Dallas County Museum, Fordyce, Arkansas

09/04/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell
Sixty-seven years ago on August 31, 1959, Kermit Tracy of Little Rock and Jay and Melrose Bagwell of Fordyce, Arkansas, owners, put Radio Station KBJT, 1570 on your Radio Dial in Fordyce, Arkansas on the air! Ed Zoch was the General Manager and Engineer. Following him, Bobby Shuler was the engineer, announcer and DJ. Jay was “The Boss”, salesman, announcer, newsman, etc. I know many of you remember Al Hazelwood who worked there a number of years. (?) Frazer from Warren was an announcer and DJ. Others who worked there over the years were high school students who received a lot of good training. Some of them were: Ron Harrison, Chris O’Mary, Ronny Hearne, Lander Smith, Henry Morgan, Ray Bradley and Charlie Moore. There were others that I can’t recall the names of at this time. I was the receptionist, bookkeeper, news gatherer, and whatever other jobs that needed to be done including being the janitor! I also did a 30-minute program called “Melrose and Friends” with local news, interviews, news of birthdays, those admitted and discharged from the hospital, as well as news especially for the ladies.
Today we continue our tour around Dallas County and the early towns and communities. John Lloyd let me borrow his books about Sparkman. One is entitled the “History of Sparkman, Arkansas”, 1892-1976 and was researched and compiled by Mattie D. DeLaughter Mizell in conjunction with the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration. The other book is entitled the “History of Sparkman, Arkansas”, 1976-2011 and written by Josephine Amis Manning. Her husband, Max Manning, was my first cousin and the first chief of police of Sparkman. He was followed by J. R. Daniel, Chief Alexander, Houston Smith, and Chief Urigen. There is also a good article on Sparkman in the 1976 Bicentennial Issue of The Fordyce News-Advocate.
Did you know there was an Old Sparkman and a Sparkman #2, which is the present Sparkman? Old Sparkman was established as a saw mill town in 1892 by Lemil “Pete” Sparkman who owned the mill. The town was named for Mr. Sparkman. Old Sparkman was about a forty-acre area, located about one-fourth mile from the Southwest corner of the present town of Sparkman.
In 1886, the Arkadelphia Lumber Company was formed with the mill site directly across the Ouachita River east of Arkadelphia. The mill town was named Daleville for Dr. J. R. Dale, a member of the Board of Directors. The mill was often referred to as Dalesville Lumber Company and was a big operation. In 1902, it produced as much as 150,000 feet of pine lumber daily and later as much as 250,000 feet. In order to accomplish this the company depended upon the Ultima Thule Railway because in the winter months the roads were almost impassable.
The Ultima Thule Railroad was made up of three trains. Train #12 was the main train and carried as many as 20 skeleton cars for logs and following the log cars was the passenger coach. After stopping at the depot at Old Sparkman the train went on to turn around in Mr. John T. Gaston’s field. This train made two round trips from Daleville to Old Sparkman each day. Bob Coleman was the engineer for #12. Train #11 and train #14 were strictly log trains and worked on the spurs. Blake Gilliam was the engineer on #11 and Will Hubbard was the engineer on #14.
When Mr. Sparkman cut all of his timber he moved his mill to Hodge, Louisiana and many of his employees and other local people moved with him. The mill, all of the buildings and corrals were torn down and moved.
After the mill at Old Sparkman cut out, the train no longer came there. As other mills cut out, the train ran shorter routes. Highway 7 between Sparkman and Dalark is built on the old Ultima Thule Railroad dump.
The 1898-1899 Business Directory lists it as follows: the town had a depot, one church, the saw mill and a population of about 150. L.E.L. Bozeman was a blacksmith; B. H. Culbert, Justice of the Peace; DeLaughter & King, Cotton Gin; DeLaughter & Son, General Store; Mrs. J. D. Leonard, Music Teacher; S Leonard & Son, General Store; H. O. Nall, Blacksmith; A. Posey, Blacksmith; S. S. Russell, Justice of the Peace; Wozencraft & Wilson, Physicians.
A Sparkman Post Office was established and the first Postmaster was Lemil Sparkman, who served from 1893 to 1895. He was married to Ida Lee Horne, a sister of Sam B. Horne.
The community was never platted or incorporated as a town.

