Streets commemorate Battle participants

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.

After more than a century as a town, Pea Ridge had named its streets. And in doing so, had developed a unique system for naming the streets … to call all north-south streets after Union participants of the Battle of Pea Ridge, and all east-west ones for their Confederate counterparts. They selected names for the then-existent streets: Curtis, Davis, Dodge, Carr, Lyon and Weston for Union honorees; and Van Dorn, McCulloch, Slack, McIntosh, Watie, Greene, Price, Pike, Pickens, Lane, Patton, Stone, Hays and Clark for Confederate honorees.

In 1995, Ordinance No. 215 was passed by the Pea Ridge City Council. The street naming segment of the detailed ordinance made it mandatory to use the north-south for Union and east-west for Confederate names of combatants of the Battle of Pea Ridge.

Confederate names:

off of South Curtis Avenue just south of the Pea Ridge Emergency Services Building. It honors John Hall, Co. F, 22nd Arkansas. Hall survived the war; he drew a Confederate pension in Benton County after the war.

South Curtis Avenue and heads both east and west. This street name was selected by long-time city employee, Charles Hardy, to honor three brothers from here who fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge. They were George, John and Newton Harris. Documentation for their local battle connection came from the book, “The Empire Builders,” the genealogy of the Harris family prior to and after locating in Pea Ridge Country in 1849. The book had been researched and published by Clarence A. Harris. Charles is one of many descendants of these men, who participated in the local battle.

Street turns east off of Carr Street, passes Lyon and then circles south onto Price Street. Or turning west off of North Curtis Avenue onto Price Street, go one block and turn onto Hays, which circles back to the west after one block. It honors Capt. T.T. Hays, according to what the original committee told me in 1959. They said that Capt. Hays organized one of the first Confederate companies in Benton County. He was born in Alabama in 1825, and fought at Wilson’s Creek, Mo., Pea Ridge and others. He surrendered at Marshall, Texas, in 1865.

west off of Weston Street about midway between Slack Street and Pickens Road. As it heads due west, it travels but a short distance inside the city limits before becoming a county road. This street apparently does not honor a combatant of the Battle of Pea Ridge. None were found on any list by this name. A longtime resident of Hazelton Road said he understood that it was named for a neighbor who was named Hazel. She had remarried, following the death of her first husband, but upon obtaining her address now in another state, I got no reply to the letter I wrote asking if the tradition were true.

Turns off of South Curtis Avenue at two locations, going east in both cases to form a circle. This street honors Col. Henry Little, who commanded the 1st Brigade Missouri Volunteers under Gen. Sterling Price at Pea Ridge. Later, he became a general and was killed at the Battle of Corinth, Miss., while commanding the First Division of Price’s Army.

Hayden Road north to Chapman Lane, and within a few yards, Hickman Road turns westward. Actually, it was 911 officials who named Hickman Road in honor of the only Hickman then living on the road, the late William “Bus” Hickman. Hickman Road only goes a short distance west from Chapman as it heads out into county road status. Even before that, though, it is not entirely within the city; it forms the city limits for that short distance. Thus, residents who one day build on that stretch will find this situation: those on the south side will be living within the city, while across the street, neighbors will be rural residents. Since its name already honors someone who lived after the Battle of Pea Ridge, no other honoree was sought from either of two known battle participants on the Confederate side by the name of Hickman.

northern Weston Street eastward into the Pea Ridge Cemetery. It honors Col. J.F. Hill, who led the 16th Arkansas Infantry.

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