Benton County Historical Society

Benton County Historical Society The Benton County Historical Society is located in Northwest Arkansas and was founded in 1954.

The Benton County Historical Society was created in 1954 from a group of concerned citizens who wanted to preserve the history of Benton County. Members who have roots in Benton County are helping to keep its history alive and in front of the public during the current period of tremendous growth. The Society has also assumed responsibility for maintaining historical markers and monuments which BCH

S helped to erect throughout Benton County. These markers and monuments permanently identify the location of Civil War battles and other historic incidents. Membership is open to everyone interested in the history and heritage of Benton County. The Benton County Historical Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, recounting, publishing, and otherwise preserving and disseminating the history of Benton County, Arkansas. The society exists to promote multi-generational awareness, understanding and appreciation of the written and oral history of Benton County, Arkansas and contiguous areas. To attain this goal BCHS seeks to position itself as the pre-eminent source of Benton County historical information.

08/31/2026

Looking for someone (recommendations) who can recane 3 chairs with cane seats.

This might look like just an old leather box... but this custom-made leather case once traveled thousands of miles carry...
08/27/2026

This might look like just an old leather box... but this custom-made leather case once traveled thousands of miles carrying something special that is currently on loan to the Benton County Historical Society.

What is a Circuit Rider you ask? So did Ed and I! Circuit Riders were ministers, usually Methodist or Baptist, who didn’t serve in just one church. Instead, they rode (or walked) from town to town. Because - their congregations were scattered all over the Ozark hills. In fact, their congregations weren’t always in churches. They might be in cabins or barns - sometimes these Riders even preached revivals in open-air brush arbors.

Because they were always on the move, their Bibles had to be practical and portable. This one is bound in sturdy leather and had a snug case with extremely thick leather. That case protected the Bible – and it probably attached directly to the Circuit Rider’s saddle.

We’ve discovered a couple of other unique features. See this little flap? It’s part of the Bible’s cover—and it folds over to keep the Bible shut tight. Keeping the Bible safe when traveling over rough trails, through sudden storms, or just during a long day’s travel. The flap also helped protect the page edges.

This Bible, like those of most Circuit Riders, is worn, weather-beaten, and well-loved - reflecting both the hardship and dedication of frontier ministers.

And – one last thing that we found fascinating – the font. The font is Tiny! I mean, what is that? 4 point? Circuit Riders must’ve had amazing eyesight!

This Bible is a beautiful reminder of the devotion of Circuit Riders—and the dedication it took to bring their message to every corner of their territory. Records show that some Circuit Riders in the late 18th and early 19th century rode as much as 270,000 miles!

So what do you think? Did you have a Circuit Rider in your family, or have you heard stories of the early Circuit Riding preachers? We’d love to have you tell us all about it!

Before smartphones, before car phones, and before the breakup of Ma Bell - there were small Independent Telephone Compan...
08/26/2026

Before smartphones, before car phones, and before the breakup of Ma Bell - there were small Independent Telephone Companies bringing telephone service to communities across America—including Centerton.

Exactly when telephone service first arrived in Centerton isn't clear. But - whenever it started, the history of Centerton's telephone service became closely connected with the Steepro family.

In 2000, the Benton County Historical Society was fortunate to receive this story from Esther Steepro, a woman who had spent much of her life in the telephone business. And, it seems fitting to begin this retelling with some details about this remarkable lady.

Esther Minick Steepro was born in Kansas in 1913. She met Glenn Steepro when she was just 15 years old, and the two married in December 1932, during the middle of the Great Depression.

Like many young couples of the time, they took whatever work they could find. Then, in 1935, Glenn (who was known for his mechanical ability) heard about an opportunity at the Buckeye telephone exchange near Abilene, Kansas. And soon, Glenn and Esther were operating an exchange serving 150 customers and earning $80 a month (a good income in 1935).

Until sometime in the spring of 1938, when a telephone supply salesman told the couple that the telephone exchange in Centerton, Arkansas, might be available. The Steepros came to visit that August—and liked what they found.

By October 1938, Glenn and Esther had purchased the Centerton telephone exchange and the house that came with it. The front room of their new home served as the telephone office. (The photograph shown here captures the Steepro family exploring Centerton in August 1939.)

