GOODSPEEDS' - MADISON COUNTY, ARKANSAS (file 1 of 2)

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SOURCE: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford,
Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed
Publishing Co., 1889.
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                          MADISON COUNTY, ARKANSAS

Madison County is in the second tier of counties from the northern and
western boundaries of the State, between Benton and Washington on the
west, and Carroll and Newton on the east. Carroll forms the northern
boundary, Franklin and Johnson the southern. The parallel of 36º north
latitude crosses the county several miles south of Huntsville. The
length of the county from north to south is thirty miles. It is twelve
miles wide on the northern boundary and twenty-four on the southern,
comprising an area of about 700 square miles.

                              TOPOGRAPHY.

Mountains.-The Boston Mountains extend east and west across the
southern part of the county, between the head-waters of White and
Mulberry Rivers. A range of hills extends nearly due north from the
main mountain chain throughout the entire length of the county,
forming the divide between King's River and War Eagle. Near the
Carroll County line there is an elevation known as Swain's Mountain,
the highest point in the northern part of the county. East of this
divide, in the northeastern part of the county, the hills are high and
abrupt, and the general aspect of the county is quite rugged. To the
west there is a considerable expanse of comparatively level territory,
elevated and not well watered, generally known as "the barrens."
Ranges of hills define the flow of the streams, and in most instances
restrict the intervening valleys to narrow limits, but nowhere rise to
the dignity of mountains.

Streams.-White River, the most considerable affluent of the
Mississippi from the west between the Missouri and Arkansas, rises in
the southern part of Madison County, in Township 13, Range 25. After a
general northwesterly course of about twenty miles, it crosses the
western boundary in Township 15. In the county it receives the waters
of Balden, Fleming and Miss Creeks from the south, and Kinney from the
north. The principal branches of White River, which unite with it
beyond the county limits, are Richland, War Eagle and King's River.
Richland rises in Township 16, Range 26, and pursues a general
northwesterly course. It receives the waters of Lollar and Drake
Creeks, the former a stream about fifteen miles in length. Thomas
Creek is a branch of Lollar. Cherry Creek is the only northern branch
of Richland of any importance. Brush Creek, an unimportant branch of
White River, drains a small territory between Richland and War Eagle.
War Eagle is formed by the junction of Daden and Robinson Creeks, in
Township 14, Range 25, and has a course of thirty-five miles in the
county, changing abruptly from a northern to a northwest direction at
the mouth of Berry branch, northeast of Huntsville. Whorton's Creek is
its principal tributary from the east, being a stream about eleven
miles long; the others are Henderson, Reed, Berry and Poynor. Jackson,
Lee, Holeman and Glade flow into War Eagle from the west. King's River
rises in the southeastern part of the county, and flows in a general
northerly course. It receives the waters of Piney and Dry Fork from
the east, and of Rockhouse and Pine from the west in this county.

Lake.-A lake on the land of J. C. Long and J. A. Carlock, Section 17,
Township 17, Range 26, is worthy of mention. Originally embracing an
area of ten acres, and known to have attained a depth of four feet, it
has been reduced by drainage to two acres, and rarely reaches a depth
of ten inches in a protracted wet season. The location is on the
divide between King's River and War Eagle, and is elevated above the
country immediately surrounding. There are no springs in the vicinity.
During the summer the basin becomes dry, and is covered with a heavy
growth of swamp grass.

Springs.-These are numerous. Probably the largest is that [p.414]
known as Withrow's, four miles from Huntsville. A large stream of
water here gushes forth from the base of a steep cliff, and after a
course of several hundred yards, disappears into the earth, again
coming to the surface at War Eagle, a half mile distant. In Bowen
Township a small stream issues from a crevice in the rock, depositing
a sediment similar to a stalactite or stalagmite.

Geology.-A geological reconnoissance of the county, prepared by David
Dale Owen, State geologist, is herewith submitted:

The continuance of the southwest dip, brings in still higher members
of the subcarboniferous group on the main fork of King's River.

Five miles below the forks of King's River, there are alternations of
limestones and sandstones, with some shaly partings, allbelonging to
the upper division of the subcarboniferous group. Fifty feet above the
highest bed of limestone observed at this locality, there are some
thirty feet of shale shown in a section in a ravine. The lower part of
this shale is black and bituminous, and exhibits, in splitting,
curious, conchoidal impressions, in which, however, no organic
structure is discerned; the upper part is light grey and encloses
flattened concretions of clay ironstone. This shale is overlaid by
sandstones belonging to the millstone grit series.

Ascending the valley of King's River toward the forks, masses of
conglomerate sandstone are encountered, which have fallen from the
cliffs above. From the forks of King's River, a high bluff is seen to
the east, with vertical cliffs of conglomerate and millstone grit,
overhanging the shales, under which are the sandstones, Archimedes,
and encrinital limestones of the upper subcarboniferous group.

The soil of the valley of King's River is black and rich, from the
washings it receives from the limestones and bituminous shales of the
adjacent slopes; but the same cause has operated to produce a miry
road; liable to be washed into deep holes, which makes the traveling
disagreeable.

Both the ascent of the valley, and the southerly dip, contribute to
bring the Archimedes limestone and millstone grits gradually lower in
the hills as you proceed up King's River.

In the ridge, which divides the waters of King's River from those of
War Eagle and Richland Creek, on or near Samuel Rags' farm, and about
a quarter of a mile to the end of the Clarksville road, a small branch
makes a perpendicular fall over twelve feet of overhanging
conglomerate sandstone; beneath this are about eighteen inches of
shale, including six inches of coal. I traveled fifteen miles from my
camp on King's River, to see this coal, in the hopes that it might
prove to be a workable bed, but was disappointed in finding it so
thin; because a good bed of coal would be of infinite service to this
country, remote from a navigable stream, if for no other purpose than
that of blacksmith's use. At considerable labor a few hundred pounds
of this coal were obtained, by taking advantage of the cavernous
opening made by nature, beneath the cliff of conglomerate: already the
bed is so difficult of access, back in the recesses of the cliff, that
even with all the height obtainable by the removal of the whole
thickness of the shale, a space of only from eighteen to twentyfour
inches is cleared between the hard sills of sandstone, to work in, and
it has become therefore necessary, in order to obtain any coal, that
the workman should lie on his side and work his pick in this
uncomfortable position.

By computation, the coal under this conglomerate is at least 400 feet
above the valley of King's River. It is underlaid by millstone grit,
succeeded, in the descending order, by a great thickness of marly
shales, under which are the Archimedes and encrinital limestone and
associate sandstone. No continuous section was obtained where the
relative thickness of the different members could be measured.

In summits of the highest ridges, near the head of King's River, about
200 feet of red and variegated shales and sandstone come in over the
conglomerate. In this space, coals of workable thickness are more
likely to occur than under the conglomerate; and the inhabitahts of
Madison County would do well to make diligent search for outcrops of
coal in these higher measures. As yet, however, no symptoms of coal
have been discovered amongst these superior shales, in the
southeastern part of Madison County.

Some pieces of lead ore are reported to have been picked up [p.416] in
the valley of King's River, viz.: in the Basham and Roebuck settlement
on Dry Creek, three miles above Kingston; also by Burney, higher up
the valley, near the head of King's River. At the latter locality, the
rocks being mostly conglomerate sandstones and shales, which have not
retained that openness of fissure requisite for the retention of
metallic insinuations, it is not likely that productive lodes should
occur, accessible to any reasonable amount of shafting; at the former,
where the underlying limestone formations are nearer the surface, the
prospect is somewhat more favorable; but still I do not consider the
geological indications, in the southeast part of Madison County, as
encouraging for mining operations as in the northern part of this
county, where the barren and cavernous cherty limestones immediately
underlie the country. * * *

From the forks of King's River, we ascended for several miles on the
western branches of that stream, and then rose 460 feet to the divide
between King's River and Whorton's Creek. In this ridge, the
Archimedes, pentremital, encrinital, and other members of the upper
division of the subcarboniferous limestone group were found in force,
with intercalations and partings of shale and marl, with some
alternations of ferruginous sandstone, especially on the western
declivity, descending to Warton's Creek.

At Dotson's farm, on that stream, underneath these formations, a
black, bituminous, sheety shale crops out, similar to the shale of
Wiley's Cove, in Searcy County, of which fifteen feet can be seen
exposed on the west bank of the creek. This shale dips at an angle of
five or six degrees down stream, and is soon lost to view under
flagstones; these again dip under argillaceous shales, including a
ferruginous, calcareous band, charged with the remains of producta and
chonetes, of which the P. elegans is the most abundant.

The ridge dividing Whorton's Creek and War Eagle is 290 feet above the
former stream. On the top of this ridge some sixty to eighty feet of
conglomerate overlies subcarboniferous limestones, shales and
sandstones.

The succession on Whorton's Creek and War Eagle is as follows:

1. Ferruginous and argillaceous shales.

2. Conglomerate sandstone.

3. Shales, both black and ferruginous.

4. Millstone grit and shaly sandstones.

5. Shales.

6. Archimedes and pentremital limestones.

7. Black shale, thin.

8. Grey shales, including band of productal calcareous rock.

9. Flagstones.

10. Dotson black sheety shale.

No. 10, the Dotson black shale, is the lowest bed visible in this part
of Madison County.

Five miles above Huntsville concretionary and schistose beds of
Archimedes limestone form the bed of War Eagle, and a rugged bench of
harder layers of the same rock borders for some distance its north
bank, like an artificial wall. Some dark shales are intercolated
amongst these upper subcarboniferous limestones on this stream. Here
the dip is southeasterly, so that the flagstones and dark shales soon
rise from beneath the aforementioned limestones in a northwest course.

The surface of some of the slabs, both of the flagstones and harder
shaly strata, is covered with cylindrical and conical impressions,
often in high relief, some of which are in semi-lunar whorls or coils.
These are, probably, referrable to various species of fossil fucoides,
or sea weeds; but the structure is so obscure that the inference of
their origin is, at present, rather problematical.

