MOUNT PISGAH COMMUNITY Mrs. W. C. Welch ееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееееее Submitted by: Date: 10/31/97 Copyright: All rights reserved. USGENWEB ARCHIVES DISCLAIMER: In keeping with our policy of providing free Information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. *********************************************************** The White Co. Historical Society conducted a tour in the Mt. Pisgah Community Sunday afternoon, June 27, 1965. The program was prepared and narrated by Mr. & Mrs. W. C. Welch. Others contributing to the community history were: Mr. L. O. Henderson, Mr. Frank Henderson, Mrs. Jeffrey Walker, Mr. Claud Haney, and Mrs. Manley Williams. ************************************************************ In the early days of Mt. Pisgah the little village or "town" was located at the foot of the mountain near the present site of the churches & cemetery. It was not just a "wide place in the road" where one little store sold a few staple groceries, kerosene for lamps, chewing tobacco & Carter's little liver pills. No, indeed, for about the turn of the century it was a thriving little village with business houses on either side of Main Street. A cotton gin located between the Methodist Church and the cemetery. The gin was first owned & operated by Manuel Tear. Later it was operated by W. M. Williams, father of Manley Williams. Some of the earliest businessmen who operated general stores were: Mr. Kates, Jim Gray & J. R. "Buck" Woodson. Mr. Woodson was the first postmaster and he ran a store in connection with the post office. In the first part of the 20 th century other merchants were: Rufus Hendrix, John Shetter, Albert Gollithan, Edd Barton & Harve Grain. Posst-masters who served after the turn of the century were George Hughes & John Carter. Dr. Ward, a practicing physician for the area had an office & a drug store. Another unusual business for a small town was operated by Amos & Charlie Suit. This was a store where caskets were sold. The suits were also photographers & they ran a picture studio adjacent to the casket shop. Some of the older citizens tell us that before 1900 an effort was made to open a saloon at Mt. Pisgah, but public opinion suppressed that movement by circulating a petition against it. Authentic records in the White Co. Courthouse list names of early settlers of the community as: Tear, Goad, Hendrix, Haney, Henderson, Siddel, Sowell, Williams, Adams, Pruitt, Gray, Carter, Gilreath, Watson, West, Willingham. Other worthy people came & went, but with a spirit that would live on and challenge future generations to build upon their foundation. About the middle of the 19 th century when this community was being settled along the banks of Magness Creek, Alexis de Tocqueville, a French statesman & political writer, came to this country seeking the reason for the greatness of America. He sought it in her harbours & her ample rivers; in her fertile fields & boundless forests; he looked for it in her rich mines & her vast democratic Congress & her matchless Constitution; and it was in none of these. Not until he went into the churches of America & heard her pulpits aflame with rightousness did he understood the secret of her greatness & power. Then he said, "America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Perhaps the founding fathers of this area did not know of Alexis de Tocqueville at that time. Nevertheless they knew the truth of his philosophy - that the church was the most important institution around which to build a community. Records tell us that as early as 1869 the Methodist & Presbyterian church groups were worshipping in a two-story building which was also located near the cemetery. Church records & abstract deeds tell us that the property now owned by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South was acquired in parts in 1869, 1872, & 1881. The earliest records on the Baptist Church property is a deed dated April 25, 1896, in which James H. Goad deeded to John S. West & J. M. Carter, trustees of the Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church one square acre to be used for church services for the Baptist Church. Church records are not available for either the Methodist or of the Baptist Church from which to get the history of the organization or list of charter members. Senior citizens tell us that in the early days of the community the men carried muskets & muzzle loaders to church to protect themselves & their families from attacks by Indians who camped near the foot of the mountain. At one time the Indian fort was built as a look-out from the mountain top. Mr. Claud Haney relates the story of a Civil War skirmish which took place in his field when his father was just a lad. Some "Yankee soldiers were camped in the woods at the base of the mountain when a Confederate captain & a group of soldiers attacked them. After a brief skirmish Capt. Little & his men fled through the forest where Mr. Haney's father, Mr. Jimmy D. Haney & a playmate were hiding a horse in the woods. The soldiers took the horse to replace an exhausted one of their own & went on their way. The first school was held in a one-room building & was located near the large oak tree in the cemetery. The building was furnished with split-log benches & was heated by a huge fireplace that burned 6 foot wood. Later school was held in the church-school-Masonic Lodge building. The late Mr. Henry Bell of Searcy taught in that building. About 1909 a school house was built on the east side of the road just south of the store buildings. This served as the district school until 1915. In 1906 the Industrial Revolution was more keenly felt by the people of Mt. Pisgah than ever before when the Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad was laid through the area providing transportation & freight service. With this progressive movement the town also moved about 1/2 mile south & 1/4 mile east & built along the railroad track. Although there was never a depot here a "flag" station served the purpose quite satisfactorily. The "flag" was a white hankercheif by day & a swinging lantern by night. The signaller was assured that his signal had been seen & accepted by the trainmen when he heard 3 short whistles. By 1915 business & industry were operating on a new town site - New Mt. Pisgah. The school consolidated that year with the Drokes school to the south & the twain met & erected a two room school building just east of the railroad, leaving only the churches at old Mt. Pisgah, in that picturesque setting among the pines & near the resting place of their loved ones, with the entire scene guarded over by Mt. Pisgah, the mountain, as it stands like a sentinel through the ages.