Dug Hill presentation given at library
Bella Vista Historical Society co-presidents Xyta Lucas and Dale Phillips gave a slideshow presentation on April 4 at the Bella Vista Public Library about Dug Hill.
Lucas said the area was named Dug Hill because people had difficulty driving their loaded wagons up the hill following a rain, and so the community worked together to dig out the road so it was not so steep.
She said the first settlers arrived in 1866 and the first building was made of logs and was built about 1868. It was used as a school and a community building. The building was accidentally burned in 1870. The next building stood until 1891 when it was torn down. The third building was built in 1892 and shortly thereafter became a tax-supported school.
In 1898 a Missionary Baptist Church was added to the site, and in 1905 a Church of Christ was built about 100 yards west of the present Dug Hill building. The Church of Christ disbanded in 1921 and the building was sold to Edwin “Doc” Brown and moved to the Metfield area for use as a residence. He saved the
bell and returned it to the new building in 1936, she said. The Missionary Baptist Church was torn down in 1937 and the lumber given to a family who lost their home in a fire.
The present building was built in 1936 and started as a school and community building and later a church, Lucas said.
She added there were originally two hills. The west hill was cut down when the first road was graded during the early 1940s. A big chunk of the remaining hill was cut out when U.S. Highway 71 was widened in the late 1970s, she said. The present building was initially located further west but was moved east when Highway 71 was made four lanes in the late 1970s.
Rural schools were consolidated in the 1940s, and Dug Hill School became a part of the Bentonville School District in 1945, she said. The building continued to be used as a community center.
Several churches leased the building over the years, including Village Baptist Church in the late 1960s, Faith Chapel in the 1990s and Country Harvest Church in 2014.
The Village Lake Writers and Poets group is now going to lease the building for its new home.
Phillips discussed a few Civil War veterans who are buried in Dug Hill Cemetery. He said as he studied the graves in the cemetery, he noticed both Union and Confederate veterans were buried there. He said from 1861 to 1863 major armies from both sides moved through this area, and after that it became a no-man’s land. By 1865 it was uninhabited, he said. Bentonville was burned to the ground, he noted. After the war, veterans from both north and south were drawn to this area to settle down.
He explained that Union markers are rounded on top, while Confederate headstones come to a point.
He highlighted Benjamin Tripp, a Canadian, who in 1862 enlisted in the Iowa Infantry, part of the Union Army, and after the war settled in this area.
He also mentioned Alexander Oaks of the First Arkansas Cavalry, which was a Union unit that had to leave Arkansas and gather in Springfield, Mo. Oaks also survived the war and afterward put down roots in Bella Vista.
Phillips discussed Lucas Harrison, a Confederate veteran, who was a member of the Fifth Kentucky Infantry, part of the Orphan Brigade, and fought in the battle of Chickamauga. Like the others, he survived the war and settled here afterward.
Finally, he mentioned George and Henry Leach, brothers who were in the 125th Illinois Infantry, a Union unit. They fought in every major battle in the middle theater of the war, he said. After the war they spent the remainder of their lives in Bella Vista.
The historical society is offering a historic cemetery tour at 12:30 p.m. April 16. The cost is $15 per person or $25 for two people, and it is a fundraiser for the Bella Vista Historical Museum. Those who attend will meet at the museum and car caravan to the cemeteries. Call the museum at 479-855-2335 to reserve a spot.