08/28/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell
The August Board of Management meeting of the Arkansas State Society Colonial Dames of the XVII Century was held on Saturday, August 15, 2026 in the Children’s Room at the Dallas County Museum. State President Dr. Cindy Bagwell Crum of Jonesboro presided during the meeting. State officers and committee chairmen gave their reports and plans were discussed for the State Conferences of the War of 1812 Society, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century. This triad state conference will be held Heritage weekend in February of 2027 in Little Rock. Following the meeting, the group enjoyed a luncheon in the Military Room at the museum.
Nine members of the Fordyce High School Class of 1968 and some of their spouses and one granddaughter had lunch at Char and Root Grill on Friday, August 14, 2026. Then, they came across the street to tour the Dallas County Museum. Some of them enjoyed looking through the Alexander Negatives, and they found negatives of members of their family. You are invited to come to the museum and look through the negatives to see if there are pictures of you or your family members that you do not have. There are 25,000 envelopes of these negatives. If you find some, Bill Sorrells of Sparkman will develop them for us. The cost is $5.00 for a 5x7 photo.
I have wanted a drawing showing all the stores on Main Street and the side streets for a long time. Jim Harlow, one of the members of this class, said his father had Harlow’s Grocery located at 3 different locations in Fordyce including Main Street. He said he grew up on Main Street so he knew where the stores were located, and he brought us a drawing he had made showing the stores at that time. You are invited to come by the museum and look at this drawing.
Tommy Ammason was also in this class, and he brought the museum an Otter that he caught in the Moro Bottoms in Dallas County a number of years ago.
Now more information on Carthage. William Benton informed me that the Bank of Carthage was part of the A. B. Banks group of banks that closed November 17, 1930 along with about 45 other banks in the group. It was later purchased by a Sturgis. It had about $30,000 in assets when it closed, which would be about $750,000 today.
In 1925, Charles Feaster installed an electric system for the lighting purposes of the business houses. This plant was operated by Robert K. Higgs until 1930 when Higgs purchased an AC plant operated by diesel motor which furnished lighting for the entire town.
Arkansas Power and Light Company moved into Carthage in 1937 with a high voltage line from Pine Bluff to Arkadelphia. It was within a quarter mile of the town and a site was laid out and a substation was built to be used when the town should need unlimited power.
A clinic was constructed in 1958. Dr. Carroll F. Shukers, II, was the first doctor to use it. He was succeeded by Dr. Carl Adams who served as a “Country Doctor”, making house calls as well as maintaining an office practice.
Kevin Kauffman told us that his grandfather, Clem Treadwell, was born in 1907 and raised in Carthage. The house that he grew up in still stands in the middle of Carthage. He worked at the Dallas County Courthouse in Fordyce as the Welfare Director for many years before retiring. He was also part owner of the Carthage Nursing Home, with his brother S. W. Treadwell who also owned the Chrysler and Plymouth dealership in Carthage.
I found this information about the Carthage Nursing Home. In June of 1962, a 53-bed Nursing Home was established. In December 1965, another wing was added with 35 beds making a total of 88 beds and about 45 people were employed.
In 1965, the Federal Government bought land in Carthage for the construction of a low rent housing project. Fourteen units were constructed and an office building.
The following people are those from Carthage who have become public servants: Charles Feaster, County Clerk; Julia Wylie, Treasurer; Clem Treadwell, Welfare Director; Harris Wylie, County Judge; and Mrs. Harris Wylie, County Judge, who completed her husband’s unexpired term following his death.