At the time, the Centerton exchange served about 100 customers, including subscribers near Vaughn and in the Miller community near Hiwasse.

The system operated on a 40-drop switchboard, capable of handling up to 40 customers at one time. The exchange was open from early morning until about 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

But emergencies don't always happen during business hours. If an emergency call came in during the night, Esther would get up and operate the switchboard.

Many of the exchange's customers were farmers connected by single-strand telephone lines stretching back to the Centerton exchange. Glenn stayed busy installing new connections, repairing and maintaining lines, and even delivering the monthly bills by hand.

But not every customer paid with cash. According to Esther, some subscribers paid their telephone bills with apples or chickens, and the family was thankful for the food.

As the Steepro daughters grew older, they learned the telephone numbers simply by watching their mother work the switchboard. One of the photographs shows Wava Steepro operating the Centerton switchboard in 1961. Another shows the stone building constructed by the Steepro family in 1948 specifically to house the growing telephone exchange. Originally, the building was connected directly to the family's living room.

It's difficult to imagine today, but for decades, the telephone system serving Centerton was not hidden behind a screen, automated network, or wireless signal. It was maintained by hand, and operated by people who knew their customers (who sometimes paid their bills in chickens).







Sources:
-"An Early Telecommunications Pioneer: The Centerton Telephone Company," The Benton County Pioneer, Volume 45, Number 4, Fourth Quarter 2000
-"Images of the Centerton Telephone Company and the Steepro Family," courtesy of Esther Steepro, The Benton County Pioneer, Volume 45, Number 4, Fourth Quarter 2000
-Wikipedia, "Independent Telephone Company"
-Arkansas Gravestones website entries for Esther and Glenn Steepro

Sometime around 1908 a hotel opened one mile north of downtown Bentonville. No-one knows exactly when it opened, or who ...
08/20/2026

Sometime around 1908 a hotel opened one mile north of downtown Bentonville. No-one knows exactly when it opened, or who owned it at the time. But a postcard exists which calls it the Spring Park Hotel and announces "Open Winter & Summer" while claiming it was the "Best in the State."

By 1910, the property had a new owner and a new purpose. Renamed the A.T. Still Park Springs Sanitarium, it had become one of the many health resorts in Northwest Arkansas during a time when visitors came to the area in search of fresh air, mineral springs, and rest.

Three years later, J. D. Southerland purchased the property and transformed it into the Park Springs Resort. Advertisements painted quite a picture: a two-story brick hotel with steam heat, electric lights, hot and cold baths, fifty "cool, airy rooms," its own gardens, poultry and Jersey cows, a dancing pavilion, cement swimming pool, shady park grounds, and even weekly dances. As historian Jack Crowder joked, "luckily truth in advertising was not around in the 1900's."

Getting there was part of the experience. Southerland also owned both ends of the Bentonville Interurban Railroad, allowing visitors to ride Benton County's first trolley directly to the resort.

In 1920, the resort was purchased by George and Clara Crowder. According to Jack Crowder, Clara was the driving force behind many of the family's business decisions and was probably "a real wheeler-dealer." She certainly proved it. The Crowders purchased the resort for $10,000 and negotiated a 99-year lease with the City of Bentonville for the surrounding parkland as part of the deal (even though the property was valued at around $75,000).

Three months after the purchase disaster struck. Fire swept through the hotel. By the time Bentonville firefighters arrived, the blaze had spread too far to save most of the building. Thankfully, every guest and the Crowder family escaped safely.

Many people would have given up. Clara didn't.

She borrowed money wherever she could (banks, family members, life insurance companies, etc.) and mailed postcards to former guests showing the burned hotel with a sign out front making a bold promise: "Will be rebuilt and open next season."

She and George kept their promise. When the new Park Springs Hotel opened in 1921, newspaper accounts described fifty guest rooms with hot and cold running water, and a spacious lobby featuring a miniature spring that added "greatly to the beauty of the interior."

George and Clara continued operating the resort until Clara's death in 1924. Then the resort years faded with the arrival of the Great Depression.

Today, part of the original property lives on as Park Springs Park—a quiet reminder of a place that, for a time, welcomed travelers from near and far to relax, recover, dance, and enjoy one of Bentonville's most ambitious resorts.