All the ridges passed over between King's River and War Eagle had a
capping of conglomerate, which is separated from the Archimedes
limestone by ferruginous shales; these are, however, not as thick as
in the valley of King's River. The conglomerate has, also, a
considerable mass of ferruginous shale overlying it; and the associate
sandstones of the millstone grit series are also charged with oxide of
iron; indeed, some of these ferruginous layers appear to contain iron
enough to be entitled to rank as ores, and were they not too
siliceous, might be profitably reduced to iron.

A few miles south of Huntsville the road is, in many places, strewed
with white water-worn quartzy pebbles, derived from the [p.418]
disintegration of the conglomerate rock which lies in the hill above.

The soil here is generally red, from the quantity of iron washed into
it from the shales and ferruginous sandstones of the adjacent
hillsides.

About fifteen feet of black shale are exposed in the banks of the
spring branch of War Eagle, two miles below Huntsville. This shale
encloses hard and heavy kidney-shaped masses of carbonate of iron, in
the center of which particles of white iron pyrites are found, which
have been mistaken for silver ore. Here, a considerable quantity of
good iron ore could be obtained, though not enough, by itself, to
supply a furnace; but, no doubt, other localities of the same ore can
be disclosed, which, together, might afford sufficient. In fact, the
symptoms of the presence of iron are so general in the rocks of this
vicinity, under the conglomerate, as to render it a locality well
worthy the attention of the iron-master and the owners of property.
This mass of shale is covered with flaggy sandstone, and is, most
likely. the equivalent of the Dotson black shale and flagstone of
Whorton's Creek. The strata dip, here, to the south-east.

A qualitative analysis of the water obtained at the head of Kimble's
Creek, four miles from Huntsville, was made, and gave as its principal
constituents:

Bicarbonate of lime.

Bicarbonate of magnesia.

Bicarbonate of the oxide of iron.

Chloride of sodium.

Chloride of magnesium.

Small quantities of sulphate of soda.

It is a weak, saline chalybeate, possessing mild laxative and tonic
properties.

At our encampment on Holman's Creek, two miles northwest of
Huntsville, the Archimedes limestone occurs in ledges on its banks,
underlaid by black shales.

The same limestone, with its accompanying shales, occurs two or three
miles from Phillips', on the road to Osage Spring.

A few inches of coal are said to have been discovered some distance up
Holman's Creek, associated with this black shale. [p.419] The rocks,
along this branch, lie too low in the geological formations to contain
any workable beds of coal.

On this same stream, about nine miles northwest of Huntsville, the
road leads, for half a mile, through barrens with a sandy soil,
followed by prairie in which sandstone crops out about ten miles from
Huntsville. The prairie is bounded by wooded hills off to the
southwest.

Proceeding toward the northwest, the Archimedes limestone and
associate shale are succeeded by chert and cherty limestone on the
edge of the barrens; after which comes sandstone in the prairie. In
the former, casts of Orthis crinistria (?) were found about four or
five miles from Holman's Creek.

The cherty limestone, which belongs, doubtless, to the lower division
of the subcarboniferous group, has a considerable area in the northern
part of Madison County, and possesses the peculiar lithological
character of the most productive lead-bearing rocks of the adjacent
part of Southwestern Missouri.

Some lead ore has been found in the Moodey settlement, about four
miles north of Huntsville; if it had its origin in this formation, it
is a locality which should claim the attention of the miner, as will
appear more fully in the next section, when treating of Benton County.

This cherty limestone, containing a few entrochites, underlies the
Brush Creek barrens, and the spring at C. Fitches', on the edge of
these barrens, and close to the line between this county and
Washington, wells up through the same description of rocks; these are
analogous to, and most probably contemporaneous with, the geological
formation that underlies the barrens of Kentucky.

Mineral Development.-Considerable excitement was occasioned in 1886 by
the discovery of silver at Bear Creek Hollow, in Piney Township, in
the northeastern part of the county. There was an immediate influx of
miners; claims were staked off and recorded, but the expectations of
the prospectors were not realized. Previous excavations were
discovered, and the location of a smelter determined by a large
quantity of ashes.

At the outbreak of the Civil War one Elliott was detected in the
surreptitious manufacture of silver dollars in this section, [p.420]
and convicted of counterfeiting. The supposition that he discovered
and utilized silver ore in this way is at least plausible.

Iron ore has been discovered three miles southwest of Huntsville, on
the divide between Richland and War Eagle; zinc on the head-waters of
War Eagle, on White River, in Valley Township; and various minerals at
other places.

Archaeological.-In June, 1888, a workman discovered seven metal images
while plowing in a field near Huntsville. Each is about four inches in
length and one-fourth of an inch thick, showing in silhouette the
features of a race of people who seem to have had prominent noses and
receding foreheads. The metal is evidently lead, with the possible
admixture of silver. The circumstances under which they were moulded
will always remain a subject of interesting conjecture. There are
mounds in various portions of the county, the most important of which
is situated on War Eagle, and has an area of an acre at a vertical
height of fifty feet. No effort has ever been made to ascertain
whether the people who constructed it have left any relics of their
labor.

                               SETTLEMENT.

Roads.-Two principal routes were travelled by the earliest settlers to
Madison County, one following the Arkansas River to Fort Smith, and
thence passing through Fayetteville; the other passing through
Missouri, southwesterly from St. Louis through Springfield, to the
extreme northwest portion of Arkansas. The universal law obtained
here, settlements advancing with the streams, and not until
comparatively recent years has population pushed upward from the
valleys into the mountains. As it is with the streams that an account
of early settlement in the county is concerned, it may be well to
mention each individually.

Richland.-George Tucker drove the first wagon to this section in the
fall of 1828, from Cane Hill, Washington County. With Samuel and
Daniel Vaughan he had explored the region in the previous spring.
Tucker settled on what is known as the Sheridan bottom, on the border
of Washington County. In the same year came John Holmesley, his son
Stephen, and his sonin-law, Michael Masters, from Castor Creek, near
Black River. [p.421] Holmesley, Sr., accounted for his removal in this
way: A hog was missing in the Caster settlement, and he was accused of
stealing it. After hearing the story of his misdemeanor several times,
he began to believe it, and thought best to find a place to live
elsewhere. He located at Wesley, his son opposite where Dr. Hite
lives, and his son-in-law on the Green Gibson farm, where he died in
1831. This was the first death in the valley. In 1828 George Howery
removed from Cane Hill to the Buchanan farm. He had come from Warren
County, Tenn., to Cane Hill in 1827. His wife and her son, John
Calico, ex-county treasurer, and still living at an advanced age,
joined him in 1828. The first to arrive in 1829 were John Harp and
Joseph McMurray, who settled where Calloway Lawson and Alexander Neely
now live, respectively. In the same year John Austin settled where
Judge Harrell now lives. Austin was son-in-law to John Holmesley. John
Reeves settled on William Wilson's farm in 1829. Isaac and Jacob Drake
arrived in 1830, from Tennessee; the former located at Sander's mill,
the latter at the mouth of the creek that bears his name. Josiah Means
in 1830 removed from the summit of the Cumberland Mountains, in Warren
County, Tenn., to the farm of B. B. Davis, recently deceased, on
Richland. Reuben Lollar and John Dunaway settled on Lollar Creek in
1830. The farm of the former is occupied by his son; Mrs. Dunaway
still lives at a very old age. Green Gibson settled on Gibson Creek in
1830. Pleasant M. Johnson, first sheriff of the county, John C.
Johnson, and Martin Johnson came in 1829; Thomas M. Johnson, in 1830;
all from Warren County, Tenn. George and Nicholas Conute came in 1829
from the same locality. Willis Privett came in 1829, but sold his
improvements in 1833 to Jacob Gray. William Clark settled on Drake's
Creek in 1832, Beverly Harp, a Christian preacher, located at the head
of Cherry Creek, in the same year.

King's River.-In the summer and fall of 1827 Thomas Cunningham, John
J. Coulter, and Henry King, of Lauderdale County, Ala., made a
prospecting expedition into the valley of King's River. King died
(this being the first death of a white man in the county), and was
buried on the bank of the stream that bears his name. Cunningham and
Coulter returned to Alabama.

In the fall of 1829 William King, Charles Burney, Turner Hamblet,
Thomas Rogers, William Adair, Lemuel Rogers and Benjamin F. King, of
Alabama, came in a colony to the valley. They found here one settler,
Leonard Koker, who had come the preceding year and cleared off three
acres. He was in charge of a large drove of cattle owned by planters
in the Arkansas River valley. He sold his improvements to Turner
Hamblet, the sonin-law of William King. The latter settled near the
old camp ground; William Adair, where Mr. McCracken now lives. The
first white child born in the valley was William Henderson Burney, son
of Charles and Mary (King) Burney. In addition to those already named
there were living in the valley in 1832 one Melton, on the confines of
civilization down the river; Manuel Clements, Samuel Durham, who came
in 1830; Thomas Rodgers, by whom the site of Kingston was owned; Eli
Sweden, who gave to Sweden Creek its name; Jeremiah Combs, from Warren
County, Tenn; Garrett Lane, from Illinois, who came in 1832; James
Frazier and Moses Guess, from Hickory Valley, six miles from
McMinnville, Warren Co., Tenn.; George and Haywood Weathersby; John F.
King, the well-known preacher, came in 1834. The first frame house in
the valley was built in 1851 or 1852 by John Combs and George King.
The first school-house, a log building twenty-four feet square, was
built in 1833. The first teacher was from Tennessee. The first sermon
was preached by Andrew Buchannan, a Presbyterian minister.

