March 25, 2010

William Hines Furbush, a native of Kentucky, made a brief visit to Helena (Phillips County) during the Civil War. After serving in the Forty-second Colored Infantry, he returned to Phillips County in about 1870. In 1872, he was elected to the Arkansas General Assembly, where he fought for civil rights, among other issues. He was instrumental in the establishment of Lee County and, upon its creation, was elected the county sheriff. He held the office until 1879, when he left the state for Colorado. He died in Marion, Indiana, in 1901 and is buried there.