Sources:
Jack T. Crowder, "The Park Springs Resort," The Benton County Pioneer, Vol. 56, No. 1, First Quarter 2011
Bentonville 1-2-3, "The Bentonville Interurban: Local Mass Transit That Was Ahead of Its Time"
Find a Grave memorial for Clara Crowder
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, "Healing Waters"

It wasn’t the photo, it was the headline that tugged on our heartstrings - "A Story of Two Small Graves." What could tha...
08/19/2026

It wasn’t the photo, it was the headline that tugged on our heartstrings - "A Story of Two Small Graves." What could that be referring to?

In 2000, Bill Good shared this photograph and the story behind it with the Benton County Historical Society. According to a handwritten caption by Bill's grandmother, the church in the background was the Center Point Church, built in 1869 on land donated by Bill's great-great-grandfather. The church stood in Centerton until a storm destroyed it around 1920, after which a new building was erected.

But this story is about the two small graves in the foreground of the photo, not the church.

The story begins on February 10, 1868 when James Wilson Womack married Elizabeth Jane Gamble in Benton County. Their first child, Cora Belle, was born the following year. In 1884, Cora married Frank Marr, and life seemed full of promise for the growing family.

In the intervening years, James and Elizabeth would have several more children (including Bill's grandmother - Annie Clementine Womack Good in 1873).

On June 10, Cora and Frank welcomed a son they named Charlie. Just three days later, James and Elizabeth celebrated the birth of a son, Luther. Uncle and nephew had entered the world only 3 days apart. But before the year was over, both little boys became ill with an infection.

Charlie died on September 11, 1888.

Luther followed on November 10.

Bill ended his family story with a simple observation: "Now I realize that this photo was not taken to show off the Center Point Church, but rather to show the two graves of the babies who lived such a short time.... (the) picture must have been taken in November or December of 1888."







Sources:
William C. Good, "A Family Mystery Revealed: A Story of Two Small Graves," The Benton County Pioneer, Volume 45, Number 4, Fourth Quarter 2000
Find a Grave memorial for Cora Belle Marr
Find a Grave memorial for James Wilson Womack
FamilySearch profile for James Wilson Womack

Have you ever imagined climbing aboard a four-horse stage and trusting the driver to get you safely down Old Wire Road? ...
08/13/2026

Have you ever imagined climbing aboard a four-horse stage and trusting the driver to get you safely down Old Wire Road? For many years, that driver was Thomas Brown Jones.

Born in Greene County, Tennessee, on April 11, 1827, Thomas eventually made his way to Benton County. It was here that he became the driver of a four-horse stagecoach along Old Wire Road.
Many years later, Thomas would settle at Cross Hollows, about two miles northeast of present-day Lowell. It was then that he became the proprietor of the Inn at Mud Town, an important stage stop along the route. According to his great-granddaughter Hazel Koen, the inn was a two-story building with impressive "double-decker" fireplaces that welcomed weary travelers.

But, even after retiring as a stage coach driver, life was not without danger. Hazel wrote that it was during her great-grandfather’s years running the inn that a bushwhacker attacked him, injuring one of his arms so badly that he never regained its use.

Then nature dealt another blow. In 1898, a “cyclone” destroyed the inn, and the family relocated north of Spring Creek Church.

Thomas passed away on August 25, 1909. His obituary in the Springdale News remembered him not only as one of Benton County's oldest settlers, but as “Uncle T.B.” whose stories left a lasting impression:

"The writer has spent many pleasurable hours… listening to him tell his experiences in life when he used to drive a four horse stage along the 'old wire road.'"

You know - we kind of wish someone had written down a few more of those stories.






Sources:
Hazel Koen, "Great Grandfather – Thomas Brown Jones," The Benton County Pioneer, Vol. 11, No. 3, July 1966
Find a Grave memorial for Thomas Brown Jones: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33735383/thommy-brown-jones

Before there were cars or school buses, there were teachers on horseback. And one of Benton County's was quite the horse...
08/12/2026

Before there were cars or school buses, there were teachers on horseback. And one of Benton County's was quite the horsewoman.

In 2009, the Benton County Historical Society received a delightful story from Louise Eads DeHart about her mother, Miss Willie Lou Keith—a young teacher whose daily commute carried her across two states.

