Pea Ridge streets named for soldiers in battle

Editor’s Note: The following is from Billie Jines’ 1996 booklet, “The Streets of Pea Ridge.” It has been updated to include new streets and those scheduled for future development.

All north-south streets are named after Union participants of the Battle of Pea Ridge; all east-west ones for their Confederate counterparts.

Union

• Conrad Street — The second street turning south off of Carden Road. It honors Major Joseph Conrad, who was with the 3rd Missouri Infantry. This street on its original plat was called Musteen Road, but was changed by Mayor Jack Musteen in 1968 upon discovery that no one named Musteen could be located in the Union list of participants here.

• Curtis Avenue — The major street in Pea Ridge, entering town at the south as another name for Ark. Hwy. 94, joined later by Ark. Hwy. 72 coming in from Bentonville, and traveling along still northward until the two reach Pickens Road. There Hwy. 94 heads west and Hwy. 72 goes to the east. Cur- tis Avenue honors Gen. Samuel Ryan Curtis, the Union’s commanding officer at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Curtis’ counterpart was Confederate Gen. Earl Van Dorn. Curtis was the victor; Van Dorn was the vanquished. And by the way, when Hwy. 94 says adieu to Hwy. 72 and heads westward, Curtis Avenue bids its farewell to both of them and continues on another long block to Pike Street and can go no farther north.

• Davidson Lane — Turns westerly off of South Davis Street, and is not a through street. It honors Capt. Peter Davidson of Peoria Battery A, 2nd Illinois Artillery.

• Davis Street —A through street that heads northward on East Harris Street and goes all the way to East Pickens Road and the campus. The original street-naming committee in 1959 selected the Davis Street honoree: Col. Jefferson C. Davis, a Union officer who was not in any way related to the Jefferson Davis, who was president of the Confederacy. The Union Jefferson Davis commanded the 3rd Division under the Union Commander, Gen. Samuel R. Curtis. After the Battle of Pea Ridge, Col. Davis moved east of the Mississippi and became one of Gen. Sherman’s corps commanders. He had been in the army 20 years before the Civil War, and became a mid-level general after the battle here. The noted Garfield, Ark., historian, the late Alvin Seamster, wrote that Col. Davis was the only man who fought at Pea Ridge who had heard the opening gun fired at Fort Sumter. He was in General Sherman’s march to the sea.

• Dodge Street — Runs north from McCulloch Street to and through the Pea Ridge Cemetery and on to Greene Street. The street-naming committee in 1959 said that it honors Col. Grenville M. Dodge, who was in charge of the 2nd Brigade of the Union’s 4th Division. He was badly wounded at the Battle of Pea Ridge. After the war, he became a railroad builder and is reported to have directed construction of the Union Pacific to Utah. There, it connected with the Central Pacific to form the first transcontinental railroad.

• Duvall Cul-De-Sac — Located in the Givens Place development, which was added in 1996. Was named for D.J. Duvall of the 1st Independent Battery, Iowa Light Artillery.

• Ellis Lane — North off of Slack Street (Ark. Hwy. 72). Honors Col. Calvin A. Ellis, who led the 1st Missouri Cavalry. Ellis is one of 15 lanes whose names and honorees were selected by Mayor Mary Durand and then-water superintendent, Floyd Blackwell, when the 911 announced that all lanes, too, needed names. The selection of honorees came from the city’s existing list of participants designated “A.” Names were designated for any lane or street with at least two residences. Ellis is a dead-end street that runs a short distance between Halleck and Barris Lanes but across Slack Street from them.

• Ford Street — In Ridgemoor Estates. Turn right (east) off of Hayden Road (State Hwy. 265) onto McNair Street and take the second street to the left. Honors Private August Ford, Co. A, 37th Illinois. He was wounded at Pea Ridge.

• Hall Place — Is a north-south street off of Hall Drive. It honors George W. Hall, who was a private in Co. A of Phelps Regiment from Southwestern Missouri. Hall was wounded at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Several honorees of Pea Ridge streets were the Phelps’ Regiment. There is an interesting story regarding him and his wife. Col. Phelps’ wife came down the Old Wire Road from Springfield to visit her husband. He and other Union forces were dug in up on the hill above Little Sugar Creek at Brightwater. They had expected the Confederates had circled and were coming from the North. Mrs. Phelps got here all right but the road behind her was filling up with enemy troops. She could not go back home. According to the Shea and Hess book, she just went to work tending the wounded as the Battle of Pea Ridge got underway. Her husband was one of those who was wounded in the battle.

TO BE CONTINUED …