The story of the Greens, a pioneer family
Last month I told you the story of Lillian Green. While writing that article, I discovered that the story of her whole family was very much a part of the creation of the community we know today as the city of Bella Vista. Thomas and Virginia “Belle” (Myers) Green were very much perfect examples of the pioneer spirit that built this place we now call home.
Thomas Green was a farmer and non-denominational preacher. Thomas and Belle would be married in 1896 in Moreland, Kansas. The Greens would eventually have a family of eight children, including Lillian, who was the second daughter. One of Belle’s male children, Charles, would live only four months.
In 1905, Thomas Green traded his Kansas farmland for 480 acres in Benton County, Arkansas, along Little Sugar Creek. He sent his wife and three daughters ahead by passenger train, and he followed later by freight train with his livestock. The land that Thomas traded for is now the north end of the Kingswood Golf Course
Their daughter Alice later recalled her mother’s reaction to first seeing the new land: “When Belle looked across the farm, she saw how beautiful flowering orchards covered the hillsides. She saw sparkling, clear waters of Little Sugar Creek meandering around the rich bottomland flanked by sycamore trees and small willow trees. Belle thought it was an absolute paradise.”
Thomas would play an active role in the construction of one of the Dug Hill church buildings. It is also very likely that he was one of the first preachers to provide services in this church. The small community center of Dug Hill was located where the present-day Dug Hill church (built in 1936), the Goodwill building, and Town Center East (Harp’s) are located.
The Greens worked hard to improve their farm. Next to the main house, they constructed a smoke house and spring house used to “float” watermelons, apples, and other produce in order to keep it cool and fresh. Thomas added a gravity feed pipe of cold water into the house and a concrete cellar for storing milk and other dairy products. He also built a rope-swinging bridge across Little Sugar Creek (near the present-day Highway 340 bridge) so that the children could cross the creek to attend school at Dug Hill without wading the stream.
The Greens loved music and singing. The Green home was often a place where neighbors gathered to sing and dance. Thomas was also known to engage in debating (then called spouting) about any subject of the day.
Belle loved the beautiful valley of Little Sugar Creek, and after Thomas’s death in 1915, she was determined to stay there with her now seven children, who ranged in age from 2 to 14 years old. Belle would sell off most of the livestock and, with the help of family and friends, she continued to run the farm. The oldest daughter, Effie, dropped out of school and helped raise her brothers and sisters.
Together, they survived, and the children would all grow to adulthood. Several would move west. The others would remain in this area and contribute to its growth. We are all aware of the great work done by daughter Lillian as a photographer. Thanks to her great work, we have a summary of what life was like along the banks of the Little Sugar Creek in the first half of the 20th century.
Belle would live out her life in this beautiful valley and pass from this life in 1962. She would be laid to rest in the Dug Hill Cemetery next to her husband and baby Charles.
Dale Phillips is co-president of the Bella Vista Historical Society, which operates the Bella Vista Historical Museum. He retired from the National Park Service and the Corps of Engineers after serving 41 years as a park ranger/ historian. He can be reached at bellavistamuseum@gmail.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.