Cities and Towns

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Entry Category: Cities and Towns

Chinquapin (Independence County)

Chinquapin is an unincorporated community in Washington Township of Independence County on Chinquapin Loop near its intersection with Earnheart Road. It is about two and a half miles south-southeast of Bethesda (Independence County) and about two miles from White River and Lock and Dam No. 2. It is approximately eight miles from Batesville (Independence County), the county seat. Chinquapin receives its name from the abundant Ozark chinquapin trees, sometimes called Ozark chinkapin and Ozark chestnut, that grew there. People ate the nuts, fed them to livestock, and sold them. The rot-resistant wood made excellent railroad ties and fence posts. Local folk artists even made musical instruments from the wood. Logging practices and a chestnut blight that struck the Ozarks in …

Clarendon (Monroe County)

Clarendon is located on the White River near the mouth of the Cache River. It became an early settlement as a river town for transportation purposes, although frequent flooding plagued the community. European Exploration and Settlement through Early Statehood The area was settled around 1799 by French hunters and trappers who had established cabins at the mouth of Cache River before the Louisiana Purchase. Various accounts, without explanation, have stated that the town is named for the Earl of Clarendon of England. Constructed in the mid- to late 1820s, the Military Road from Memphis, Tennessee, crossed the White River at Clarendon to its destination in Little Rock (Pulaski County), increasing Clarendon’s importance as a river port. By 1828, a ferry crossing …

Clarkedale (Crittenden County)

Although it remained unincorporated until the twenty-first century, Clarkedale is one of the oldest settlements in Crittenden County. Clarkedale is situated near Interstate 55 north of West Memphis (Crittenden County) and very close to Jericho (Crittenden County). Wapanocca Bayou once flowed into the Mississippi River in this vicinity, and several communities have existed in this area since the Archaic Period. During the time the land was claimed by Spain, land grants were issued to Benjamin Fooy, Mundford Perryman, John Grace, and Cathy Gallowhorn. The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812 changed the landscape and waterways of northeastern Arkansas. When Crittenden County was established in 1825, the county seat was first placed at Greenock, a settlement located within the current boundaries of …

Clarksville (Johnson County)

Clarksville is located on Spadra Creek, north of the Arkansas River. Although not on the banks of the river, and without the initial economic importance of the river communities, it grew steadily as the county seat. When stagecoach and train transportation became more common, land routes from Little Rock (Pulaski County) to Fort Smith (Sebastian County) were directed through Clarksville, which evolved as an important stop. Development of important educational opportunities began with the organization of the town and continue to the present day. A broad mix of agriculture, mining, and manufacturing has supported the town’s growth. Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood A Native American presence is evidenced by the “Rock House,” a red limestone cave in which many early …

Claunch (Craighead County)

Claunch was a small town in Craighead County located on a bend of the St. Francis River, about six miles north of Lake City (Craighead County) in Lester Township. The small town was primarily an agricultural center and a place on the river where flatboats docked. The town was originally called Lester, after Phill Lester, an early pioneer, who owned a large plantation prior to the Civil War. In October 1891, a post office was established, and the town was named for James Riley Claunch, a well-known farmer and physician of northeastern Arkansas. James Riley Claunch (1833–1918) was the oldest child of James Harvey Claunch (1810–1899) and Charlotte Bearden (1815–1882). He was born in Bedford County, Tennessee, and grew up …