Lay of the land
Colorful history meets bright future just around the river bend
As Arkansas’ second-largest county by area, White County offers a diverse landscape that includes flat plains and mountainous terrain. The Little Red River runs through the heart of the county, which is bordered by the White River to the east. Native American artifacts suggest there was human life in the area as early as the Paleoindian period 13,500 years ago. European exploration began with the Hernando de Soto expedition in 1541. Two Frenchmen acquired Spanish land grants in the area during the 1700s. The first American settlers arrived in the area in 1815, when the Magness family took the Old Southwest Trail from Tennessee to Letona. The territorial legislature formed the county in 1835, and Searcy has been the county seat ever since. The area saw its share of action during the Civil War, when White County was caught in the path of Union Gen. Samuel R. Curtis’ failed push toward Little Rock, resulting in the Action at Whitney’s Lane in 1862 and a gunboat fight on the Little Red River the next year. Another Union group plowed through the county in 1864, destroying a saltworks at Bald Knob. Reconstruction brought railroads to the county, and several communities emerged along their tracks. Another development after the Civil War was the construction of the White County Courthouse in 1871. The oldest Arkansas courthouse still used for that purpose, the structure’s focal point is a clock tower with an 1855 bell that looks like the Liberty Bell. Cotton was a major cash crop during the county’s formation, and the timber industry helped drive the economy during the 1870s. White County was the nexus of U.S. strawberry farming from 1890 to 1950, when rice and soybeans became the cash crops of choice. About 25 county residents died in World War I, and 142 gave their lives in World War II. While some men and women served the country abroad, others helped on the home front by rationing and by collecting scrap materials. The county began attracting commercial industries in the 1960s, and major employers now include Walmart and Land O’ Frost. The county also offers a thriving medical
industry and plentiful educational opportunities, including three colleges, public and private schools, and one of the largest home-schooling populations in the state. The two rivers, along with two wildlife management areas and the Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge, also draw tourists looking for outdoor adventures. Read on for more details about the cities in the county.
BALD KNOB
Named for a rocky formation that jutted above the floodplains to the south, Bald Knob has a lengthy industrial history. A prehistoric salt operation existed in the Liberty Valley area south of town, and workers also extracted salt in Bald Knob during the Civil War. The area was sparsely populated until the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad arrived in 1872. Railroad officials began quarrying the rocky landmark for railroad-bed ballast, and the quarry brought a number of Irish-born workers to the city. A local timber industry also began during the 1870s, reaching its peak in the 1930s. The railroad allowed local farmers to export Bald Knob’s favorite cash crop — strawberries. In the 1920s, the Strawberry Co. built the world’s longest strawberry shed, stretching three-quarters of a mile, parallel to the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks. During the 1950s and ’60s, Bald Knob was nicknamed “the Strawberry Capital of the World.” Housed in the 1915 MoPac Depot, the Bald Knob Railroad Museum provides a wealth of information about the city’s railroading history, as well as artifacts such as a combination car and the bar from the Wagonwheel Saloon. The museum is also home to Arkansas Traveler Hobbies, a model-railroad supply shop.
FAST FIGURES
• Population: 2,881 • Incorporation: 1881 • Area: About 4.5 square miles
BEEBE
Railroad construction also allowed for the development of Beebe, which began life at the intersection of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad. When the first train stopped there in 1872, the site was named in honor of Roswell Beebe, president of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad Co., which later became part of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad Co. The railroad stop soon attracted people and businesses. One early citizen was Jim Smith, a civil engineer and surveyor who laid out the city and constructed several structures, including the historic building at Main and Center streets. The city continued to grow throughout the 20th century and now offers Arkansas State University-Beebe, the city’s largest employer. With easy access to U.S. 67, Beebe provides a cozy home for those who work in Little Rock or at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville.
FAST FIGURES
• Population: 8,146 • Incorporation: 1875 • Area: About 10 square miles
JUDSONIA
Situated on the Little Red River, the southern half of Judsonia was once called Prospect Bluff. Local landowner Erastus Gregory opened a shop there in 1837, and many settlers began arriving by steamboat. In 1850, a group of 18 families from North Carolina came to Prospect Bluff by wagon train. After the Civil War, migrants from Northern states settled north of town, naming the city Judsonia. Although Judsonia and Prospect Bluff were incorporated as two separate cities in 1872, they combined under Judsonia’s name in 1874. Judsonia was home to Judson University from 1871 to 1888, and the area began exporting strawberries in 1874. Several historic structures from the early 20th century exist in the city, including a 1920 swing bridge across the Little Red River and Works Progress Administration buildings from the Great Depression. In 1952, a tornado destroyed part of Judsonia’s business district, along with homes, churches and the local school. The community’s zeal to rebuild earned it the title Most Community-Conscious Small Town in America by Grit magazine in 1953.
FAST FIGURES
• Population: 1,992 • Incorporation: 1872 • Area: About 3 square miles
KENSETT
Originally a collection of farms, Kensett developed into a thriving community soon after the Cairo and Fulton Railroad was constructed there in 1872. The railroad helped foster a local lumber industry, which helped propel the local economy into the 20th century, even during the Great Depression. The decline of the railroad reduced the number of economic opportunities in Kensett, and most residents now commute to Searcy for work. Kensett has been home to a number of famous folks, including baseball legend Bill Dickey, harmonica player Lonnie Glosson, Congressman Wilber D. Mills and actress Georgia Holt, the mother of Cher.
FAST FIGURES
• Population: 1,633 • Incorporation: 1911 • Area: About 2 square miles
PANGBURN
In 1817, members of the King family were traveling up the Little Red River in a flatboat when they saw a lone apple tree blooming in a wild maize field and decided to stop there, becoming the first recorded white settlers in Pangburn. Early settlers in the area found the ruins of an Osage village, which they used to shelter their livestock. Although the settlement was first named Judson after a family that came there from Tennessee, the town was renamed Pangburn in 1880 to honor Dr. William David Pangburn, who immigrated there from New York in 1860. The Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad arrived in 1908. A timber industry soon developed in Pangburn, and the cleared land, in turn, fostered a cotton industry. The railroad shut down in 1946, and the river became unnavigable in 1962, with the construction of Greers Ferry Dam. However, the river still draws visitors to Pangburn. The frosty waters from the bottom