Willie Lou was born on December 22, 1891. After the death of her mother, Betty Keith Hardcastle (while Willie Lou was still an infant) she was raised by her grandparents, Thomas W. and Lucinda Jane Keith, in Cherokee City.

At just 17 years old, Willie Lou began teaching. Each school day she rode horseback from Cherokee City, Arkansas, across the newly established state line into Oklahoma to teach at the Clouds Creek School near Row in Delaware County.

The photograph shown here was taken around 1918 after her horse shied at a railroad crossing. If you look closely, you can just make out the railroad crossing sign on the left side of the image.

Louise described her mother as an excellent rider and "quite the fashion plate," even while traveling on horseback. Although Willie Lou had learned to ride sidesaddle, that was never her preferred way to travel. Willie Lou later explained to her daughter that "riding astride was proper, for one had to get to their destination."

And it sounds like she enjoyed the journey as much as the destination. Louise remembered that her mother liked to race her horse and even owned one remarkable horse that would rear up on its hind legs on command.

In 1922, Willie Lou married Louis Jefferson Eads, and together they welcomed one daughter, Louise Eads DeHart—the woman who shared her mother’s memory with us. Willie Lou passed away in 1968, but thanks to her daughter's recollections, we can still picture a determined young teacher setting off on horseback, crossing the Arkansas-Oklahoma line to meet her students, looking stylish all the while.







Sources:
Louise Eads DeHart, "My Mother, Teacher on Horseback," The Benton County Pioneer, Volume 54, Number 3, 2009
Find a Grave memorial for Willie Loucinda Eads
News Tribune obituary for Louise DeHart

The Springtown Methodist Church was organized in 1881 by eight charter members: W.D. Wasson and his wife Elizabeth, Mr....
08/07/2026

The Springtown Methodist Church was organized in 1881 by eight charter members: W.D. Wasson and his wife Elizabeth, Mr. and Mrs. D.P. Wasson, Mr. and Mrs. James Williams, and Mr. and Mrs. Stuttering Davis. (Bertha Wasson Clemmer’s history of the Springtown Methodist Church suggests there may have been a few additional early members whose names were never recorded.)

The congregation first met in the Springtown schoolhouse, but before the year was out they were already hard at work building a church of their own. The land was purchased in 1882 from D.P. and Tennessee Wasson for $5. The warranty deed for the property states that “said premises shall be used, kept, maintained and disposed of as a place of worship… forever…”

Building the church was truly a congregational effort. W. D. and D. P. Wasson, Joe McHargue, George Condrey, and N. B. Holland hauled oak siding by wagon from Beck's Mill. Stone for the foundation came from the bed of nearby Flint Creek And these men, along with Lee Holland and his sons, built the church.

One of our favorite details is that W. D. Wasson built the church's pulpit himself using shipping boxes from his general store. He also donated the church bell. Years later, member Mava Brannon recalled, "Our family would always know when it was time to go to church by the church bells. They would ring one-half hour before the Sunday School."

Other memories shared by church members in a copy of The Benton County Pioneer from 1982 are wonderful, and we just had to include a few.

When the congregation purchased its first organ in the late 1880s or early 1890s, not everyone approved. Some of the older members believed musical instruments had no place in church. But, the younger members eventually prevailed, and the old pedal organ became part of worship. E. C. King recalled that it wasn't easy to play, while William B. Dodgen remembered organist Miss Maggie Lane, “who was a cripple and pedaled the organ with her crutches.”

Church discipline could be... memorable.
Harlan Wasson recalled that in January 1923 several young people were actually "turned out" of the church for dancing. He added that other suspicious behavior included "parting your hair in the middle or wearing black patent leather shoes."

Then there's poor Tom Condrey.

Tom’s job was to build fires in the wood stove, light the gas lamps, and sweep the church. After carefully cleaning one Saturday, a lady pointed out to the entire congregation the next morning that he had missed a single cobweb. Tom said, "I was so embarrassed... that ended my cleaning."

Members also fondly remembered Rev. Roy Bagley, who became pastor in 1933. They laughed about the evening local young people gathered pans, whistles, and anything else that made noise to charivari Roy and his new bride, Fay Ella—only to discover the newlyweds weren't home that night.

