Moving in the Ozarks
Traveling the terrain in Northwest Arkansas was once a difficult task
Given what Northwest Arkansas was — sprawling hills, hollers, creeks and trees — it’s hard to imagine that anyone thought to settle in here, let alone that this area developed into the urban environment it is now.
Bella Vista’s Fly-Tyers gathered for a presentation from Susan Young, outreach coordinator with the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, who spoke about the evolution of transportation in Northwest Arkansas.
Young said that, while the area was difficult to traverse because of the terrain and lack of infrastructure, the population has grown so much that travel is now tough because of traffic.
Travel has taken several shapes over the years, she said, with people exploring Northwest Arkansas on foot, by horse, in horsedrawn carts, by train, plane and car. The only real constant, she said, has been the bicycle, which is rising in popularity once more after seeing use throughout the region’s history.
The first people to check out the area, she said, were the Osage Native Americans, drawn by the region’s wealth of wildlife.
“They didn’t call it home, really; they considered it their hunting areas,” she said.
Animal tracks, she said, were the first paths people followed into the Ozarks. But as time progressed — particularly as European-descended settlers moved into the area, primarily from Tennessee and Kentucky — the waterways became the highways of the region.
People often traveled by water, she said, and settled along the waterways.
The terrain, she said, was still extremely difficult to navigate, but people were drawn to the area by cheap, plentiful land. Moreover, to make travel slightly easier, the military carved roads, including one from Springfield to Fort Smith, to help move supplies through the state, she said. Though it is worth noting, she said, that cutting a road at that point essentially meant sawing trees low enough for wagon axles to clear them.
“Our main highway system follows these pioneer roadways,” she said.
The military roads, she said, allowed wagons to haul supplies and people through the area, and even paved — to use the word very loosely — the way for transit systems.
The Butterfield stagecoach, she said, was established by John Butterfield, and his coaches carried people all over. One could hop on a wagon, she said, and be on the West coast in a mere 22 days.
And Northwest Arkansas, she said, was the roughest part of the journey, thanks to its hilly, rocky, root-strewn terrain, and the vehicle wasn’t up to making that trip in comfort.
“That is a wagon with basically a glorified flap over it,” Young said. “It was not comfortable; it was crowded. This was not for the faint of heart.”
Horses and carts were the standard transit, she said, until 1881, when the railroad made its way to Northwest Arkansas, which in turn led to an economic boom. Having access to a railroad, she said, opened up whole new markets to local producers, meaning farmers could produce more and sell it to wholesalers, allowing them to actually achieve some measure of prosperity.
The rails also came to Eureka Springs, where they primarily served to shuffle tourists in and out of town.
And just as trains became the norm, she said, automobiles started moving into the area.
The rails, she said, allowed people to get a car delivered, and there were a handful of people excited to be on the leading edge of travel technology who did just that. Of course, she said, once the first few Model Ts showed up in Pettigrew, Ark., people also started to realize they didn’t have anywhere to drive these exciting new machines. In some cases, she said, people would drive down creek beds during the dry season, and that was as much as anyone got to drive.
It was a while, she said, before the automobile was typical. But once it was, she said, it was as revolutionary in Northwest Arkansas as it was anywhere else.
“It made it easier to go to church, but it also made it easier to skip church,” Young said. “Maybe go to Bella Vista for a picnic.”
It also spelled doom for downtowns, she said. Areas of concentrated commerce simply didn’t work because there wasn’t enough space for everyone once they were riding in/on a vehicle that had to be parked, she said, and business owners found themselves looking for open areas where they could open a larger store with a massive parking lot.
With all the waterways, she said, bridges were a necessity. People crossed on footbridges in some spots, while larger bridges that could support carriages — with and without horses — also started to pop up.
Airplanes, she said, also started appearing in the area in the 1920s, even before there were airfields. In some cases, she said, a pilot might land in a field near a town or settlement, then offer to take people for rides for a modest fee.
Giving presentations like this, she said, isn’t just a way to show what she knows. She also learns from them, she said, through the questions that get asked and answered.
One guest, Fly-Tyers member Doug Hansen, said he was impressed with the presentation.
“I like hearing about the history of this area,” he said, “and she did a great job.”
Club president Daniel Bullock said that the club has benefited from several excellent speakers, and he certainly counts Young among them.
Young ended her discussion noting the resurgence of cycling in the area and encouraged listeners to get out on their bikes or go for a nice walk.
“Get off the roads,” she said. “Leave the motorized stuff behind and just take a moment to enjoy your own power.”