War Eagle.-It is said that Daniel and Thomas Jackson settled on
\Jackson's Creek in 1818, but this is probably not to be credited.
William Hawkins settled upon the farm now owned by L. W. Routh in
1830, and built a mill here in 1838. David Phillips removed from
Jackson County, Ala., to the vicinity of Huntsville in 1831, and John
Phillips in the same year. Richard Withrow settled three miles south
of Huntsville in 1831, and in 1832 removed to the spring which bears
the name of his family. In 1831 George W. Sanders became a resident
upon the site of Huntsville. Simon Smith came from Madison County,
Ala., in 1830, and in 1832 removed six miles up that stream to the
locality in which his descendants now live. In Bowen Township William
McElhaney became a resident in 1833; William [p.423] and John Bowen in
1832; John Moore in 1831; Pleasant Hamlin in 1829; Jeremiah Meeks in
1830; Jesse Maxwell in 1832; Robert Lee in 1832; Abner Cantrell (still
living and nearly a hundred years old) in 183-. James Henderson
settled on Henderson Creek at an early date. He made hunting a
business. Others arrived at later dates, among whom were Abram
McConnell, 1836; Hiram Stotts, 1838; J. B. Gilliland, 1837; Joshua
Boren, 1836; B. C. Sams, 1837; James Cain, 1838. The "Alabama
settlement" was made in about 1842; John and William Berry, Campbell
Montgomery, M. P. Mitchell, W. D. Proctor, George Long, Thomas Maynard
and Thomas Willis constituted its early population.

Whorton's Creek.-The earliest settler was Joshua Whorton, who with
Joseph Fanning were residents prior to 1832.

Vaughan's Valley.-The most fertile and beautiful landscape in
Northwestern Arkansas is named from its pioneer settlers, Samuel and
Daniel Vaughan. Born in Virginia, their father, William Vaughan,
removed to Warren County, Tenn., and thence to Wayne County, Mo.,
where he was one of the earliest settlers, and thence to Crawford
County, Ark., where he located on the Arkansas River near Short
Mountain Creek. Crossing the Boston mountains Samuel and Daniel
Vaughan settled near Evansville, Washington County, before the Indian
title to that section had been extinguished, and, being encroachers,
their improvements were destroyed by the regular soldiers. In 1826
they removed to Cane Hill, Washington County, where they were the
first settlers, and in 1828 migrated to what is now known as the
Tuttle settlement, on Richland. In 1831 Samuel Vaughan removed to the
valley and bought the improvements of one Friend, an Indian half-breed
of migratory habits, then its only occupant. Isaac Vaughan now lives
here. Samuel Vaughan dealt largely in Government claims. He died at
the age of seventy-seven. Daniel Vaughan lived all his life on his
first claim, a short distance west of Hindsville. William and John
Hind, from Warren County, Tenn., arrived about 1832, John locating on
the site of Hindsville, and William southeast two and one-half miles.
Miles, Abram, John and Barnett Beach, Samuel and Riley Lane, John
Harp, Jackson Titsworth and William Evans were also [p.424] among the
early settlers. The field notes of the government survey of Township
17 north. Range 27 west, show the "road from Osage Prairie to Izard
court-house," crossing diagonally from southeast to northwest the
dwellings of "Hynd," Beach and Vaughan. This origin was sectionized in
1834.

White River.-The settlers on this stream prior to 1834 were as
follows: Robert Tucker, from Cape Girardeau County, Mo., who arrived
in September, 1833, with a large family of grown sons; the father of
Cleve Estep, who owned the site of St. Paul; John Balden, a man of bad
reputation, who lived at the mouth of Balden Creek, but remained only
a short time; Isaac Teeters, a Dutchman, from Illinois; Jesse
Armstrong, from the same State, whose farm is now owned by H. B.
Brashears; Samuel Shastid, from Illinois, who had been brought up with
Abraham Lincoln; Maston B. Pool and John Bivens, who came on the same
boat up Arkansas River in 1834; Enos Robbins, who lived near the
Washington County line, and was a famous hunter; James Stewart, the
first postmaster at Jupiter, who lived at Cross Creek; Morgan Buck,
from North Carolina; Pleasant Stewart, who lived on 'Possum Creek;
William Tucker, from North Carolina; Henry Raynor, John Williams, a
great trader, who dealt largely in horses, slaves, etc. Under the
impetus which this valley has received from the construction of the
railroads the old landmarks are rapidly disappearing.

Game, etc.-Although unmarked by the influence of civilization the
region that now constitutes Carroll County was in many respects most
inviting. Buffalo ranged the forests in herds. Deer were found in
great numbers, and smaller game abounded, while the black bear was the
most formidable foe the hunter encountered. The creeks teemed with
fish, and the forests literally flowed with honey. The means of
obtaining a subsistence thus provided were not unappreciated. Every
settler became a hunter and trapper. The black bear was found
everywhere, but his principal haunts were the mountains in the western
part of the county. Bruin was in great favor with the Indians. They
returned from the Territory as late as 1842 in hunting parties, and
usually remained several months during the winter. There was a
suppressed feeling of resentment against this among the [p.425] first
population, but as the settlers began to turn their attention to
farming and stock-raising, the work of the Indians in protecting them
from bears came to be regarded in a more friendly light. The Indians
could remove the pelt from a deer without cutting, and, after curing,
such a pelt was filled with bear's grease, sewed shut, and in this
manner carried away. Bears, Indians and whites seem to have had a
common penchant for honey. The whites would cut down the tree, if
necessary, remove the honey, and leave the bees to find a new home.
Sometimes a hole was cut into the tree, thus enabling them to remove
the honey from time to time. It was put in barrels by the whites, and
in deer skins by the Indians, and sold at Fayetteville or Fort Smith
for two bits a pound. Bee-trees are still to be found in the
mountains, though not so frequently as at one time. Bears were not
extinct in the Leatherwood Mountains ten years ago, before Eureka
Springs came into existence, and deer are still seen occasionally
about the head-waters of White River, but the chase may already be
regarded as a "lost art," existing only in tradition.

Land Claims.-The first care of the immigrant upon reaching the county
was the selection of a claim, if he had not already visited the region
as a prospector and done so. Fertile bottom lands along the streams
were invariably taken up first, as affording convenient access to
water and insuring good soil. The underbrush and smaller trees were
cleared away sufficiently to admit of the planting of corn, potatoes
and vegetables; the larger trees were "girdled," and not removed for
years in some cases. In the meantime the settler's family lived in
their wagons, or in such improvised shelter as could be readily
provided. Until their first crop should mature they lived on game,
fish, wild fruits, and corn or other grain obtained from the older
residents or settlements.

Pioneer Architecture was simple, yet ingenious. The house was
supported upon stone walls at the corners, and a cellar was not deemed
absolutely necessary. The walls were usually hewn logs, dove-tailed
together at the corners, and plugged with blocks of wood and mortar.
The doors and window shutters swung on wooden hinges. Window glass was
unknown; light was admitted by opening the shutter, and in cold
weather the inmates would [p.426] have been badly off, indeed, but for
that kind provision of nature which prevents the wind blowing from all
directions at once, thus permitting one or other of the windows to be
open all the time. The floor was puncheon, that is, it consisted of
logs dressed on one side with the ax and fitted together as closely as
possible. No part of the house required more work than the roof.
Rafters were laid horizontally from end to end of the wall. A board-
tree, known to those versed in wood-craft by a peculiarity of the
bark, was carefully selected and split into clap-boards four or five
feet in length. A row of these was placed upon the lower edge of the
roof; a horizontal stick of timber about four inches square was placed
over them, about twenty inches from the lower edge. This was
technically known as a "weight." To keep it in position it was firmly
braced against the logs in the gables. Another row of clap-boards was
laid over-lapping the first, with their lower edges against the
weight; another weight braced against the first was added, and so on
until the roof was completed. Log chimneys mortared on the inside were
usually constructed, and some are in use at this day. Stone chimneys
are a later innovation.

Early Mills.-The preparation of cereal foods was one of the
difficulties of frontier life, and the method of its solution seems to
have been borrowed from the Indians. After the family had acquired a
temporary residence, and even before, the "mortar and pestle" were
indispensable in providing their food supply. A solid log, three or
four feet in length, was planted firmly in the ground; the top was
then burned out as much as required, making a basin-like concavity.
This was the mortar. The pestle was a tough stick of timber from the
heart of an oak or hickory, fastened at the end of a long sweep, after
the manner of a well bucket. Corn was placed in the mortar, when the
pestle was brought down upon it forcibly and rapidly. When the
operator tired of his work, or thought he had done it well enough, the
contents of the mortar were passed over a sieve; the finer portions
were used as meal, the residue as hominy. Occasionally the pestle was
operated by water-power, when the machines became popularly known as a
"Slow Joe" or "Lazy Tom." The first water-mill in the county was on
Richland. The Withrow [p.427] mill was the first on War Eagle. Here
there is a natural site for an overshot wheel; the water from the
Withrow Spring disappears in the ground, and in the crevice through
which it falls the water-wheel was placed.

Population Statistics.-The following table shows the population by
townships in 1850 and 1880:

Township: Boston
1880: 552

Township: Bowen
1880: 977
1850: 650

Township: California
1880: 589


Township: Hilburn
1880: 988
1850: 544

Township: King's River
1880: 1,270
1850: 606

Township: Lamar
1880: 861

Township: Marble
1880: 554

Township: Piney
1880: 411

Township: Prairie
1880: 1,441
1850: 836

Township: Richland
1880: 605
1850: 736

Township: Union
1880: 443

Township: Valley
1880: 522

Township: War Eagle
1880: 1,879
1850: 1,240

Township: Whorton's Creek
1880: 363

In 1860 the white population was 7,444; the colored population, 296;
total, 7,740. In 1870, white, 8,081; colored, 150; total, 8,231. In
1880, white, 11,331; colored, 124; total, 11,455. Of the population in
1880 there were born in Arkansas, 7,366; in Tennessee, 1,367; in
Alabama, 171; in Georgia, 227; in Missouri, 639; in Mississippi, 30;
in foreign countries, 16.


