April 11, 1911

Old Mike, the name given to a traveling salesman who visited Prescott (Nevada County) about once a month to sell his wares at homes and businesses, apparently attended an outdoor revival in the city park. The next day, his body was found in the park, where he had evidently died of a heart attack or stroke. The body was taken to the Cornish Funeral Home, where it was embalmed. A search of Mike’s belongings did not turn up any identification. The body was placed on display at the funeral home in hopes of someone identifying it. Old Mike turned into a tourist attraction, and people traveled from surrounding areas to view him. In 1975, the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office asked Cornish Funeral Home to bury the body.