The White Hall story

Iwas the speaker earlier this year at the annual chamber of commerce banquet at White Hall. The first thing I did after entering the banquet room was to visit with James “Jitters” Morgan. After all, the event was being held at the community center named in his honor. The man most people simply referred to as Jitters was Mr. White Hall.

Morgan, who served as White Hall’s mayor from 1995-2011, died in late August at age 77. He had been born at Camden, raised at Pine Bluff, and attended what’s now Ouachita Baptist University at Arkadelphia. Morgan was remembered by Pine Bluff natives of a certain age as the athletic director of the Pine Bluff Boys Club from 196168. He officiated high school sports from time to time with my father, a fact he would always mention when we visited.

While most cities in the southeast quadrant of Arkansas lost population in recent decades, White Hall managed to grow from 1,300 residents in the 1970 census to more than 5,000 residents these days. Granted, a large part of the growth has been due to white flight out of neighboring Pine Bluff. But White Hall has also been able to add amenities such as the community center and a neighboring water park. White Hall residents also take pride in their school district. On the day that

I spoke at the chamber banquet, White Hall High School hired football coach Bobby Bolding away from Pine Bluff High School. It was the talk of the town.

A driving tour that day with Mayor Noel Foster provided insight into what has built this Arkansas city.

“White Hall is a product of volunteer efforts,” Foster said. “Much of what you see was done by volunteers. Our main city park was cleared by volunteers. We have 20 acres in that park, and people come from as far away as Fordyce and Rison to enjoy it. We empty the trash cans seven days a week to make sure the park stays clean. We wouldn’t be where we are today without that kind of community spirit.”

Foster pointed out new businesses such as a Holiday Inn Express and a

DQ Grill & Chill. He noted businesses that have moved from Pine Bluff such as the Smart automobile dealerships and the offices of Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Co., which was founded in 1913. We walked around the water park, which is named Crenshaw Springs, and looked at a nearby community fishing pond. We drove by popular retail businesses such as Hartz Honey Hole (which has everything from antiques to gifts to an adjacent cafe) and Hunter’s Refuge.

Foster, a lifelong White Hall resident, was the city’s police chief from 2003-10. Ken Smith, a member of the city council for 22 years, is someone I’ve known for more than half a century. Smith and I are Arkadelphia natives. Smith calls Foster “a neat freak” who believes not only in law and order but also in a clean city.

“He fights what I call a constant war on weeds,” Smith said. “The city maintains the ramps to Interstate 530 rather than the state so we can ensure it looks good at all times.”

“The city developed slowly, first as an early 19th century rest stop for settlers who were drawn to the pristine water that flowed freely in pools above the ground,” Russell Bearden writes for the Central Arkansas Library System’s Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

More people began to live in the area in the early 20th century following completion of the Dollarway Road, the state’s first concrete highway. Then came the Pine Bluff Arsenal, which was opened in December 1941 by the U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Division. The arsenal now employs almost 800 people.

No one is certain how White Hall got its name.

“The late Ida Mae Gandy, a teacher and early member of the White Hall Methodist Church, interviewed residents and recorded their findings,” Bearden writes. “She probably had the most reliable account. According to Gandy, settlers began to move to the area in the 19th century to use the underground water that flowed into above-ground pools of clear, pure drinking water. … The pools were called Grenshaw or Grenshaw Hall Springs. One can still see where one of the pools was located, and water still flows above the ground. Tradition holds that a nondenominational church was built near the springs along with a building to shelter travelers. The name White Hall supposedly was derived from an itinerate preacher named White who preached at the church and a man named Hall who found the springs.

“A more plausible explanation is that the area was named after the church, which was identified as White Hall because it was the only whitewashed wood structure nearby. … Early settlers and travelers often referred to the building’s whitewashed color as ‘that white hall building.’”

The city of White Hall was incorporated in July 1964. There were 24 candidates for seven municipal seats. W.F. “Jack” Moody was the first mayor and also served as fire chief.

“White Hall’s median family income is well above the state average,” Bearden writes. “With the National Center for Toxicological Research (established in January 1971 and located eight miles north of the city), White Hall has continued to experience growth and economic development. It also serves as a bedroom community for those who work in Pine Bluff and Little Rock.”

Good things are starting to happen next door in Pine Bluff with the construction of a $350 million casino along with another $20 million of construction downtown on an aquatics center and library. Here’s hoping that White Hall and Pine Bluff work together on a regional economic development strategy designed to get southeast Arkansas moving.