08/20/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell
The organizing of church groups and the building of houses of worship for Carthage began as soon as the town was laid out in 1906.
Carthage had at least eight churches, including Baptist, Missionary Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Church of God in Christ, and African Methodist Episcopal (AME).
The Carthage Presbyterian Church was organized on October 29, 1906 by Thomas C. Johnson of Warren. The first services were held in the homes of the members, but shortly the Rock Island Transit Company gave land on which a structure was built in 1906 and dedicated in 1907. The building has been remodeled over the years. The first pastor was the Rev. Fitzhugh Banks.
The Carthage Baptist Church was also organized in 1906 with Rev. A. B. Stevenson as pastor.
The Carthage Methodist met in the homes of its members and in the Presbyterian Church until 1908 when a building was constructed on the site which was later sold to the Carthage School District for a teacherage. A new church was constructed of clap board in 1948 and bricked in 1973.
The First Baptist Church of Carthage was organized September 10, 1907. Bro. George Sallie Smith, my grandfather, was the first pastor. After the organization, the church had a ten-day revival meeting with Bro. Roe Kelly doing the preaching. Mrs. M. L. McGraw and Mrs. F***y Hodges were selected to a committee to find land on which a church house could be built. The lot on the corner of the street was purchased to build on, but the man who lived on the other side of the street did not want the church built that close to the street. So he offered the church another lot and gave the lot on which the church was built and still stands today.
Mrs. McGraw and Mrs. Hodges rode the train (Doodle Bug), which ran between Leola and Fordyce through Carthage, to solicit funds for lumber and building materials for the church building. At that time the only other means of travel was horse drawn wagons, horseback or walking. Thus, the ladies got the material and the men built the church.
The church bell was purchased from money ($44.50) raised by giving a “box supper” in 1913. The bell cost $40.00, and the amount left ($4.50) was used to buy coal oil for lamps in the church.
The church hired its first janitors, Mrs. F***y Hodges and Mrs. Floy in 1915. Each was to receive $.75 per month. In the month of August, it was voted to put screens on the windows.
Among the many who served faithfully through the earlier years was Mr. Susie Moran. She was elected church treasurer in 1940. When funds were needed, she would go from door to door to solicit money for whatever was needed.
(This information on the First Baptist Church of Carthage was taken from a booklet they published when they celebrated the 100th birthday of the church in 2007.)
There were four Negro churches in or near Carthage. They include the following churches.
First services of the Church of God in Christ were held in David Parham’s home. Superintendent Rogers of Hutting, Arkansas organized the church in 1927. The church was built in 1929 with E. L. Sanders of Pine Bluff being the first pastor.
Palm Chapel United Methodist Church was organized about 1907. The exact date this church was established and who the first pastor was is not known.
The first school in Carthage was started in November of 1883. The school was created to educate the black children of Carthage. The school was opened in the Bethel A.M.E. Church, which was the only available building at that time. There were 15 students and R. N. Davis of Pine Bluff served as the teacher. The school year lasted only 3 months. In 1898, Elizzie B. Westbrook, started teaching at the school and continued teaching until 1906.
The first white school in Carthage was taught in 1907 by Ethel Adams of Little Rock. This small school met in one room of a home.
The Masonic Lodge Euity 684 was organized in 1916. They met upstairs in the Crouse store for many years. Then they bought the Temperance Hill Methodist Church building and moved it to Carthage for their meeting place.

08/14/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell
Fordyce and the surrounding area lost one of its most dedicated citizens recently. Seymore Weathers always showed up at all important and not so important events to capture the happenings in photographs, which he was always happy to share with everyone. He will certainly be missed.
We continue our tour of early Dallas County at Carthage, located in Chester Township in the northeast part of the county on Highways 48 and 229. It had its beginning in 1905 when the Rock Island Railroad extended its lines from Little Rock to Louisiana. The town site (incorporated in 1907) was just off the old Tulip and Pine Bluff Road in the old McLendon field.
According to a plaque erected in Carthage in 1976, the area was “a crossroad for settlers in pioneer times due to the abundance of wild game and water springs”. Large plantations grew cotton and other crops. As part of the Camden Expedition, the engagement at Jenkins’ Ferry was fought in April 1864 a few miles north of the present location of Carthage. The end of the Civil War meant the end of slavery in Arkansas, which changed the plantation economy. Many plantations, however, continued to operate using tenant farmers, mostly African American, performing the same function that slaves had done before the war. New communities developed at this time, including Lea Ridge, an African-American settlement in northern Dallas County.
Farming was the principal occupation. Through 1914, Carthage marketed 1,000 bales of cotton each year. Later, the cotton fields were planted in pine timber.
The Little Rock and Southern Railroad was incorporated in 1902 to create a rail line running from Haskell in Saline County to El Dorado in Union County. Tracks were built in northern Dallas County in 1905, the same year that the Chicago, Rock Island and Southern Railroad acquired the Little Rock and Southern line. Residents of Lea Ridge moved several miles to the west to live near the railroad line, gaining access to jobs and businesses. The new community was named Carthage, after a prominent city in northern Africa. The city of Carthage was platted in 1906 and incorporated in 1907. A post office was established in 1906.
The primary industry served by the railroads was the timber industry. The Rock Island line was crossed just north of Carthage by a second line connecting Pine Bluff in Jefferson County to Gum Springs in Clark County. Wood from harvested trees was transported by rail, although much was also used to build homes, churches, schools, and businesses. A bank, designed by noted architect Charles Thompson, was built in Carthage in 1907 using local wood, and a Methodist church was erected in 1910, also using local wood. Both of these structures are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Also on the National Register is the African-American section of the Hampton Springs Cemetery near Carthage. The burial practices of the black residents of Carthage were a blend of African and Euro-American traditions, and the cemetery includes markers of cast concrete, ceramic pipe, oil lamps, wooden stakes, and petrified wood as well as offerings of mussel shells, broken glass and ceramic jars, bottles, plates, and pitchers.
My Manning grandparents, Mac Malachi Manning and Nancy Melvenie Hall Manning (for whom I was named) are buried in the white section of the Hampton Springs Cemetery. My Smith grandparents, Rev. George Sallie Smith and Mary (Molly) Rose Byars Smith (for whom I am also named) are buried in the Princeton Cemetery. My parents put the Mel and Rose together and came up with Melrose! They told me it was an original name. Then, I moved from the country and grew up and found there are all kinds of things and places named Melrose!
In 1913, the largest employer in Carthage was Idaho Timber, a sawmill with a capacity of 60 million board feet per year.
The population in Carthage in 1910 was 386. By the year 1940, it had increased to 687. According to the U.S. Census in 2020, it had dropped to 222.
During the summer of 2019, the town’s water well collapsed, requiring the town temporarily to rely on water tanks provided by the Arkansas National Guard. The town had been attempting to get grant money to fix the system but it failed before it could be repaired. The well was finally repaired in April 2020.
Much of this information was taken from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

