Faulkner

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Entry Category: Faulkner

Cadron Settlement

aka: Cadron (Faulkner County)
The first permanent white settlement in central Arkansas was near the confluence of Cadron Creek and the Arkansas River, about five miles west of Conway in Faulkner County. In the early 1800s, the term “Cadron Settlement” was used loosely in reference to thirty to forty white families that were scattered along the Arkansas River in the vicinity of Cadron Creek. In 1818, an early settler and trader, John McElmurry, who had arrived before 1818, and three other investors laid out a town, Cadron, on about sixty-four acres at the mouth of the Cadron Creek. Although the original plat map of the town has not been found, historical evidence suggests that as many as fourteen blocks, each with six half-acre lots, surrounded …

Conway (Faulkner County)

Conway, the seat of Faulkner County, is a well-known center of education in central Arkansas. It is home to Hendrix College and surrounding historic district, the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), and Central Baptist College. Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood The Cadron Settlement, approximately five miles west of what is now Conway, was originally an early French trading post on the Arkansas River. Many of the original American settlers were veterans of the War of 1812 who were granted highly speculative “preemptive” land rights in exchange for their prior military service. These allowed them to claim land before patents were issued by the U.S. government. The settlement became the county seat of Pulaski County in June 1820, but the seat was …

Damascus (Van Buren and Faulkner Counties)

Damascus is a town located on U.S. Highway 65 on the county line between Faulkner and Van Buren counties. It is most known for its proximity to the Titan II missile base that operated from 1963 until 1980, when a missile explosion killed one person and injured twenty-one. Damascus is located on a plateau between Pine Mountain Creek and Batesville Creek. Heavily timbered until the later part of the nineteenth century, the area was lightly populated for many centuries. Prehistoric stone tools are still found by farmers plowing the soil near the town. Land records show that Elijah Cagle, Hosea King, Thomas King, and Jacob Hartwick all purchased land in northern Faulkner County in the years immediately prior to the Civil War. Local histories …

Enola (Faulkner County)

Enola is a small community twenty miles northeast of Conway (Faulkner County) at the intersection of Highway 36/107 and Highway 310. The town was established near a place called Fredrick’s Lick, a natural salt lick near Cadron Creek. The origin of its name is unknown, but local legend maintains that a lost traveler carved the word “alone” backward on a sign, producing “Enola.” By 1837, Jonathon Hardin, one of the founders of Enola, had established his farm on a hill a half mile west of Fredrick’s Lick. He owned 3,000 acres of land, fifteen slaves, a coal mine, and a blacksmith’s shop. Hardin’s large house served as an inn at the intersection of the Lewisburg–Searcy, Des Arc–Springfield, and Little Rock–Clinton …

Greenbrier (Faulkner County)

Greenbrier is a small second-class city in Faulkner County twelve miles north of Conway (Faulkner County) on Highway 65. It is home to Woolly Hollow State Park and Lake Bennett. Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood Recorded white settlement of the area dates back to at least 1818, when four brothers named Wiley settled in the vicinity the East Fork of Cadron Creek about eight miles east of Greenbrier’s current location. In 1837, Jonathan Hardin, after whom Hardin Township is named, settled in the Cadron Valley area near the Wileys and eventually became an influential landowner. Other families who settled in the area included the Hubbards, who settled near the current site of Greenbrier’s public schools on Greenbrier Creek, and Henderson …