Round table program on Aaron Van Winkle

The Bella Vista Civil War Round Table’s program for March will be presented by Dr. Chris Huggard and Jerry Moore. Their subject will be the Story of Aaron Van Winkle.

Van Winkle was an enslaved individual born in Alabama and brought to Benton County around 1836. Sometime before the Civil War he was sold or traded to the Peter Van Winkle family. Peter Van Winkle was one of the largest owners of enslaved people in northwest Arkansas and operated a large mill and industrial complex east of present-day Rogers. Aaron Van Winkle fled with the Winkle family to Texas during the Civil War. He returned with the family in 1866 and, as a free man, continued to work with Peter Van Winkle as an engineer and assisted in the rebuilding of the mill which had been burned during the war.

He would live in Bentonville until his death in 1904. He was buried in the Bentonville Cemetery.

The program will be presented at the Bella Vista Museum beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 3. This meeting is free and open to the public. Donations are accepted to help with the speaker expenses.

The purpose of the Bella Vista CWRT is to educate and stimulate interest in the period of history of the United States known as the “The Civil War,” to promote historical, educational and literary study and activities related to the Civil War, including events and circumstances related to the cause and effects of the War.

The Round Table normally meets at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the Bella Vista Museum, which is located at 1885 Bella Vista Way, Bella Vista, at the intersection of Highway 71 and Kingsland Road.

For further information please contact BVCWRT President Dale Phillips at 812-899-2049 or email at dkp55@ymail.com.