08/06/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell

Since we are observing “America 250” this year, I watched Channel 7 on Independence Day and saw the program on “The Seven Wonders of America.” My daughter, Dr. Cindy Crum, suggested that I should remind everyone that while we don’t have the Redwood Forest here, we do have a cookie from a 235-year-old loblolly pine that was listed in the National Register of Big Trees. It fell in March 2003 due to a combination of a shallow root system, soggy ground and high winds. It was 142 feet high with a circumference of 15 feet. This tree lived through a fire, a drought, and a major bug attack.

This tree had its beginning in 1763. So, this tree was 13 years old when America was born! There are markers on the cookie showing how old the tree was when important events in American History occurred.

The next wonder we have at the museum in a cast head of an Allosaurus Dinosaur from Buffalo Creek Farms, Dana Quarry, Ten Sleep, Wyoming. They also donated a real Sauropod Femur Bone and a real Allosaurus Tooth. These items were donated to us in memory of Kenneth Tanner by Dinosauria International. Dinosaurs were found on Kenneth and Paula’s farm in Wyoming. I attended school here in Fordyce with Kenneth and Paula and graduated with Kenneth in the Class of 1956 at Fordyce High School. Paula graduated that same year at Camden.

We also have Bill Ladd’s very extensive telephone display as well as a Polar Bear from Alaska that was killed by Gene Barrow.
These are just a few of the things on display at the Dallas County Museum. We invite you to come visit and see all the amazing things we have. We’re open 10-4 Wednesday through Friday and 10-2 on Saturday.

Now, back to our history of Holly Springs. By 1884, Holly Springs had a population of 200, mail was delivered tri-weekly. In 1890, the population had fallen to 125. Within the next ten years the population had fallen to 100 and businesses had dropped. By 1912, the population had grown to 320 and there were a number of new businesses.

The early doctors were Moses J. Mitchell, O. O. Wozencraft and Folden, Dr. John K. Hodge was born in Holly Springs in 1950. After about six years in practice in Holly Springs with his father, Hodge moved to Princeton. W. L. Wozencraft joined his father in practice at Holly Springs.

The first Post Office in Holly Springs was opened July 16, 1850. Richard C. Key was the first Postmaster. Mrs. Leslie Roberts held the office for 36 years. When she retired, her daughter, Mrs. Leslie Jean Roberts Quarles, took her mother’s place and was Postmaster until the government closed the Post Office on July 6, 1973.

There are two churches in Holly Springs, the Methodist and the Baptist. It is not known how the churches were organized. Both churches date back to when Holly Springs was settled as a village. This was before Arkansas was admitted to the Union in 1836.

The Methodist congregation existed in 1827. In 1848, the Methodist preacher T. Q. C. House – a teacher, landowner, and businessman – began his ministry. On September 30, 1895, R. S. Key and his wife, Sarah Key, sold the land for a new Methodist Church to be built in Holly Springs. The Church Trustees, W. B. Head, T. F. Head, J. M. Scales, C. B. Sorrels, and J. H. Sinquefield paid the sum of $25.00 for the land. This church stood for sixty years, and more land was bought from the Proctors for a new church building. This church was built in 1955.

The Baptist Church was organized in 1833 with Rev. P. J. Crowder as pastor – so that church has been in Holly Springs for 193 years. Rev. Crowder helped build the first church, which was near where the present-day church building is located.
Holly Springs had an influential African American preacher, the Rev. Richard Anderson Sinquefield (born near Indian Springs in Butt County, Georgia, in 1821 and died in 1908).

The Old Holly Springs Cemetery is located behind the Methodist Church, and the New Holly Springs Cemetery is located over in Ouachita County.