COUNTY BUILDINGS.

page 435
Erection.-Madison County was erected by the State Legislature at its
first session, September 30, 1836. This part of the State was included
in New Madrid County prior to 1813; in [p.435] Arkansas County, from
1813 to 1815; in Lawrence County, from 1815 to 1820; in Independence
County, from 1820 to 1825; in Izard County, from 1825 to 1827, when
Lovely County was erected. Lovely was abolished in 1828, when
Washington was erected, including all that part of Madison County and
the northwestern part of the State north of the line between Townships
12 and 13, and west of the line between Ranges 25 and 26. October 26,
1831, by act of the Legislature, "All that tract of country, including
all the settlements now made on the waters of what is called the War
Eagle Fork of White River [shall] be, and the same is hereby declared
to be in Washington County." When Carroll County was erected, in 1833,
the line of Range 25, and the ridge dividing the waters of War Eagle
and King's River, were made its western boundary, thus including all
the territory drained by King's River. This arrangement continued
until 1836, when Madison was erected. It extended from the northern
boundary of Township 12 to the Missouri line, a distance of fifty-two
miles, with an extreme width of about twenty-five miles. King's River
formed the eastern boundary on the north. The western boundary was
changed November 26, 1838. The line between Madison and Carroll was
defined January 11, 1843, January 20, 1843, December 29, 1854, and
January 15, 1857. The Newton line was defined December 21, 1848. April
8, 1869, that part of Madison north of a line bisecting Township 19
north, Ranges 25 to 27 west, was annexed to Carroll. This territory
extended from King's River to the line of Benton County, and comprised
about 180 square miles, including the whole of Mountain and Cedar
Creek Townships. In 1885 a strip of territory two miles wide on the
southern boundary of the county was annexed to Johnson and Franklin,
and a similar excision one mile wide was made on the west in favor of
Washington. The present area is about 750 square miles.

Court-houses.-The first court in the county was held in the. barn of
Evan S. Polk, northwest of Huntsville about one fourth of a mile. The
barn of John Sanders was used for the same purpose.

page 436
The first court-house stood upon the public square in Huntsville,
which has been occupied in this way ever since. It was built of hewed
logs, which, to facilitate ventilation or for some other purpose, were
never "chinked and daubed." There was one room, about thirty feet
square, open to the roof; it was entered by two doors from the north
and south, while the judge's table was at the east end. There was
neither stove nor chimney, nor need of any, as the sessions were held
late in the spring and early in the fall. The benches and tables
rested on terra firma for several years, when a puncheon floor was
added. This building was erected in 1837-38, at a cost of $150,
provided by a tax levied at the rate of $1.28 per forty acres of
improved land.

The next court-house was built in 1845. It was a brick building forty
feet square and two stories high. The lower floor was used as a court-
room. It was entered by doors on the north and south; the judge
presided at the east end; the floor was of brick; the stairway was in
the northwest corner, and a narrow hall extended east and west through
the second story, communicating with the offices of the clerk and
sheriff, the jury rooms and several other apartments. There were three
windows on the east and west, an equal number on the north and south
in the second story, and two windows and a door in the lower story.
The roof sloped north and south. The contractor was Evan S. Polk, who
burned the brick on his farm adjoining the town. The cost was about
$4,000. This building was burned by northern vandals in 1863. The
records were taken to Springfield, Mo., and there lost or destroyed,
in great part.

page 437
The first sessions of the court, at the close of the war. were held in
the house of John Vaughan, now owned by W. J. Sams, and in Masonic
hall. January 28, 1867, James A. Jay, commissioner of public
buildings, was directed by the county court to sell the bricks of the
old court-house. April 27, 1868, the court resolved to build a court-
house, and appointed John Carroll to draft a plan for a suitable
building. May 1, 1868, he reported the plan of a brick building to
cost $6,000. October 30, 1868, Charles W. Richmond succeeded Carroll,
and on the following day he reported a plan, which was adopted, and
$10,000 appropriated for its erection. November 14, 1868, Richmond and
[p.437] Carroll were directed to let out the erection of the building
by contract. It was to have been a stone building, 40×60 feet, with a
portico on the south side, and its erection would have been a boon to
the county. Unfortunately the bids exceeded the appropriation by
nearly $2,000. In January, 1869, a new plan was adopted. The building,
as erected, was a frame structure, forty feet square and two stories
high. A hall extended through the lower floor from north to south, on
each side of which there were four rooms. The upper floor was used as
a court-room, and two apartments in the north end were occupied as
jury rooms. The building was completed under the supervision of
William Logan as commissioner, Mr. Richmond having resigned. Isaac
Drake contracted for the masonry, and O. D. Johnson for the frame
work. The building was completed in January, 1871. The aggregate cost
was $4,600, paid in county warrants at 75 per cent. discount, thus
entailing a debt of about $16,000. The county court resisted payment,
and did not formally accept the building until January 24, 1872. It
was destroyed by fire December 1, 1879.

April 8, 1879, the court appointed M. Knight, A. A. Brodie, William
Marrs, F. M. Sams, F. O. Massie, John F. Proctor, N. G. Heflin and W.
A. Gage commissioners to select a site for a new court-house. The lot,
then vacant, adjoining the public square on the north was favored by
many, but the commission failed to agree, and the old site was chosen
by the county judge. G. N. Heflin was appointed building commissioner
January 5, 1881, but declined; John R. Simpson was appointed in April,
1881. The contract was awarded to W. A. Gage May 24, 1881, at his bid
of $3,000. February 6, 1882, S. P. Jackson contracted to finish and
furnish the interior for $1,000. The building is built of brick, 40×50
feet, and is twenty-six feet high from the foundation to the roof.
There are four doors, and two halls crossing in the center of the
lower floor, thus giving convenient access to four rooms, each 12×27
feet. The entire upper story is used as a court-room. The building was
formally accepted by the county court October 4, 1882, and constitutes
the present court-house.

page 438
Jails.-There have been three different county jails, all of [p.438]
which have occupied the same site. The first was built by Samuel
Whiteley, about 1839. It was a log building about twenty four feet
square, constructed of very heavy timber, dovetailed closely together.
On the west side, ten feet from the ground, there was a door, reached
by steps, and opening into a room, in the floor of which there was a
trap-door, giving access to a dungeon beneath. There was one window in
each room, on the north side. The more dangerous prisoners were placed
in the dungeon, and escapes were frequent until 1858, when an iron
cage was placed therein. It was made of wagon-tire iron by the local
blacksmiths, and after the burning of the jail in 1863 was wrought
into horseshoes and various implements.

The second jail was built in 1866-67, by Elijah Drake. It was similar
to the first in the arrangement of the cells, but had a window in each
room on the north and south sides. The walls of the lower cell
consisted of two horizontal log abutments, with a perpendicular
palisade between. One Smith, imprisoned for robbery, burned the
building in 1879, in an effort to escape.

The present jail is a substantial brick building, the equal of any in
the rural districts of the State. A tax for its erection was levied in
1882, 1883 and 1884, and having reached the sum of $1,112, was duly
appropriated by the county court November 3, 1884. F. M. Sams was
appointed building commissioner. January 5, 1885, the contract was
awarded to S. P. Jackson and S. H. Berry, at their bid of $772. In
July, 1885, the P. J. Pauley Jail Building and Manufacturing Company
was awarded the contract for the construction of iron gratings of the
windows, doors, cells and corridors. C. W. Lear received $150 for
digging a well at the jail. The aggregate cost was about $4,500. The
building was completed in September, 1885.


COUNTY OFFICERS.

page 439
Clerk.-The clerk of the circuit court is elected for a term of two
years, and is ex-officio clerk of the county and probate courts and
recorder. This arrangement has continued since the admission of the
States. The incumbents of this office in Madison County have been as
follows: H. B. Brown, 1836-48; P. M. Phillips, 1848-49; J. S. Polk,
1849-52; J. R. Berry, 1852-60; [p.439] B. B. Davis, 1860-64; O. D.
Johnson, 1864-66; P. W. Newton, 1866-68; F. M. Sams, 1868-70; O. D.
Johnson, 1870-72; F. M. Sams, 1872-74; W. A. Gage, 1874-82; J. H.
Bohannan 1882-88.

Sheriff.-The incumbents of this office, elected for two years, have
been as follows: P. M. Johnson, 1836-46; Joseph Bowen, 1846-48; B.
Vaughan, 1848-58; T. D. Berry, 1858-60; E. Drake, 1860-64; W. K.
Henderson, 1864-66; Lee Taylor, 1866-67; B. Vaughan, 1867-68; A. K.
Berry, 1868-71; G. W. R. Smith, 1871-74; J. Gilliland, 1874-76; B.
Vaughan, 1876-78; J. J. Taylor, 1878-80; J. C. Long, 1880-84; C. C.
Hill, 1884-88.

Treasurer.-The treasurer is also elected for a term of two years. This
office has been held by the following persons: H. C. Daugherty, 1836-
42; J. Dennis, 1842-46; John C. Calico, 1846-54; C. H. Boatright,
1854-56; J. Williams, 1856-64; R. Johnson, 1864-66; J. Williams, 1866-
68; R. Johnson, 1868-72; J. Phillips, 1872-74; J. Williams, 1874-78;
W. R. Phillips, 1878 -82; W. A. Marrs, 1882-84; C. B. Sanders, 1884-
86; W. S. Lowry, 1886-88.

Coroner.-M. Perryman, 1836-38; Elias Henele, 1838-40; W. G. Phillips,
1840-54; I. Council, 1854-56; James Bynum, 1856-58; R. L. Fagan, 1858-
60; E. Chapell, 1860-62; J. W. Canady, 1862-64; B. B. Baily, 1864-66;
H. Combs, 1866-68; John Sisemore, 1868-72; J. K. Austin, 1872-74; L.
R. Parks, 1874-76; Morgan Reaves, 1876-78; Thomas Bottom, 1878-82; J.
M. Hawkins, Jr., 1882-84; John Bowen, 1884-86; J. M. Hawkins, Jr.,
1886-88. The coroner is elected for two years.

