St. Francis County

Luther Allison (1939–1997)
Blues guitarist and singer Luther Allison was born in Arkansas, but like many of his contemporaries in the rur...
Daisy Anderson (1900?-1998)
Educator, author, and lecturer Daisy Graham Anderson is best known for being one of the last surviving widows ...
Bell and Swain v. State
aka: Elbert Thomas (Reported Lynching of)
Examination of the cases of Black youths Robert Bell and Grady Swai...
Blackfish Lake Ferry Site
The Blackfish Lake Ferry Site marks the location where a ferry was established in 1826 to allow travelers on t...
Josiah Homer Blount (1860–1938)
Josiah Homer Blount was a successful African-American businessman who, in 1920, became the first Black per...
Scott Winfield Bond (1852–1933)
Scott Winfield Bond was a successful landowner, farmer, and businessman at a time when the total number of Afr...
Ulysses Simpson (U. S.) Bond (1897–1967)
Prominent businessman and entrepreneur Ulysses Simpson (U. S.) Bond, like his father and brothers, was a membe...
Brooks (Lynching of)
In some cases, conflicting newspaper accounts make it difficult to identify the actual victim of a lynching, a...
Caldwell (St. Francis County)
Caldwell is a city on Crowley’s Ridge, a few miles north of Forrest City (St. Francis County). Located on th...
Larry Porter Chism (1948–)
Larry Chism is an Arkansas criminal, convicted felon, and longtime fugitive. In 1978, he escaped from a Lonoke...
Christ Church Parochial and Industrial School
Christ Church Parochial and Industrial School was a private school for African-American children operated in F...
Colt (St. Francis County)
Colt (St. Francis County), located at the intersection of Arkansas Highway 1 and Highway 306 between the L’A...
Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute
The Crowley’s Ridge Technical Institute (CRTI) was a technical college in Forrest City (St. Francis County) ...
Poindexter Dunn (1834–1914)
Poindexter Dunn was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He represented the First Distric...
East Arkansas Community College
East Arkansas Community College (EACC) is a comprehensive two-year college dedicated to meeting the educationa...
Lewis Porter Featherstone (1851–1922)
Lewis Porter (L. P.) Featherstone was an Agricultural Wheel leader and a politician who served in the state le...
Forrest City (St. Francis County)
Forrest City, located on the western slope of Crowley’s Ridge near the center of St. Francis County, has bee...
Forrest City Riot of 1889
In the 1888 election, the Union Labor Party, which included farmers of the Agricultural Wheel, allied with the...
Forrest City Times
Among the early businesses in Forrest City (St. Francis County) was the Forrest City Times (1871–1919), esta...
Robert Foreman (Bobby) Fussell (1938–2018)
Robert Foreman (Bobby) Fussell had a long career as a lawyer championing the legal rights of disabled veterans...
Al Green (1946–)
Al Green is one of Arkansas’s best-known singers, with a career that has ranged from rhythm and blues (R&...
Expedition from Helena up the St. Francis River (February 13–14, 1864)
On the afternoon of February 13, 1864, Captain Charles O’Connell of the Fifteenth Illinois Cavalry boarded t...
Hughes (St. Francis County)
Hughes is the second-largest town in St. Francis County. Located halfway between Mud Lake (St. Francis County)...
Hughes Water Tower
The Hughes Water Tower is located on Church Street in Hughes (St. Francis County). The metal water tower was b...
Donald Euleon (Don) Kessinger (1942–)
Donald Eulon Kessinger played major league baseball for sixteen years in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly for the C...
Skirmish at L'Anguille Ferry
On August 3, 1862, a skirmish took place at L’Anguille Ferry, just north of Marianna (Lee County). The skirm...
Nathan Lacey (Lynching of)
On October 16, 1911, an African American man named Nathan Lacey was lynched in Forrest City (St. Francis Count...
Sonny Liston (1932?–1970)
aka: Charles Liston
Charles “Sonny” Liston was a noted boxer who briefly reigned as...
Madison (St. Francis County)
Madison, named for President James Madison, is located on the western bank of the St. Francis River at the foo...
Skirmish at Madison
By 1865, large-scale organized Confederate resistance had collapsed in much of the state. Federal patrols from...
Samuel McIntyre (Lynching of)
On April 23, 1919, an African-American man named Sam McIntyre was hanged near Forrest City (St. Francis County...
Gilbert Leslie Morris (1929–2016)
A Christy award–winning Christian author, Gilbert Leslie Morris wrote more than 200 books for young adults s...