08/05/2026

A memorial for our friend Seymore Weathers has been set for Saturday, August 22. More details here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cxtrhoi1y/

Seymore Weathers, 58, the managing editor and 42-year veteran of The Fordyce News Advocate, died Tuesday (July 28) after complications from a long illness. Weathers started with the newspaper when …

08/05/2026

Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉

Tom Rob Frazier, Donna Minnie, Ken Kilgore, Rodney Parham, Monda Green Blankenship

07/31/2026

07/31/2026

I originally shared this post on June 27, 2018, from the Dallas County Extension Office's page with these words: "This man right here has done more to document our county's history in pictures than anyone I know. He's there for the museum, the schools, the town of Fordyce (among others), sporting events, anytime something is going on - there he is with his camera! I just had to share this photo from UAEX Dallas County because I've shared so many of his photos on our page! Thank you for all you do, Seymore Weathers!"

Not only did he allow me to share his photos on the museum's page, he graciously allowed me to share his photos in some of my personal work, and he didn't care if I gave him credit or not (although, of course, I did). We cannot express how grateful we are for the countless contributions he has made to preserving our history through his wonderful gift of photography. In addition to being generous with his talent, he was a kind and humble person. We have all lost a good friend in Seymore Weathers.

07/30/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell

Holly Springs is located on Chapel Creek, 15 miles southeast of Princeton on Highways 9 and 128. It was originally settled in 1841. It received its name from the holly groves and beautiful springs in the area. At the time it was settled, it was in Clark County as Dallas County was not formed.

Holly Springs Township was formed in 1850. At that time, there were 2 stores. One was the Henry and Proctor store and the other was the W. B. Head store. Mr. Head was also Justice of the Peace. Richard C. Key was the first postmaster in 1850.

Holly Springs had some steam powered gristmills and two cotton gins. Joe Kea built the first grist mill at Holly springs. He added a saw mill and a “Spinning Jinny” that carded the rolls of wool and spun them into threads on large spools. He later built a wool carding factory and people from a wide area brought their wool to Holly springs to be carded. He also had a tannery and sold leather for making shoes. During the war, Mr. Key made shoes for the soldiers.

The first school in Holly Springs was established in 1844. These were private and subscription schools until 1874. The school met in a log cabin.

About the year 1895 the Judson Baptist Association sponsored a high school at Holly Springs that was called the Judson Baptist Academy. It was a tuition school for boys and girls. W. R. McEwen was the professor. McEwen also published The Star Weekly, a successor to “The Southern Times”. It was a four page four-column paper with Dr. O. O. Wozencraft as one of the stock holders. The Judson Baptist Academy operated until 1901 when the building burned. In 1902, the Judson Baptist Association deeded the land to the Holly Springs School District, and a new two-story school building was erected. The Holly Springs school trustees in 1903 were O. O. Wozencraft, W. H. Henry, G. L. Sorrells, E. E. Pryor and J. W. Jones.

I have a picture of the Judson Baptist Academy, dated 1896-97 that Jean Quarles of Holly Springs brought to me to be displayed at the museum until further notice. We still have it. Margaret and Whit Butler of Waterproof, Louisiana had sent it to the displayed at the Holly Springs Community Center, but Holly Springs had agreed to share it with the museum.

After the Judson Baptist High School building burned in Holly Springs, the academy moved to Fordyce and was housed in a new two-story brick building on Pine Street. The school continued to operate as late as 1908.

On the land given to the Holly Springs School District by the Judson Baptist Association, they erected a two-story building with a stairway on the outside.

The first story had a petition separating the primary grades from the upper grades. The second story was used for a Business College known as “The Citizen’s School.”

The St. John’s lodge was organized in 1850 in Holly Springs with charter members: R. C. Key, A. A. Key, and D. C. Campbell. The lodge met every Saturday night before the full moon. The Masonic Lodge leased the upstairs of the new school building for their meetings for the sum of $1. The lease was good as long as the lodge maintained a chapter.

A few years later a new building was erected for the Masonic Lodge and a new two room brick building was erected for the primary and upper grades. School was held in this building until 1941 when Holly Springs consolidated with the Sparkman School District.

Politics and the medical profession were strong in Holly Springs. W. L. Patterson was elected to the House of Representatives in 1885 and served until 1889 when he was elected Senator. Dr. Guy T. Patterson, a dentist in Fordyce, was from Holly Springs. Does anyone know if W. L. Patterson was his father?

Some of the early settler’s names were Launius, House, Key, Crownover, Gatling, Head, Proctor, Stella, Peterson, Chambers, Sorrells, Beard and Henry.