Dallas County Museum, Fordyce, Arkansas

06/19/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
Hershel Kennon Smith, Jr., said in his book Tulip In Her Glory that most Arkansans have long forgotten or have never known the glory of antebellum Tulip, once called the “Athens of Arkansas”.
Tulip was one of the earliest communities in what is now Dallas County, but was then Clark County. After Arkansas became a state in 1836, many people came from the eastern United States – especially Tennessee and North Carolina – to settle in the area. For a time, the settlement was called Brownsville (after Tyre Harris Brown) who came from Tennessee about 1841 and built his cabin at Tulip. A short time later, Moses Overton built a store on Tulip Creek. It was here that the mail was left and settlers for many miles around came to get their mail. Then it was known as Smithville (after Colonel Maurice Smith). The Colonel reportedly said that the town should be called TULIP rather than Smithville because “there were more tulip trees growing here than Smiths”. William Dunbar, who explored the area in 1804, reported that a French hunter Tulipe had stored his goods on the ridge before then and some people consider his name to be the origin of the name of the settlement.
Tulip was never incorporated because everyone who lived in a 15-mile radius wanted to be included in Tulip. So, it was just the name of a mail stop. In the 1850 census in Smith Township (which included Tulip) there was 1,696 people (700 white men and women and 996 slaves).
In the summer of 1843, Colonel Maurice Smith of Fayette County, Tennessee, sent an overseer and sufficient slaves to the site of Tulip to make a corn crop because the Colonel was planning to bring his family to the settlement. In October, Colonel Smith, his son-in-law and daughter, Dr. W. B. Langley and Cornelia Smith Langley, their overseers and slaves came from Tennessee to Tulip. After arriving in Tulip, Colonel Smith had his slaves build a comfortable dwelling, and he returned to Tennessee before Christmas. He spent 1844 disposing of his lands and preparing his family for the movement to Arkansas. He encouraged his kin to come to Tulip and many did.
The Arkansas Baptist State Convention was organized in Tulip in 1848. The objective of the convention was to promote missionary and educational work in Arkansas. There’s a marker in front of the Baptist church in Tulip telling about it.
In the winter of 1850 several interested citizens of Tulip chartered the Arkansas Military Institute (on December 17th) and the Tulip Female Seminary (on December 18th). The names of those incorporators were: Colonel Maurice Smith, General Nathaniel G. Smith, Judge W. L. Somervell, Major George C. Eaton, J. J. Samuel, Dr. William Bethel, Samuel H. Smith, Major B. J. Borden, and Hector McNeill. The military school was the first military academy in Arkansas.
General Nathaniel G. Smith was chosen president of the schools; Thomas O. Benton and George D. Alexander headed the Institute; Ben Watson and J. S. McAlister headed the Seminary. With the new institutions of learning in Tulip its Golden Age was ushered in, for students came from all over Arkansas and the surrounding areas. The cadets at the military institute were sturdy young men, wearing the same style of suits as the West Point Cadets, differing only in the buttons of their uniforms.
I read some time ago that no Arkansas Military Institute buttons have been found at the sites that the school occupied at Tulip yet one was found at Perryville, Kentucky and another was located west of Camden.
It was a busy life they led. Among their studies were ancient languages, surveying, military tactics, mathematics, chemistry, and philosophy. Tulip citizens were proud of their marching grounds and its 150-foot flagpole.

06/18/2026

Can anyone tell our followers what happened to the "Fordyce" historic marker that used to be on the courthouse lawn? (photo from a Fordyce Elementary School field trip in September 2017 to the courthouse - those students may be headed to their Sophomore year by now!)

