Marion Co TOC

       (Page 15) The sources of information on early roads and trails have been very limited, but the following is taken from the writings of W. R. Jones in his book EARLY MARION COUNTY HISTORY.
       "The first actual white occupants of Marion County were hunters, trappers and fishermen, who did not bring their wives into the wilderness. A few came to trade with the friendly Indians, who had been here nobody knows how long. And not a few of the first white comers had more or less of Indian blood in them; which did not hurt them or their posterity in the least.
       Many of the very best citizens of Marion County, to this day, have a trace of Indian blood in them; and this is perhaps true of the people of every county in Arkansas and throughout the entire South, wherever friendly Indians inhabited when the whites first came.
       Uncle John Tabor, who carried a chain when Marion County was being sectionized by the U. S. Government, once told the writer that he was present, and danced in the Indian "Green Corn" dance, at the mouth of big North Fork, in what is now Baxter County, in the presence of Chief Cornstalk, who seemed to be the "Big Mogul" of all the Indians for many miles around.
       He said that he (Tabor) was in Yellville before it contained a single white settler. It was founded, he said, by the Shawnee Indians, and was known for many years as Shawneetown. They had built cabins of split cedar, most all of which were near to what is now known as the Noe Spring, in the Tourist Park near the Legion Hut, just northeast of the concrete bridge across the state highway over what is known as "Town Branch."
       There were at least three towns in Marion County built by the Shawnee Indians. On what used to be called the Jefferson farm (now belonging to Hon. J.C. Floyd) on Crooked Creek, less than a mile from Shawneetown (now Yellville) was a village called "Little Shawneetown." Then there was another near the mouth of Clear Creek, not far from Pyatt, that was called "Upper Shawneetown."
       Presidents of the U.S. were trying, from Jefferson's day on, to persuade Indians east of the Mississippi to exchange their lands for lands west of Mississippi; and as Jefferson said, "The further west the better for both races." That the removed Indians became the owners of the great oil and zinc fields in Oklahoma, in exchange for their poor farming lands in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, is proof that the Great Spirit "tempers the wind of shorn lamb."
       (Page 16 Top) There seems to be some question as to how these Indians got here. Also some question as to how and when the old trail, afterward converted into a rough military road from Memphis through North Arkansas, was made over which the government, under President Jackson, Administrator, removed the remnants of the Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama Indians to what used to be called the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.
       The government, it seems, had two military roads across Arkansas, one going up the Arkansas River, the other paralleling for most of the way the White River.
       As what afterward became the Arkansas Territory came into the possession of the United States while Thomas Jefferson was President, and as it was the policy of Jefferson and the presidents following him, that these Indians should by and by, be sent to the headwaters of these two rivers, forcibly, if they would not go peaceably, it is probable that the government had those two trails cut out before a single white man reached Marion County. Cut out for the purpose of encouraging the Indians east of the Mississippi, and south of the Ohio, to emigrate westward.
       Fort Gibson, where U. S. troops were kept before Marion County had a. white settler, could be reached by either of the two poor roads above named.
       The North Arkansas trail or road, for a long, long time known as the Military road, seems to have crossed the Mississippi at Memphis, then made a sharp turn to the north, west and south to keep out of the swamps as much as possible, finally reaching White River at a point where Batesville was afterward built.
       From there it followed a general northwest direction, not so very far from east bank of White River, until a fine ford was struck in low water, some distance above what is now known as Denton's ferry.
       The old ford where the Indians and early whites crossed into what is now Marion County was known as Talbert's ferry; sometimes called Mooney's ferry. From that point it soon reached what is now Denton Ferry Road, and it ran through the entire county substantially as No. 12, or "Arkoma" runs today (now U. 5. 62). That it was laid out by a competent engineer there can be little doubt; and an army engineer most probably.
       After Yellville was founded, it was for a good many years a pretty pert place, and whiskey vendors began to sell "fire water" to the Indians passing through, and causing trouble. The government sent engineers and road builders, and leaving the old Military road on Fallen Ash Creek, near the present town of Flippin, built what is yet called the Fallen Ash road up that creek, connecting again with the old road about a half mile west of the present railroad town of Summit. After that the Indians were carried by the government troops over this route. I had this Fallen Ash road history from W. B. Flippin, one of the pioneer settlers in the Flippin Barrens. His father, Thomas Flippin, I believe, was the first man to be buried in the present. Flippin graveyard, just northeast of the present railroad town of Flippin.
       The same man told me that Fallen Ash Creek was named after an Indian, known as "Fallen Ash", one of the first of the civilized Indians to reach Fallen Ash Valley, from the east. Same man told me that Jimmies Creek was named for a friendly Indian named "Jimmy", who lived in Fallen Ash Valley, but ranged his horses along the present Jimmies Creek, because that section was better watered.
       (Page 17 Top) (Photo: Denton's Ferry) Perhaps the first corn grown in Marion County was planted by a civilized Indian, who once owned what is generally known as the "Uncle Bob Hurst" place, now owned by Lee Wood (later Earl Wood).
       Practically all the Indians in North Arkansas had left Marion County by 1836, but a few remained.
