many to death in its history, only five, including Hodges, were executed, four for the crime of murder and one for the crime of rape. The other four were Louie McBryde, Willis Green, Anderson Mitchell, and Daniel Jones, the latter three being hanged together on March 15, 1889, for the murder of local preacher Arthur Horton. These statistics do not include public insurrection, nor does it include firing squad executions during the Civil War.

Clark County Constable Morgan Garner was the second police officer in a two-year time frame to be killed in Clark County, the other being the 1912 murder of Gurdon Town Marshal I.Y. Nash. Nash was killed by his own deputy, Sam Arnott, after the two became involved in an argument which escalated into a physical altercation, which resulted in a brief shootout during which Nash was shot twice and killed. That altercation was a result of Marshal Nash demanding the resignation of Arnott. Both murders took place during Sheriff Abraham's tenure as sheriff.

Great Depression
The discovery of cinnabar in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, mostly south of Amity, sparked the 1931 Quicksilver Rush. This sparked a boost in employment opportunities, which was badly needed due to the Great Depression. However, it was short-lived, as cinnabar became more readily accessible from other sources. By 1940 any significant mining had ended. However, with the outbreak of World War II, large numbers of Clark County men went off to the military for service. In 1943, the county conducted a local option election pursuant to Initiated Act No. 1 of 1942, and the electorate voted to ban the retail sale of alcohol in the county.

In 1966, wealthy businesswoman and philanthropist Jane Ross and her mother Esther Clark Ross founded the "Ross Foundation", a foundation concentrating primarily on educational assistance. To date that organization has contributed in excess of $10,000,000 to local charities and educational programs, in addition to other projects. In 1972 she also helped found the "Clark County Historical Association". The county has thirty seven locations listed with the National Register of Historic Places, to include the Clark County Courthouse, Magnolia Manor, and the Captain Charles C. Henderson House. U.S. Route 67 was a main highway leading through Clark County, bolstering hotels and businesses along that route. In the mid-1960s I-30 was completed, dooming the small businesses who were by that time dependent on the constant US 67 traffic. However, with the interstate came other business, and the city of Arkadelphia began to thrive. DeGray Lake was completed by 1972, giving the county a small tourist industry in that realm.

Tornado disaster of 1997
On March 1, 1997, a tornado in the F-4 category ripped through Clark County in a north eastern direction, causing major damage to much of the county, including heavy damage to the downtown portion of Arkadelphia. The tornado also heavily damaged other parts of the state. By later media accounts, Arkadelphia was the hardest hit that day. The event was on such a scale that it prompted a visit and tour by US President Bill Clinton on March 4, 1997. That one tornado resulted in 6 people being killed and 113 injured in Clark County alone, with 25 deaths statewide. The local police and fire departments were commended for their quick response during and immediately following the tornado, and the Arkansas Army National Guard were deployed to assist in preventing looting and evacuate victims. The disaster prompted a recovery program that assisted with housing and medical support, with the American Red Cross and press agencies from across the country converging on the county seat.

The county formed the "2025 Commission", responsible for planning and organizing the recovery efforts. The commission included state Senator Percy Malone, who was later credited with having been a driving force behind the recovery efforts. A 40 block area of Arkadelphia had been destroyed, better than 60% of the downtown area alone, along with property damage totalling in the millions of dollars county wide. Within a decade, the county and city of Arkadelphia were commended for their recovery efforts, having repaired or rebuilt almost every building affected by the storm, and with the downtown portion of Arkadelphia thriving beyond its former success. Due to the tornado of March 1, 1997, Arkadelphia was the first community in Arkansas to participate in the "Project Impact" initiative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Arkadelphia installed shatter proof windows in all its schools, purchased a 10-kilowatt generator, improved its drainage systems to help prevent flooding, and designed and built a "safe building" capable of holding 900 people at the Peake Elementary School.

Wet/Dry Ballot Initiative
Clark County voted dry in 1943. In the mid-2000s, a group of local citizens began planning a local option petition drive for the 2006 election cycle but failed to make the ballot. In 2008, a committee having many of the same members succeeded in getting the issue on the ballot. However, the day before the general election, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that some of the petition's signatures had been gathered improperly and directed the Clark County Clerk not to count the ballots. The committee was successful in getting the local option issue on the ballot in the 2010 general election, and the measure passed 56% to 44%.

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