06/11/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell

June 14th is Flag Day. Be sure to fly your Flag of the United States of America!
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that the Flag of the 13 United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white: that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.
The RED symbolize Valor and Zeal.
The WHITE symbolize Hope and Cleanliness of life.
The BLUE symbolize Reverence and Loyalty (the color of the heavens).
The STARS symbolize the Constellations of the States, each a part of our nation, each a
separate state (ancient symbol of the heavens).
Act of Congress of April 4, 1818, provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added on the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state.
In 1877, Congress requested that all public buildings fly the Flag on June 14 in celebration of the Flag.
On June 14, 1894, the City of Chicago held a Flag Day observance and the American Flag Association was formed.
In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison called for a special celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. It was for that celebration that Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. His original words were: “I Pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
On June 14, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed National Flag Day saying: “This Flag, which we honor and under which we serve is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose from generation to generation. The choices are ours. It floats in majestic silence above the hosts that execute those choices, whether in peace or in war. And yet, though silent, it speaks to us--speaks to us of the past, of the men and women who went before us, and of the records they wrote upon it---.”
When the first National Flag Conference was held in 1923, the words “my flag” were changed to “The Flag of the United States of America” to prevent foreign-born Americans from thinking of the flag of their native country when they spoke it. The phrase “under God” was added by Act of Congress in 1954.
FOLDING THE FLAG
The correct way to fold The Flag of the United States of America and what each fold means. First, you fold The Flag of the United States of America in half lengthwise by bringing the striped edges over the blue field. Fold again the same way. At the striped end, fold diagonally so that the hem runs parallel to and even with the striped edge, forming a triangle. Continue to fold in triangles until the entire length of the flag is folded. The edges are tucked in, and when completed only the blue field should be visible, and it should be shaped like a cocked hat. Here’s what each fold stands for:
1st fold – To the symbol of life
2nd fold – To belief in Eternal life
3rd fold – In honor and remembrance of the Veteran being commemorated
4th fold – For Divine Guidance
5th fold – In tribute of “Our Country”
6th fold – Our Pledge to the Flag
7th fold – Tribute to our Armed Forces
8th fold – In honor of the Mothers of Veterans
9th fold – Tribute to womanhood for their faith, love, loyalty and devotion to Veterans
10th fold – Tribute to the Fathers who gave their sons and daughters to the Armed Forces
11th fold – In the eyes of the Hebrew citizens, the seals of King David and Solomon
12th fold – In the eyes of Christian citizens, it represents the Emblem of Eternity.
When the Flag is completely folded the stars are uppermost reminding us of our National Motto: “In God We Trust”.
Source of the folding of the Flag: Compliments of Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge.

06/05/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell
We’re continuing with our early history of Princeton. The first county court was held in Presley Watts’ home on April 28, 1845. It was a three-room house with a dining room and kitchen off from the main house. The room where the first court was held was 18 feet square. It was rather small to hold all of the members of the court and jury.
George Elmore, being a little tired, did not remove his hat so the judge fined him one dollar. The first man fined in Dallas County. He left the room, got the loan of a silver dollar, came back into the room, walked up to the judge, who was seated in a chair, slapped the dollar on his knee saying “Here, Judge, is your dollar”. This act caused another dollar fine. Harris O’Flannigan pleaded George’s case and the fines were remitted.
Early attorneys of Princeton were George W. Bradley, John Brown, James M. Thomason, Jeaster Cameron, Robert H. Dedman, Col. M. M. Duffie and R. F. Fuller.
The first house was Squire Ramsay’s dwelling. Esquire A. Ramsay came to Arkansas from South Carolina in 1842, when the entire country was a wilderness, and neighbors were considered neighbors even though they lived ten to fifteen or more miles apart. He helped to open up what became known as the Princeton Pike. When a new settler came, Squire and those already living there would go to work and open up the road of the earlier settlers to the new home, thus making the road just a little longer each time. The Princeton Pike went from Princeton to Pine Bluff.
Princeton is situated at the crossing of the highway between Little Rock and Camden and Pine Bluff and Arkadelphia.
In the winter of 1863-64, Marmaduke and Shelby wintered at Princeton, where they collected all the corn nearby, and then ran in the hogs, the combination of which made some savory eating for the soldiers.
My great-great aunt, Mary Ann Smith, married George Washington Mallet in 1846, and the next year they came to Arkansas from Virginia and bought a farm near Princeton. They wrote back home and told their family what good, rich farmland there was in Princeton and urged them to move to Arkansas. So, Mary Ann’s father, my great-great-grandfather, Redmond Rudd Smith, sold his property in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He and his wife (Rebecca Farrer Smith) and their children, George Field and his bride (Susan Dudley Mallet); William; Augustus; and Thomas R. all moved to Dallas County in the mid-1850s.
George Field and Susan Smith were my great-grandparents. They lived in the Hollywood Community, just west of Princeton, during the Civil War. George Field did not serve in the war but was away working to build the wire road from Camden to Princeton. (I understand that a wire road was the road that followed the telegraph line.) While he was away their oldest child, Ella, age 9, died of Lockjaw. That was in 1863 and the Union soldiers were at Princeton at the time so Susan could not take her daughter to the cemetery in Princeton, so she and the servants buried her in the front yard of their home.
In October of 1848, the court had appropriated $10.00 for the purpose of purchasing land for a cemetery at Princeton.
In July of 1862. The telegraph line was extended from Camden to Princeton and from there to Arkadelphia, and linked with Little Rock.
A little more information about George W. Mallett. He served Dallas County as Treasurer, Sheriff, Assessor and Clerk. If you have seen any of the early records of Dallas County that are at the courthouse, you know what beautiful penmanship he had!

