Room in the wagon yard?

Most rural Arkansans did not travel much prior to the modern automobile era. Indeed, until a few years ago it was not uncommon to hear of someone living far back in the mountains who had died without ever leaving the county. Since travel was slow, it often involved spending the night. Only the most prosperous would spurge on a hotel. The wagon yard would do just fine.

A wagon yard was a combination livery stable, hostel and parking lot. It was a place to literally camp out while in town—and in the same facility where the mules were stabled and the wagon parked. While I have been unable to locate a lot of information on wagon yards, two interesting accounts have surfaced. My favorite is by a woman named Nettie Kelly Singleton who told of growing up in Montgomery County near the little village of Oden and of yearly trips when she got to accompany her father when he took the wheat harvest to Mena, a trip of about 35 miles.

Tate C. “Piney” Page, who grew up on a farm 35 miles north of Russellville, recalled in his 1972 memoirs making a “trip to town” during his youth. Page’s wagon-yard experience was not nearly as satisfying as that of Miss Nettie, but both are interesting accounts. Both stories are told from the perspective of children, and both date from the same time period, 1915-1920.

Usually only two or three people could make the trip, for all available space was needed for the produce being taken to town to sell—as well as food for the mules. Eight-year-old Piney Page had to earn his right to accompany his uncle by getting up early each morning to start a fire.

Farmers who were too frugal to stay in hotels were also unlikely to dine in restaurants, so a “grub box” was packed with food. Nettie Singleton recalled that her mother “fried lots of dried apple pies, baked lots of cookies, boiled eggs, fried ham, baked biscuits, and baked a big pan of sweet potatoes.”

Something in the human psyche must dictate that trips always start very early in the morning. Piney Page recalled that his uncle announced an early departure, “bright and early, leavin’ ’bout first chicken crow.” Likewise, Nettie Singleton remembers being awakened for “a very early breakfast.” Just before departing at 4:30 a.m., her father took a large stone from the fireplace, wrapped it in burlap and placed it under the wagon seat to keep their feet warm.

Page described the moment when the “loaded wagon and reluctant mules” were ready to commence: “The party rattled out of the yard

amid the clamor of barking dogs and smiles from those staying home. At that moment the sun peeped over the mountain . . .”

Even with the early departures, both the Page and Singleton wagons reached their destinations after sunset. Wagon yards were lighted all night since customers arrived at all hours. Nettie Singleton recalled that her family always stayed at the Dickson wagon yard in Mena—which was located next to the Dickson Hotel.

After seeing that the mules were properly fed, watered and stabled, Nettie and her father retired to a large communal sleeping room where they made beds on the floor. “Everyone slept in their traveling clothes, including shoes and stockings,” Nettie recalled 75 years later.

Piney Page found the camp house at the wagon yard in Russellville to be unclean and smelly. Exhaustion from 15 hours of rough travel, however, dulled his sensitivities: “It had been a long hard day. The trip had covered more than thirty rough miles. This was a new and excitingly different world. After supper, everyone soon crawled into pallets. Sleep was mighty close after such a long rough day.”

Farmers spent the time in town taking care of business, including selling products such as eggs or cured hams; or having grain milled; or buying things that could not be produced on the farm. Special treats such as cheese, crackers and peppermint candy would gladden hearts back home.

Rising very early after spending a second night in Russellville, the Page party headed back home. Piney Page recalled that even the mules were anxious to get home: “The teams were headed home and kept up a brisk pace on level ground, of which there was little. . . . Men and mules were anxious to be home.”

Ultimately, the wagon yard, like the wagon itself, disappeared from the American scene. Perhaps the motor court was its immediate successor.