Surveyor.-T. McCuiston, 1836-48; E. Davis, 1848-50; S. E. Renner,
1850-52; Henry Killian, 1852-54; B. B. Davis, 1854-60; S. Burchett,
1860-62; G. D. Niel, 1862-64; Enoch Ball, 1864-66; E. H. Shipley,
1866-68; S. Burchett, 1868-72; E. T. Shipley, 1872-74; R. W. Young,
1874-76; E. H. Shipley, 1876-78; D. D. Phillips, 1878-80; Calvin
Evans, 1880-82; W. G. Canady, 1882-86; W. E. Keefer, 1886-88.

Assessor.-J. M. Wilson, 1862-64; E. Drake, 1864-66; J. M. Denny, 1866-
67; B. Vaughan, 1867-68; J. Haynes, 1868-71; William Tweedy, 1871-72;
B. Vaughan, 1872-76; B. B. Davis, 1876-78; A. Neeley, 1878-80; S. F.
Vaughan, 1880-82; S. N. Welten, 1882-84; George Williams, 1884-86; J.
A. Bell, 1886-88.

page 440
[p.440] State Senator.-Madison County was not represented in the first
session of the State Legislature, 1836-38. Washington, Benton and
Madison were represented by O. Evans, A. Whinnery, 1838-42; Benton and
Madison by J. G. Walker, 1842-46; J. B. Dickson, 1846-50; John Berry,
1850-66; Isaac Murphy, 1856-58; M. Douglass, 1858-62; E. D. Ham, 1864
66; J. Dunagin, 1866-68. In 1868 Madison, with Marion, Carroll, Fulton
and Izard, became the Third Senatorial District, which elected M. L.
Stephenson, 1868-70; William Dugger, 1870-74. Madison and Benton
became the Twenty-fourth District in 1874, and so continued, with the
following representation: C. J. Reagan, 1874-78; E. P. Watson, 1878-
82; J. T. Walker, 1882-86.

Representative.-J. W. Sanders, H. S. Wilson, 1840-42; William Gage,
Daniel Vaughan, 1842-44; J. C. Sumner, H. C. Berry, George W. Sanders,
1844-46; Joseph Dennis, J. F. Wright, George W. Forrest, 1846-48; John
Berry, John Gage, 1848-50; G. W. Forrest. P. M. Johnson, 1850-52; P.
M. Johnson, A. Wood, 1852-56; G. W. Forrest, J. S. Polk, 1856-58; B.
Vaughan, T. Bateman, 1858-60; J. C. Montgomery. S. E. Kenner, 1860-62;
J. R. Berry, R. F. Naylor, 1862-64; T. H. Scott, G. W. Seamans, 1864-
66; L. B. Sanders, John Carroll, 1866-68. Under the constitution of
1868 the State was districted: Madison, Marion and Carroll-Benjamin
Vaughan, J. A. Fitzwater, J. T. Hopper, P. A. Williams, 1868-70;
Boone, Madison, Carroll, Fulton, Izard, Mario-E. P. Watson, G. J.
Crump, F. J. Eubanks, J. S. O'Neal, 1870-72; W. L. Chapman, Joseph
Wright, J. M. Foster, J. F. Cunningham, 1872-74; D. G. Hart, J. M.
Foster, 1874. Under the last constitution Madison, individually, has
been represented as follows: W. C. Cluck, 1874-76; F. M. Sams, 1876-
78; W. C. Cluck, 1878-80; Daniel Boone, 1880-82; W. T. Brooks, 1882-
84; Joel N. Bunch, 1884-86.


TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

Isaac Murphy and H. H. Bollinger represented the county in the
constitutional convention of 1861; G. W. Seamans in 1864; F. M. Sams
in 1868; John Carroll in 1874.

page 441
There were six townships in Madison County in 1850, viz.: Bowen,
Hilburn, King's River, Prairie, Richland and War Eagle. [p.441] The
county court records having been destroyed, it is impossible to give
the dates of their erection or original boundaries. It may be stated
in a general way, however, that Bowen, named in honor of the first
county judge, included the large central part of the county south of
the county seat; King's River originally embraced all the territory
drained by that stream, or the entire eastern part of the county;
Hilburn extended across the southern boundary south of Bowen and
Richland, and adjoining King's River; Richland included its present
territory, Lamar, and part of Union; Prairie and War Eagle occupied
the same relative positions as at present, the latter extending
farther to the north. California, Cedar Creek, Marble, Mountain,
Piney, Valley and Whorton's Creek were added between 1850 and 1860.
The following is an account of the organization of townships so far as
can be ascertained from existing records:

Boston.-April 22, 1872: "On this day the petition of S. B. Williams
and forty-one other petitioners was presented, praying the court to
revive Boston Township in the county of Madison, State of Arkansas,
with boundaries as follows, to wit: Commencing at the original line at
the low gap at the head of the west fork of Freiley's Creek, thence
running north to Richard Maricles on White River; thence north to the
head of Robinson's Creek; thence down said creek to the mouth at War
Eagle; thence north to Ogden's Creek to the head of the north branch
of said Creek; thence to the head of Pine Creek; thence down Pine
Creek to the mouth of King's River; thence east to the Newton County
line, and the precinct thereof to be at Ephraim Good's. And the court
being advised in the premises, doth sustain the prayer of said
petitioners, and constitute said township and precinct hereinbefore
named as fully and legally as other townships are constituted for the
said county of Madison."

page 442
Union.-October 28, 1872: "On this day the petition of A. Hartley and
fifty-three other citizens and electors of the county of Madison was
presented to the court, praying that a new township be organized as
follows, to wit: Commencing on the divide between Richland Creek and
White River where the section line running east in Township 15 north,
Range 27 west, in the center of said township, crosses said divide;
thence east with said section [p.442] line to the divide between War
Eagle and Richland Creeks; thence south with said dividing ridge to
the divide between Richland Creek and White River; thence northwest
with said dividing ridge to the beginning; and to establish the
precinct at the Gardner school-house in School District No. 31, and
the name thereof to be Union Township. And the court, being
sufficiently advised in the premises, doth sustain the prayer of said
petitioners, and order that the same take effect on the 6th day of
November, 1872."

Lamar.-July, 1878: Upon petition of Daniel Boone and others, this
township was erected with a boundary line "beginning in the middle of
Lollar's Creek, on the line between the present township of Richland
and Union Township, thence with the middle of said Lollar's Creek to
its junction with Richland Creek; thence with Richland Creek to the
line between Ranges 27 and 28; thence north with said line to the line
between the present townships of Richland and Prairie; thence with
said line west or northwest to the Washington County line; thence
south with the Washington County line to the line between the present
township of Richland and Valley Township; thence east with Valley and
Union Townships lines to the place of beginning." The voting precinct
is at Wesley.

Independence.-July 9, 1884. This township was formed upon petition of
S. M. Smith and thirty-two other citizens, and comprises the territory
included within the following boundaries: "Commencing at the northwest
corner of Section 3, on the township line between Townships 13 and 14,
Range 28 west; thence south on section line between Sections 4 and 3,
9 and 10, 16 and 15, to the northwest corner of Section 22; thence
southeast on the county line between Washington and Madison County to
the southeast corner of Section 25; thence north on the range line to
the northeast corner of said township; thence west on township line
between Townships 13 and 14 to the place of beginning." The voting
precinct is at Independence school-house, District No. 97.


COUNTY FINANCES.

page 443
Kentucky.-August 8, 1885. This township was formed with the voting
precinct at Center Point, and with boundaries described as follows:
"Beginning at southeast corner of Section [p.443] 22, in Township 13
north of Range 25 west; thence on section line between Sections 22 and
23, 15 and 14, 10 and 11, 2 and 3, until you intersect the township
line between Townships 13 and 14; thence north to the center of
Sections 34, 27 and 22, to center of Section 15, on south side, in
Township 14 north, Range 25 west; thence west on section line to
southwest corner of Section 16; thence north on west line of Section
16 to southwest corner of Section 9; thence west on section line to
the center of the north boundary line of Section 16, Township 14
north, Range 26 west; thence south through the centers of Sections 16
and 21, to the center of the north boundary line of Section 28; thence
east one-half mile to northeast corner of Section 28; thence south on
section line to the center of the north boundary line of Section 3 in
Township 13 north, Range 26 west; thence west one-half mile to
northwest corner of said Section 3; thence due south on section line
between Sections 4 and 3, 9 and 10, 16 and 15, 21 and 22, to the
southwest corner of Section 22 to the county line; thence east on
county line to the place of beginning."

