Historic trail planning begins in NWA
FAYETTEVILLE — Representatives from the National Park Service met Thursday evening with local residents, city representatives, planners, history buffs and those with family ties to kick off the planning process for the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail.
The entire route of the Butterfield Overland Trail, including two portions in Arkansas, was designated as the newest national historic trail by Congress on Jan. 5. A portion of the trail runs through Benton, Washington and Crawford counties, then crosses the Arkansas River into Fort Smith in Sebastian County before going into Oklahoma.
The route, operated from 1858-1861 by the Butterfield Overland Mail Co. and also known as the Butterfield Stage, was used to transport U.S. mail and passengers between St. Louis, Memphis and San Francisco, serving as the route of the longest stagecoach operation in history. It became known as the “ox-bow route” due to its curved path comprising about 3,553 miles of trail in eight states: Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Carole Wendler with the National Park Service said the planning will provide a framework for the administration of the trail and a vision for how it will be developed and promoted in the future. The comprehensive plan will be developed in consultation with other federal partners; state and local government agencies; and interested parties, including landowners, federally recognized American Indian tribes, area residents, trail user organizations and the general public.
“We’re here to learn from the community about what they know about the trail and what they want to see done with it,” Wendler said.
The planning process will take about two years, and those interested will have a number of ways to participate, Wendler said. They can follow the planning process and submit thoughts and ideas.
“We want to hear from as many people as we can to see
what they want to see, what they know, where the trail is and help us know the trail better,” Wendler said. “We rely on local partners and community members to tell us what’s going on and tell us how we can help develop the trail, find the trail, mark the trail, preserve the trail, whatever the case might be.”
Marilyn Heifner and John McLarty with Northwest Arkansas Heritage Trail Partners worked on getting the designation for 19 years. Heifner serves as national president of the Butterfield National Historic Trail Association.
McLarty said the goal is to get people out on the trail so they can experience it firsthand.
“After the trail is delineated and you can travel it, it’s really great to have places they can stop and learn something about the history,” McLarty said. “So the places on the ground are a lot of what the National Park Service likes to develop, the route itself and places on the ground where people can go and get that experience of what the place looked like back then or what happened back then. That historic perspective.”
Heifner said there’s also an economic component to having the trail.
“This has a tremendous economic impact across seven states, so it’s going to be big,” Heifner said.
Elizabeth Bowen, vice president of the Heritage Trail Partners and vice president of the Butterfield National Historic Trail Association, said Fitzgerald Station in Springdale could be a prime area for the region to develop in conjunction with the trail.
“The station is still there. The stagecoaches came there, changed horses, they stayed the night in the house if necessary, and it’s just a big part of history and one of the few stations that are left across the entire trail,” Bowen said. “It’s an opportunity for cycling and to stop and see the history; there’s a marker there. They could restore the house, restore the station and make that a showplace; people could see what it was like at the time.”
A total of 18 public meetings will be held in communities from Missouri to California. The plan is expected to take two years to complete, and National Park employees will be making return visits to the area in the future, Wendler said.
The National Historic Trail designation has no effect on the rights of private landowners. As an administrative document, the comprehensive plan does not obligate, direct or require that any land owner or land manager follow the suggestions presented in the plan. The intent of the comprehensive plan is to present a vision for how the public can interact with the remnants and stories of the trail and the important role it played in American history.
Four segments of the roads the Butterfield Overland Express traveled in Arkansas have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Potts home, a well-preserved Arkansas way station for the Butterfield Express, is still standing in Pope County and is maintained as the Potts Inn Museum by the Pope County Historical Foundation. There’s also the Fort Smith National Historic Site.
In Northwest Arkansas, Fitzgerald Station in Springdale is an original building associated with the trail. There are also a good number of buildings that were standing at the time in Fayetteville, including the Walker-Stone House, Ridge House and Headquarters House.