The church served the Springtown community for well over a century before the congregation dissolved in 1995. In 2021, the church building was donated to the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, ensuring that this little country church—and the stories it holds—will continue to be preserved for future generations.






Sources:
-Ruth Wasson, cover photograph, The Benton County Pioneer, Volume 27, No. 4, Winter 1982
-Dolores Cash White, "A Centennial History of the Springtown Methodist Church," The Benton County Pioneer, Volume 27, No. 4, Winter 1982
-Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, "Springtown Methodist Church" — https://www.nwalandtrust.org/preserves/springtown-methodist-church/
-History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago, IL, USA: Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889.

We’re not saying we'd choose a gas station just because of its pumps... but if they looked like these, well I think you ...
08/05/2026

We’re not saying we'd choose a gas station just because of its pumps... but if they looked like these, well I think you know where we’re going with this…

This wonderful photograph captures the Mid-Continent Gas Station on the corner of South Mount Olive and Jefferson in Siloam Springs, probably sometime in the 1920s (just a guess based on the styles of the cars and the gas pumps). The station was operated by Paul and Howard Burton.

Michael Rapp, who shared this photograph with the Benton County Historical Society back in 1995, identified the gentleman in the foreground as W. D. Brown, the local rural mail carrier, standing beside his car while purchasing gasoline. (This was definitely before the days of self-service!)

Mr. Rapp also noted that the Wasson's Funeral Home “ambulance” is sitting on the grease rack at the right side of the photograph—probably getting a little maintenance before its next call.

And then there are those stately gas pumps.

With their tall glass cylinders and globes perched on top, they're a reminder of a time when filling your tank looked very different than it does today. They may not have pumped fuel as quickly as modern pumps, but they certainly had more personality.







Sources:
Michael Rapp, "Siloam Springs in the 1920–1930," The Benton County Pioneer, Volume 40, Issue 4, Winter 1995
Mid-Continent Petroleum Corporation v. Keen, 157 F.2d 310 (8th Cir. 1946)

How many 27-year-olds can say they have investigated bank robberies, led a posse after infamous bank robbers (who were a...
07/30/2026

How many 27-year-olds can say they have investigated bank robberies, led a posse after infamous bank robbers (who were also kidnappers), and helped organize statewide law enforcement agencies?

This photograph shows Siloam Springs Chief of Police Robert "Bob" Tazewell LaFollette at the scene of a bank robbery in 1936. It was an eventful year for the young officer. At just 27 years old, he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of the newly organized Arkansas Rangers, the statewide law enforcement organization that would later become the Arkansas State Police.

Bob was born in Siloam Springs on September 13, 1908, to Walter Tazewell and Nancie Ellen (Williams) LaFollette. His career in law enforcement would span decades and take him well beyond his hometown.

But before any of that happened, he became Siloam Springs Police Chief in 1933. In his first year as police chief he was handpicked to lead a 3-state posse that conducted a raid on the farm where two members of the notorious Wilbur Underhill gang were hiding after escaping from prison. The raid made newspaper headlines across the United States after Gene Johnson was fatally wounded in a shootout with deputies, his wife was captured, and the second member of the gang escaped.

It would be 3 years later that LaFollette would become Assistant Superintendent of the newly organized Arkansas Rangers. He would serve in this position for 2 years. Later Governor Homer Adkins would appoint LaFollete to be the new Traffic and Safety Director for the Arkansas Highway Department. On June 1, 1953, LaFollette returned to the Arkansas State Police to serve as the Assistant Director of the Weights & Standards Division.

Bank robberies are always exciting, but this time we're just as fascinated by the young officer standing tall in the middle of the photo — a Siloam Springs native whose career would help shape Arkansas law enforcement for decades to come.







Sources:
Michael Rapp, "Siloam Springs in the 1920–1930," The Benton County Pioneer, Volume 40, Issue 4, Winter 1995
Find a Grave memorial for Robert Tazewell LaFollette
“AIDE TO UNDERHILL SLAIN IN ARKANSAS”, The New York Times, Aug. 18, 1933

Address

306 NW 2nd Street
Bentonville, AR
72712

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Wednesday 10am - 3pm
Thursday 10am - 3pm
Friday 10am - 3pm

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+14792733561

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