page 444
Richmond Johnston, treasurer in 1865, received during the year,
$2,080, and disbursed $1,764.94, leaving a balance of $315.06 for that
year. The revenue in 1866 was $2,016.99, and the amount of delinquent
taxes amounted to $240.49. In 1867 the amount of taxes received was
$2,657.35. In November, 1868, the county court cancelled warrants
amounting to $4,651.71. In 1868 a court-house tax of $3,332.26, a
contingent fund of $3,332.26, and general county taxes amounting to
$9,996.78 were assessed. A court-house tax of $2,666.33 was collected
in 1869. August 27, 1872, the treasurer reported having received, in
1871, as general revenue, $3,576.40; as court-house tax, $555.44, and
as pauper tax, $555.44; a total of $4,687.28. In 1872 the pauper tax
was $438.95; court-house tax, $658.42, and general revenue, $2,739.72.
In 1874 a poll tax of $1,659, State tax of $4,180, county tax of
$2,090, pauper tax of $1,254, and tax to pay interest on court-house
and pauper indebtedness, $1,045, were assessed. In April, 1881, there
remained unpaid of indebtedness contracted prior to 1874, $1,926.38,
and the amount of outstanding warrants [p.444] and certificates issued
since that date amounted to $6,285.24. In 1880 there was a poll tax of
$1,816, a county tax for the reduction of obligations incurred prior
to 1874 of $3,217.22, a contingent expense county tax of $3,056,35,
and a tax for the care of public records of $160.86. The revenue for
1881 was as follows: General county fund, $1,387.98; pauper tax,
$461.39; court-house fund, $1,234.47; poll tax, $1,639.90; old county
indebtedness fund, $614.15; special school fund, $404.20; fines and
convictions, $1,148. In 1882 the treasurer received as general county
fund, $1,764.18; pauper fund, $669.56; poll tax, $1,868.65; assessment
fund, $508.75; court-house rent, $18.75. State taxes, in 1883,
amounted to $8,125.16, and county taxes to $7,843.65. In 1886 a total
county fund of $8,383.01 was collected. The following is an analysis
of the revenue for 1887: General State tax, $2,749.92; State school
fund, $2,749.92; State sinking fund, $1,375.75; total State tax,
$6,875.59; poll tax, $2,322.95; general county funds, $610.92; court
expense fund, $2,712.92; criminal prosecution fund, $203.50;
assessment fund, $678.23; support of prisoners, $203.50; county
records, $67.84; pauper fund, $1,695.49; United States court
judgments, $135.68; insane asylum expenses, $203.50; improvement of
jail, etc., $135.65; to provide standard weights and measures,
$135.65; total county tax, including additional levy of $82.47
apportioned pro rata, $9,188.30. The following is a statement of
county finances from May 12, 1887, to July 16, 1888:

RECEIPTS.

   Fines in circuit and justices' courts   $1,554 39

   Clerk's certificates of records, executions, etc   346 92

   Court-house rent   85 60

   Peddlers' licenses   23 57

   General county fund   4,450 95

   Pauper fund   1,718 61

   Jail fund   88 40

   Record fund   67 37

   Interest fund, judgments in United States court   134 74


   Total Revenue   $8,470 55

EXPENSES.

   General county expenses   $5,358 71

   Pauper expenses   2,376 25

   Grand jury witness certificates   329 50

page 445
   Petit jury certificates   807 00

   Grand jury certificates   386 00

   Jail expenses   88 40

Record expenses   67 37

Interest, judgments in United States court   134 74


   Total disbursements   $9,547 97

INDEBTEDNESS.

   County warrants outstanding   $3,628 73

   Orders on county court record unpaid   918 42

   Grand jury witness certificates outstanding   151 50

   Grand jury certificates outstanding   188 00

   Petit jury certificates outstanding   373 00

   Balance due on judgments in United States court, with interest to
date   9,086 17

   Reissued warrants unpaid   1,384 18

   Total indebtedness   $15,730 00


The assessed valuation of personal property during the past decade is
shown by the following table:

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Polls
1877. No.: 1,895
1877. Value.: 2,164
1882. No.: 2,769

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Horses
1877. No.: 2,941
1877. Value.: $83,971
1882. No.: 3,161
1882. Value.: $101,943
1887. No.: 3,281
1887. Value.: $141,561

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Mules and asses
1877. No.: 1,279
1877. Value.: 44,482
1882. No.: 1,297
1882. Value.: 61,760
1887. No.: 2,032
1887. Value.: 109,140

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Cattle
1877. No.: 7,543
1877. Value.: 43,958
1882. No.: 8,565
1882. Value.: 57,636
1887. No.: 12,909
1887. Value.: 108,929

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Sheep
1877. No.: 11,861
1877. Value.: 11,857
1882. No.: 9,327
1882. Value.: 9,327
1887. No.: 8,495
1887. Value.: 8,164

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Hogs
1877. No.: 27,776
1877. Value.: 28.874
1882. No.: 18,822
1882. Value.: 18,971
1887. No.: 26,185
1887. Value.: 32,567


Footnote
Including wagons of all kinds.

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Carriages
1877. No.: 4
1877. Value.: 115
1882. No.: 29
1882. Value.: 755
1887. No.: 1,462*
1887. Value.: 30,502

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Gold & silver watches
1877. No.: 43
1877. Value.: 434
1882. No.: 98
1882. Value.: 936
1887. No.: 249
1887. Value.: 2,672


DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Pianofortes
1877. No.: 4
1877. Value.: 755
1882. No.: 27
1882. Value.: 3,170

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Goods and mdse
1877. No.: 21,630
1877. Value.: 32,644
1882. No.: 60,646

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Money and credits
1877. No.: 9,166
1877. Value.: 39,049
1882. No.: 99,970

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Material, etc
1877. No.: 767

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Stock, bonds, etc
1877. No.: 9,100

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: All other pers'n'l prop
1877. No.: 74,698
1877. Value.: 78,021
1882. No.: 177,127

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.: Total
1877. No.: $317,185
1877. Value.: $400,131
1882. No.: $782,707

COUNTY ROADS.

The assessed valuation of real estate in the county in 1887 was
$670,648.


CIRCUIT COURT.

page 446
The public roads of the county are under the jurisdiction of the
county court. For convenience in repairing and improving their
condition they are divided into districts, over each of which [p.446]
an overseer is appointed. The present number of districts is about
100, and varies but little from year to year. The entire county was
redistricted every second year. In 1873 the different townships were
constituted road districts in the following order. the roads in each
being divided into a number of sections: No. 1, War Eagle, 11
sections: No. 2, Prairie, 2 sections: No. 3, Piney, 1 section; No. 4,
Marble, 3 sections: No. 5, King's River, 11 sections; No. 6, Whorton's
Creek, 2 sections; No. 7, Bowen, 6 sections; No. 8, Hilburn, 8
sections: No. 9, Valley, 4 sections; No. 10, California, 4 sections;
No. 11, Richland, 9 sections. This arrangement continued only a short
time.

Organization.-The constitution of 1836 provided for a division of the
State into convenient circuits, each to consist of not less than five
nor more than seven counties, for which the judges should be elected
by the General Assembly on joint ballot. The age of twenty-five years
was necessary to eligibility, and the length of term was four years.
In 1848, by amendment to the constitution, the office was made
elective, and the restriction as to the number of counties that might
be formed into a circuit was removed, to be re-established in 1864.
Under the present constitution the qualifications required of circuit
judges are as follows: Citizenship in the United States, residence in
the State two years, six years' experience at the practice of law, at
least twenty-eight years of age, and "learned in the law." The term is
four years. This court has jurisdiction in the great majority of civil
and criminal cases, and exercises a superintending control over county
and probate courts and justices of the peace.

page 447
Judges.-Madison County formed part of the Fourth Judicial Circuit from
1840 until 1861, when it was transferred to the Eighth. The latter
arrangement continued until 1868, from which time it has again
constituted part of the fourth. The following is a list of judges,
with dates of their commissions: J. M. Hoge, November 13, 1840; Sibron
G. Sneed, November 18, 1844: A. B. Greenwood, March 3, 1851; Felix I.
Batson, August 20, 1853; John M. Wilson, February 21, 1859; Joseph J.
Green, August [p.447] 23, 1860; James D. Walker, July 25, 1861; Elias
Harrell, May 8, 1865; William Story, March 27, 1867; Marshall L.
Stephenson, July 23, 1868; Charles B. Fitzpatrick, March 23, 1871;
James H. Huckleberry, April 10, 1872; James M. Pittman, October 31,
1872; James H. Berry, October 21, 1878; James M. Pittman, October 31,
1882.

Judge Hoge lived in Benton County. Sibron G. Sneed was a son of
William Sneed, one of the earliest settlers of Carroll County, and
lived on Osage River. His knowledge of the law, though not profound,
was equal to the requirements of that day; and this, with a judgment
naturally good, and the faculty of meeting his constituents in an
agreeable manner, rendered his administration eminently satisfactory.
His autograph is that of a rapid penman, the first three capital
letters being made at one stroke of the pen. At the May term, 1847,
court was opened by Hon. William W. Floyd, of the Third Circuit, and
Judge Sneed did not arrive until the third day. Judge Floyd also
presided at the October term, 1849.

April 14, 1851, Alfred B. Greenwood opened court at Huntsville for the
first time. One of the first cases that came before his consideration
was the application of Alabama Tennessee Phelps for divorce. Judge
Greenwood had been appointed prosecuting attorney in 1845, and
continued in that office until elevated to the bench. He was
subsequently a member of Congress and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Hon. Beaufort H. Neely, of the First Circuit, presided at the October
term, 1852, on exchange of circuits with Judge Greenwood. This was
common at that time. It was authorized by the constitution, and even
enforced in some instance.

