Entry Category: St. Francis

Historical sign giving information about the Old Military Road through the area

country road with trees on one side and a few buildings on the other with sign saying "Palestine"

Palestine (St. Francis County)

Palestine is located in northeastern Arkansas on Interstate 40 and State Highway 70, with the L’Anguille River on its east side. It is one of the oldest towns in St. Francis County and was also the site of the first county school. Civil War through Reconstruction In 1840, what is now Palestine was part of the much larger L’Anguille Township, which had only nine recorded households. The Prairie Township was formed from part of the L’Anguille Township in the 1870s (including the African-American communities of El Cannon, Shiloh, Hawkins, Weaver, Fullerton, and Cooperwood), and the Palestine area, which was located centrally within the Prairie Township, grew in population. Palestine was named in 1870, when the first post office was established there. …

Single story white wooden church building with small steeple with cross and trees in background

Palestine Church

Single story blond brick church building with covered entrance and steeple

Palestine Church

Single story beige metal building with four garage bay doors

Palestine Fire Department

Single story beige metal building with three bay doors

Palestine Municipal Building

curving road with parked car and small business buildings

Palestine Street Scene

Small town street scene with business buildings

Palestine Street Scene

Small town street with houses and a railroad crossing and trees

Palestine Street Scene

white metal water tower on legs with "Palestine" on the side next to round silver metal silos

Palestine Water Tower

Row of school buildings constructed from a variety of materials with one building having a red front with a star

Palestine-Wheatley High School

Single story white brick school building next to yellow corrugated metal building

Palestine-Wheatley Middle School

Large peach with text and borders on program cover

Peach Festival Program

A complex of large white concrete silos with smaller gray buildings in front

Riceland Silos

Blue and white multistory house with covered porch and sign

St. Francis County Museum

Steam Plant

Historical sign about Civil War skirmishes

Taylor's Creek and Mount Vernon Skirmishes

Wheatley (St. Francis County)

Wheatley is a town in the southwestern corner of St. Francis County. Its northern portion is crossed by Interstate 40, and its southern portion is crossed by U.S. Highway 70 and by the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad. During the time between the Louisiana Purchase and the Civil War, the area was not attractive to American settlers. Surveyors passed through the area planning a railroad to connect Little Rock (Pulaski County) and Memphis, Tennessee. Although work was done on the eastern and western portion of the railroad before the Civil War, the central portion of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad was not built until after the war was over; it was completed in 1871. Nineteenth-century trains required stops …

Single story tan brick church building with steeple

Wheatley Church

Multistory red brick and white wood church building with white columns in front and steeple

Wheatley Church

red brick building with brick columns and parking lot beside railroad tracks

Wheatley City Hall

Small town street scene with a building with bay doors

Wheatley Street Scene

street with railroad crossing and a few business buildings

Wheatley Street Scene

Small town street scene with intersection and a few houses

Wheatley Street Scene

Large white metal water tower on legs with "Wheatley" on the side of tower and trees in background

Wheatley Water Tower

Entering small town on a country road next to a field and a sign saying "Widener"

Entering Widener

Widener (St. Francis County)

Widener is a town in St. Francis County between Crowley’s Ridge and the St. Francis River. It is on State Highways 38 and 50 and is crossed by the Union Pacific Railroad. Widener was the birthplace of blues legend Luther Allison. Between the Louisiana Purchase and the Civil War, the area around present-day Widener was not attractive to American settlers, being swampy lowlands. Surveyors passed through the area while planning a railroad to connect Little Rock (Pulaski County) to Memphis, Tennessee. Although work was done on the eastern and western portion of the railroad before the Civil War, the central portion of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad was not built until after the war was over; it was completed …