       A.S. Wood (called Uncle Bud), the first white man born in Marion county, remembers the old "Salt Road" that was cut out from "Old Buffalo Landing" to Springfield, Missouri, by way of what is now Gainesville, Missouri The "landing" was near the foot of Buffalo Shoals, at a point near what is the present railroad station, called Buffalo, in Baxter County. Over this road was carried in old ox wagons the salt and other heavy merchandise that, from Springfield as a center, supplied the pioneer settlers in nearly all southwest Missouri; also from local points along said road, much of South Missouri and North Arkansas was supplied.
       From the "Buffalo Landing", at that time considered the head of navigation, another freight road was cut out from the north bank of the river to Old Carrollton, once the metropolis of North Arkansas. The freight which came up White River to Buffalo was then hauled over this very poor road to Carrollton, and from there all the pioneers in Northwest Arkansas were supplied. Old Carrollton failed to get the North Arkansas railroad when it was built and is now, I believe, abandoned. It was once the most important trading point along the old military road.
       This old Carrollton road passed right across creeks, and over some of the roughest ground in Marion County. It crossed Blue John Creek, near (Page 18 Top) the present site of Ware's Chapel, named for Dr. Ware; crossed Clabber Creek near Bluford Mears' old place (now belonging to Edgar Hall), at the same point now crossed by the county road. It went on across the south end of the Cowan Barrens, the little village of Weast City being by this old road. It passed just south of the Pat Carson old place, and, I believe, crossed Hampton Creek near what is now known as Jefferson Hall (now Ray Blankenship place). From here to the Boone County line I am not sure but think the present site of Eros is on or near this old road, and that it reached the Boone County Line.
       The early settlers did not find half as much timber as is here today. There were three great prairies, known as "barrens". One, the Flippin barrens, named for the Flippin families who very early settled there. The Cowan barrens was so-called because of the Cowan family that was the first, I believe, to settle there. Then most all of what is now southwest Marion County was called simply 'The Prairie'."
       As population grew and villages developed in Marion County, new roads connecting these towns were built and were called county roads. In time they were under the supervision of The Township Road Overseers in each of the political townships in the county. The Overseer was elected and rarely, if ever, had any engineering background or construction experience. The roads were poorly constructed; little attention was given to drainage and there were practically no bridges across creeks and branches that often during heavy rains made travel impossible. Since practically all work on these roads was free labor, that is labor by each able-bodied male citizen between the age of 21 and 65, except school directors, who each year must work four days on the county road in his township or hire someone in his stead for the four days, and since practically all work was by pick, shovel, hoe, ax and rock hammers the roads were rough, and in winter often so muddy that travel by wagon was an experience. Sometimes the overseer would use his team and a slip to fill up the chug holes with rock and dirt. The people would levy a three-mill road tax on all property by approving such in the General Election. Usually it was approved. The revenue from the 'road tax' was for the roads in the township in which the property was situated. Some 'overseers' wisely used a part of their three-mill revenue to build culverts and low-water bridges across streams.
       In time the County Judge came to have more jurisdiction over county roads and with this jurisdiction came some State Turnback Funds with which, along with the three-mill road tax, permitted him to buy some road machinery and to hire experienced men to build and maintain the more heavily traveled county roads. This was a big step toward improving the roads.
       Some of the better-known county roads and which were heavily traveled were: The Flippin-Oakland road across Bull Mountain, Jimmies and Sister Creek, across the White River at Pace's Ferry and up the north side of White River by the Anglin Farm and on into Oakland. This was a star mail route which also was the road over which most of the freight for the Oakland merchants moved from the railroad at Flippin. Some of this freight was moved by ox-drawn wagons. Cotton and other farm products from the north part of the county moved over this road to the railroad at Flippin; (2) The Buffalo City to Yellville road by way of Rea Valley-up Crooked Creek on the south side by way of the Old Concord school house by the Poynter farm (Page 19: Photos: Joe Pace - who with his son Gus owned and operated Pace's Ferry prior to 1918 & (Photo: Pace's Ferry) (Page 20 Top Photo: Road crew working in Oakland area in the days when each adult male was required to work on County roads 3 days per year) to the Wickersham farm and across the old bridge across Crooked Creek; (3) The Yellville-Rush road which at first followed generally what is now Highway 206 into the Blue John and Clabber Creek route into Rush. Later this route was changed to what we now know as Highway 14 South to about one mile east of Robinson's Store and then to the left down the mountain to Rush; (4) the Yellville-Eros-Bruno road by Antioch school and Greasy Creek across Hampton Creek; later a county road was built known as Sky-Line Drive to connect Eros and Yellville and a road leaving Highway 14 about eight miles south of Yellville and following the ridges was built into Bruno; (5) Blue Heaven was the name given to the county road that left Highway 62 east of Pyatt and ran in a north-northeasterly direction to connect with Highway 14 North. There were many other county roads, all rough and unimproved in early days, that are now well-graded, drained, with culverts and bridges across the streams that serve as mail routes, school bus routes arid milk routes.
       It is interesting to observe that many of these earlier county roads laid out by non-engineers, guided by deer trails and trails followed by cattle on the open range, have become part of the State Highway System in Marion County. These will be pointed out later in the discussion of Highways.