Judge Batson's first court at Huntsville was held October 10, 1853. He
resided at Clarksville. The first term of Hon. John M. Wilson opened
April 11, 1859. He was in office a little more than one year. Judge
Green's incumbency was terminated in 1861, when Madison County became
part of the Eighth Circuit, to which James D. Walker was appointed.
The records close in September, 1861, with a number of murder cases on
the docket. Lawlessness was already in the ascendancy, and during the
next four years the county was virtually without law.

page 448
September 18, 1865, the court resumed its long interrupted sessions.
Elias Harrell, appointed by Gov. Isaac Murphy, presiding. Several
murder cases were tried at this term, and the great accumulation of
business is evident from the fact that the minutes cover nearly fifty
pages of a large folio. Judge Harrell is a native of Madison County.
He began the practice of law before the war, and entered upon his
judicial career with a knowledge of the law practical rather than
profound. Slow of speech and deficient, perhaps, in legal acumen, his
rulings were well considered and bore the imprint of a disposition to
do exact justice. The times were troublous, however, and demanded
executive rather than deliberative qualities in every public officer;
and under such circumstances, Judge Harrell has failed to receive the
credit justly due for his success in peacefully maintaining his
position as the representative of a government and a party to which
the majority of the people were hostile. After his retirement from the
bench he accepted the appointment of prosecuting attorney. He is now a
resident of Lamar Township, and of late years has devoted his energies
to the practice of medicine.

page 449
William Story, appointed in March, 1867, by Gov. Murphy, was from
Iowa, and one of the large body of men who formed their first
acquaintance with the South as soldiers. He made his advent into
Huntsville May 13, 1867, unannounced, apparently, and finding neither
clerk nor sheriff in attendance, appointed John S. Polk to the office
of the former. The sole proceedings are recorded in the following
remarkable chronological declaration: "Ordered by the court that court
adjourn until the third Monday after the eighth Monday after the sixth
Monday after the first Monday in February, 1867, it being the first
Monday in June, 1867, and being the third day thereof." The legal
abilities of Judge Story were probably superior to those of any of his
predecessors. His extensive legal knowledge, keen perceptive powers,
and judicial temperament enabled him to grasp the intricacies of a
case and balance its merits with unerring precision. But he was
deficient in force of character; and to his misfortune entered upon
public life at a time when executive ability was imperatively
demanded. He was subsequently appointed [p.449] United States Circuit
Judge for the western district of Arkansas, and afterward returned to
the North.

Marshall L. Stephenson, appointed in 1868, had previously become
acquainted with this section of the State as captain of a company of
Federal troops. He made his residence at Huntsville, and was the first
judge to do so. A man of fine legal attainments and good address, his
administration gave general satisfaction. He was subsequently
associate justice of the supreme court of the State.

Charles B. Fitzpatrick was commissioned in 1871, and on the 10th day
of April, that year, he opened court at Huntsville. He served but one
term.

James H. Huckleberry, a northern man, was judge only from April to
October, 1872, but created a favorable impression by his genial
manners and careful administration. He was the last judge of northern
proclivities, but has remained in the State, and is now a resident of
Fort Smith.

COUNTY COURT.

James M. Pittman and James H. Berry complete the list. The latter
served one term, and has since then been governor of the State and
United States Senator. Judge Pittman served two terms, 1872-78; he was
again elected in 1882, and has entered upon his second term. He is a
jurist of unquestioned ability, the equal in learning of any other
judge in the State. Socially he is the true type of a Southern
gentleman, and is deservedly popular.

page 450
Organization.-The constitution of 1836 provided for the holding of a
court by the justices of the peace, to be called the county court,
with jurisdiction in all matters relating to the levying, collection
and disbursement of taxes. The justices elected a presiding judge, who
was commissioned by the governor for a term of two years, and had
jurisdiction in probate matters. The office of county and probate
judge was made elective by popular vote in 1848, by amendment to the
constitution. It was shortly afterward provided that a majority of the
justices should elect two of their number, to be known as associate
judges, and assist the county judge in the discharge of his duties. In
1873 the office was abolished; a board of three supervisors was
substituted for [p.450] the transaction of county business, and the
circuit court was given jurisdiction in probate matters. The
constitution of 1874 re-established the county and probate court, and
established a levying court, consisting of the county court and all
the justices of the county. This arrangement continues.

ATTORNEYS.

Judges.-John Bowen, 1836-38; Joseph McMurray, 1840-44; John Berry,
1844-48; D. S. Sanders, 1848-1850; Joseph McMurray, 1850-52; Smith
Elkins, 1852-54; S. T. Vaughan, 1858-60; G. W. Seamans, 1860-64; J. S.
Polk, 1864-66; G. D. Neill, 1866-68; G. W. Vaughan, 1868-72; F. M.
Sams. 1874-76; J. S. Polk, 1876-80; William Deramiah, 1880-82; A. L.
Thompson, 1882-84; M. D. Lucas, 1884-88.

Prosecuting Attorneys were elected by the Legislature until 1848,
since when the office has been elected by popular vote of the
respective counties. The attorneys for the State in Madison County
have been as follows: Fourth Circuit. Alfred M. Wilson, November 13,
1840: A. B. Greenwood, January 4, 1845: H. F. Thomasson, September 6,
1853; Lafayette Gregg. August 23, 1856. Eighth Circuit, C. G. Reagan,
January 7, 1865: T. M. Gunter, Comber 15, 1866. Fourth Circuit. Elias
Harnell, August 11, 1868; S. W. Peel, April 26, 1873; E. I. Stirman,
October 13, 1876; H. A. Dinsmore, October 14, 1878; J. Frank Wilson,
Comber 20, 1884; J. V. Walker, Comber 30, 1886.

The Local Bar.-William Houser, a Tennesseean, was probably the first
representative of the legal profession in Madison County. He came to
Huntsville about 1845, but remained only a short time, long enough,
however, to establish a good reputation as a pleader. Hugh A. Anderson
and J. H. Hobbs, of Kentucky, were the next arrivals. The latter
became a member of the first board of State land commissioners, and
was appointed under the act of 1850. He was son-in-law to Judge
Greenwood, and died at Bentonville some years ago.

page 451
Forrester Black was a prominent attorney from 1855 to 1859. He was a
man of brilliant intellect, young, ambitious and successful. His death
was as tragic as his future was promising. June 24, 1859, on the
occasion of a public Masonic celebration [p.451] at Huntsville, Black
and a brother Mason, Warren Sams, became involved in an altercation.
The latter drew a knife. Black advanced and fired several shots,
killing him instantly. A crowd collected, and, unobserved, the
fourteen-year-old son of Sams placed the muzzle of a double-barrel
shot-gun close to Black's .person, discharged both barrels, and made
his escape. Black survived but a short time. The affair created a
profound sensation in legal and Masonic circles.

Isaac Murphy was the only member of the local bar who acquired a
national reputation. Born at Pittsburgh, Penn., he removed to Sumner
County, Tenn., and thence to Washington County, this State, about
1840. He became a resident of Huntsville in 1854, and engaged in the
practice of law. In 1856 he was elected to the Legislature to fill the
unexplored term of John Berry, deceased. In 1861 he was elected to the
constitutional convention as a candidate opposed to secession; May 6,
1861, he was the only delegate on the final ballot who cast his vote
against the secession ordinance. During the war he served on the staff
of Gen. Curtis. In January, 1864, he was appointed provisional
governor by delegates from a number of counties, and in the following
March he was elected by that portion of the State not occupied by
Confederate forces. His administration was Federal, but non-partisan.
He took charge of the State government when there was not a dollar in
the treasury, and left it with a fund of $270,000. He retired in 1868,
and returned to Huntsville, where he passed the remaining years of his
life, practicing law to a limited extent, and was frequently called
upon to officiate as special judge. He died in 1882.

Of the present practicing attorneys, James R. Berry is facile
princeps. He has resided in the county since 1841, and was admitted to
the bar in 1855. He was county clerk, 1852-60; enrolling clerk of the
House of Representatives in 1854, and assistant clerk in 1856;
receiver of the land office at Huntsville in 1861; elected to the
Legislature, 1861; deputy State treasurer, 1862-63; auditor of the
Staff, 1864-67 and 1868-72. In 1872 he was the candidate for auditor
on the Reform or Brooks ticket, and participated in that memorable
campaign. He returned to Huntsville in 1877, and has since given his
attention to the practice of his profession.

page 452
[p.452] Immediately after the close of the war John M. Caldwell, of
Washington County, and John Watkins, now of Berryville, located at
Huntsville. R.S. Andrews, W. S. Stuckey, A. S. Prather and others have
also located here for a short time.

A. M. Brumfield was admitted to the bar of Newton County in February,
1882, after reading law under John O'Day, of Springfield, Missouri. He
located at Huntsville in 1882, and is senior member of the firm of
Brumfield & Johnson. S. M. Johnson was admitted at Berryville in
October, 1883, and in the following month opened an office at
Huntsville. His preceptor was Lafayette Gregg, of Fayetteville. These
gentlemen enjoy the advantage of having been "to the manor born," and
enjoy a lucrative practice.

J. H. Bohlen studied law under Nye & Richardson, Marietta, Ohio, and
was admitted to the bar of Washington County, in that State, in 1878,
locating at Huntsville in 1883. He was appointed county examiner in
1884, and again in 1886. W.C. Roberts, of the firm of Bohlen &
Roberts, was admitted to the bar of Washington County some years ago,
and came to Huntsville in 1885.

John H. Chiles was admitted to the bar at Eureka Springs February 9,
1888. and became the representative of the firm of Crump, Watkins &
Chiles at Huntsville May 28, 1888. He was educated at De Pauw
University, Greencastle, Ind.

Of prominent  from other places who have practiced before the courts
at Huntsville mention should be made of David Walker, ex-chief justice
of the State; Lafayette Gregg, ex-associate justice; H. F. Thomasson,
I. M. Gunter, S. W. Peel.

The following is a list of  admitted to practice at this bar, so far
as ascertainable from existing records: Humphrey Enquart, September
25, 1860; Robert B. Polk, September 26, 1865; Stephen R. Stone, April
27, 1874; C. W. Raines, April 27, 1874; J. W. Walker, March 30. 1887.


HUNTSVILLE.

page 453
Incorporation.-November 3, 1877, Huntsville was incorporated by order
of the county court, with the following described [p.453] boundaries:
"Beginning at the northeast corner of the northwest quarter of the
northeast quarter of Section 35, in Township 17 north, Range 26 west;
thence west two miles to the northeast corner of the northwest quarter
of the northeast quarter of Section 33, Township 17 north, Range 26
west; thence south two miles to the southwest corner of Section 4,
Township 16 north, Range 26 west; thence east two miles to the
southeast corner of Section 3, Township 16 north, Range 26 west;
thence north two miles to the beginning." Town officers were elected
for several years, but the organization has lapsed into desuetude.

It will be seen from the above that the county seat was exactly midway
between the northern and southern boundaries of the county, before its
territory was diminished in favor of Carroll. It is probably north of
the center of population, but the location is conveniently accessible
from all directions. The valley of War Eagle Creek is two miles east,
and that of Holman's Creek an equal distance west. The surrounding
scenery is of the most romantic type.

page 454
Early History.-The southern part of the town site was originally
entered by George Sanders, by whom the first house was built. The
tract adjoining this on the north was entered by Evan S. Polk. John
Sanders, brother to George, seems to have been most actively
interested in having the town laid off. This was done in 1837 by
Thomas McCuistion, county surveyor. A certified transcript of the
plat, dated July 22, 1839, shows seventy-six lots ranging in area from
fifteen square rods to two acres. Missouri Street, forty feet wide,
and Harris Street, near the center of the plat; Short Street on the
west and Wilson's Alley are indicated as the highways extending north
and south. War Eagle and Main Streets, the former north and the latter
south of the court-house, are each forty feet wide, and extend east
and west. The public square is bounded by Short, Harris, War Eagle and
Main. Polk and Long Alleys are parallel with Short Street, Swamp Alley
with Main. Lots 77 to 82 were surveyed October 1 and 2, 1839, on an
extension of Missouri Street, McCuistion Street being parallel, Gage
Street and Northern Alley at right angles. A common of several acres,
upon which the public spring is located, is indicated on the plat, but
the encroachments of adjacent [p.454] owners have almost deprived it
of any existence in fact. The public square has been appropriated by
the county, and, if the town has any vested interests in the public
property so generously granted by its founder, it would seem to be
time some effort should be made to assert its rights.

Having thus planted a town and provided amply for its growth, a name
was the next consideration. The vicinity of Huntsville, Madison Co.,
Ale., was well represented among the early settlers, and while their
preference eventually secured recognition, it was not without
opposition. At this time the only post-office in the northern part of
the county was War Eagle, three miles south of Huntsville, on "the
post road from Izard court-house to Washington court-house," and John
Buchanan was postmaster. He was also one of the first merchants of the
county. Realizing the advantages that his business would naturally
acquire by an early location at the incipient county capital, he
removed himself and his personal property, including the post-office,
thither. Mr. Buchanan was an ardent admirer of Ambrose H. Sevier, one
of the most prominent and talented men of the State, and sought to
express his feelings by changing the post-office designation to
Sevierville. He appears to have met with temporary success, but the
wishes of the older citizens at length triumphed.

Joel D. Blair, of Fayetteville, built the first house in the town
proper, and opened the first store on the northeast corner of the
square. George Sanders started a grocery on the opposite corner,
building the second house. In the spring of 1839 H. S. Wilson opened
the second store. Thomas Elsey was the first blacksmith. John Long
built the first hotel west of the square. The court-house was built in
1838; and by 1840 the place presented unmistakably the appearance of a
frontier town. Merchandise was hauled fifty miles from Ozark, on the
Arkansas River, which was also the shipping point of such commodities
as the merchants exported.

page 455
There was a rapid growth during the next decade, and in 1850 there
were six large general stores doing a flourishing business. Berry &
Adams-H. C. Berry and Abner Adams-dealt largely in live stock, and
were known to the agricultural [p.455] community of half a dozen
counties. Their general business was also large. McConnell & Sams, J.
C. Pither, Warren Sams, Forrest & Vaughan and S. E. Kenner were all
well-known business men. George Sanders, who had been in business from
the founding of the town, died in 1851. Ephraim Norton and John Woods
were saddlers in 1850, and had an extensive trade. Everybody rode
horseback in those days, and the local manufacturer had not yet been
crowded out by larger establishments. The blacksmiths were William
Woolen, Jonas Nicely, John S. Polk and Benjamin Titsworth. Miles
Robinson, George Spradley and James Hamilton were wagon-makers and
carpenters. There were three "groceries," drinking saloons, in the
present terms used to denote that business, of which Reuben Harper,
Jonas Beyins and B. F. Payne were proprietors. The population in 1850
was 212 whites and 43 colored. The business in 1860, just before the
war, was as follows: General stores: McConnell & Sams, John Mosely,
Berry & Adams, J. C. Pitnet, Vaughan & Forreel, Warren Sams, S.
E.Kenner. Groceries: J. Berths, B. F. Payne. During the war, at one
time or another, the greater portion of the town was burned, and
business of every kind suspended.

Growth Since the War.-Calvin Evans, from Hindsville, was the first to
engage in business after the war, and the second was L. E. Bantu, of
Fayetteville. Kenner & Buren, Kennan & Wilson, Sams & Bros. followed
in close succession. Robert Stone, Johnson & Bros., Wilson &
Ellenberg, Wilson & Drake, Sanders & Bros., Berry & Peel, Gage &
Phillips, were among the business firms since the war, but are no
longer in existence. In 1880 the population was 312. The erection of
the academy building, Masonic hall and Presbyterian Church reflect the
public spirit of the people and add to the attractions of the town,
while the substantial county buildings, recently constructed, render
its location as the county seat permanent.

The present business houses are as follows: William Marrs & Co., Sams
& Co., A. A. Brodie, dry goods and groceries; Gilliland & Stotts,
hardware; Massic & Oeff, Brooks & Williams, drugs; Jay & Gilliland,
Hamilton & Cannaday, groceries; G. N. Hiflin, groceries and hardware;
Newsome & Shackelford, hotel. [p.456] The steam flouring mill was
built in 1881 by Col. F. M. Sams, at a cost of $6,400. It has a
capacity of twenty barrels per day.

Societies.-November 6, 1851, a dispensation was granted by the Grand
Lodge, F. & A. M., of Arkansas, to S. E. Kenner, W. M.; J. G.
McConnell, S. W., and G. W. Forrest, J. W., for the organization of
Odeon Lodge, No. 44, F. & A. M. The charter was subsequently
surrendered,

Huntsville Lodge No. 364, F. &. A. M., was instituted January 16,
1879, with James Gilliland, W. M.; C. K. Polk, S. W.; John A. Proctor,
J. W.; W. A. Gage, J. E. Plummer, P. W. Newton, F. M. Sams, G. T.
Berry, C. B. Sanders, John Bowen, William Stotts and Neal Dorsey, as
members and officers.

Huntsville Chapter No. 20, R. A. M., was granted a charter October 31,
1857, upon petition of Adam Wood, H. C. Berry and others.

Huntsville Lodge No. 87, I. O. O. F., was instituted June 26, 1884.
Charter members: F. O. Massie, W.; B. J. Disney, N. G.; John B. Peach,
S.; I. A. Oeff, U.; William Ozier, V. G.

Newspapers.-Some time between 1850 and 1860 W. E. Smith introduced
himself to the good people of Huntsville as a printer, and announced
his intention to establish a local paper, should sufficient patronage
be assured. It was also intimated that provisions, vegetables, etc.,
would be received in lieu of cash, and during the whole of one summer
the prospective publisher fared sumptuously. Preliminary arrangements
seem to have required a long time, for the people at length became
impatient, and it was not until early autumn, 1852, that the first
issue of the Independent appeared. It was sadly disproportionate to
the extensive preparations and promises that had been made, and S. E
Kenner, a member of the opposite party, remarked, in language too
emphatic for repetition here, to a Democratic supporter of the
"organ," that the mountain had been for a long time in trouble, with
the proverbial result. After a troubled existence of several months
the first journalistic effort in the county expired.

In 1856 J. P. Owen established the Mountaineer, also Democratic, which
was removed to Springfield, Mo., following year.

page 457
The first number of the Madison County Record, J. H. [p.457]
Daugherty, publisher, appeared May 31, 1879. The plant was burned
December 1, 1879, when the paper suspended until February 1, 1880.
December 12, 1884, J. W. Elsey became proprietor, when the name was
changed to Madison County Democrat, so continuing until July 18, 1885,
when Augustus Lowe secured the plant, and the name became War Eagle
Republican, which was subsequently removed to St. Paul. In October,
1885, the Democrat was re-established by J. W. Baldwin. Bohannan &
Gage became proprietors in March, 1886, and J. T. Gage, the present
publisher, in May, 1886. The Democrat is a fair exponent of the
principles of its party, and in every sense adapted to promote the
best interests of the county.

KINGSTON.

Early History.-Kingston was laid out in 1853, by King Johnson, an
immigrant to Madison County from Middle Tennessee. The public square
is situated at the junction of the road from Clarksville to
Springfield with the road from Jasper and Carrollton. Lot No. 1 was
bought by William Berry and William King, No. 2 by E. H. Basham, and
No. 3 by John and Kenner Henderson. The first house was built by King
Johnson; the second was the store building of Johnson & Rodgers; the
third and fourth were built by E. H. and Allen Basham; the next by the
Henderson brothers. The town was named by James McConnell in honor of
King Johnson. The first merchant was one Phelps, who retired from
business in 1852. King Johnson & William Rodgers began business with
the founding of the town, and continued many years. Berry & King,
Henderson Bros., E. H. Basham & Co. and one Wilkinson were engaged in
business before the war. The population in 1860 was forty-five white
and fourteen colored.

page 458
Present Condition.-The first house rebuilt after the war (the town
having been burned) was the present residence of E. H. Basham, in
which -- Powell, from Fort Smith, opened the first store. Joel
Northcutt and Vellines & Basham were engaged in business prior to
1875. The present business of the town is as follows: Bunch Brothers,
Frank Nantes, S. B. Grigg & Son, general merchandise; W. R. Hedgpeth,
M. D., drugs; Canfield [p.458] & Sisco, groceries; J. W. Merideth,
photographer; E. H. Basham, wagon and smith shop; Mitchell & Gurley,
blacksmiths; Canfield & Williams, steam mills.

Kingston Lodge No. 196, F. & A. M., was instituted November 8, 1866.
Original officers: G. D. Neill, W. M.; J. J. Mashburn, S. W.; F. M.
Reeves, J. W. The present membership numbers sixty.