05/28/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell
The first town in Dallas County, established January 1, 1845, and known as Dallaston until November 1845 when the name was changed to Princeton. It was incorporated March 4, 1849. It was the site of the first post office in the county established October 6, 1845, and was the location of the county seat of government from January 1, 1845, to October 6, 1908. Princeton was the major business, trade and political center during the first 50 years of Dallas County.
Pottery in the Princeton area was first listed in 1843, which was two years before Dallas County was created. It was perhaps the first industry with the product being shipped out of the area. The first kiln was built by William Bird, a member of a family of potters who were responsible for the industry in this portion of Arkansas. The Birds trained a series of apprentices, most notably, John C. Welch, who continued the trade into the early 20th century. We have some of this pottery on display at the museum.
Princeton schools at once took on a high standard. The earliest ones were Private, but Public Schools became effective about 1874. Princeton Academy under O. C. Gray, rivaled others of the time in educational interests. Col. O. C. Gray came to Princeton in 1849 and built up a fine school for boys and girls. Princeton had male and female schools chartered in 1845-55. The two academies were entirely distinct bodies with entirely different boards. The first Public School, a two-room building located in the northeast part of town and used until 1898 when a new two room building was built west of Highway 9 in the northern part of town, which was used until 1936. At that time, a large brick school building was erected and used until 1965 when the school consolidated with Fordyce.
Early doctors in Princeton in 1850 were Peter Clark, Miller W. McCraw, William F. Smith and W. E. Clark. Dr. C. C. Adams was a dentist in Princeton in 1850. Between 1850 and 1950, Princeton had 20 more doctors. Some were Harry Atkinson, Sr., Hugh A. Cheatham, Joe Gill, John Hodge, W. W. Lea, and John Sims.
Mary Owens Sims, Virginia Davis Gray and John Brown all lived in Princeton in the mid 1800s and kept diaries that give us an insight as to what life was like in the Princeton area. Sims kept her diary before the Civil War, Gray wrote during the war and Brown wrote his before the war. He gives us good first-hand information about the conditions then.
Mary Owens came to this area with her parents in the 1830s. Her father, William Owens, came as overseer to a plantation in partnership with his brother-in-law, Mr. Rucks. There were few white folks in the area, and she told of a white woman walking five miles just to see Mrs. Owens as she hadn’t seen a white woman in years.
Mary Owens met a Dr. Sims, and they married and had three children. He became ill and died when the children were very young. She wrote of her depression after his death but toward the end of the diary, she met another man, married and moved away.
Virginia Davis Gray kept her diary while her husband was away in the Civil War. She lived in a boarding house, and it is thought that she lived in the Woods-Montgomery house. She tells of how they lived with all of the able-bodied men gone and how they were able to keep things held together by themselves. Before the war, Oliver and Virginia had boy’s and girl’s academies in Princeton. Professor W. C. Parham was the principal of the girl’s school. He was not physically able to serve in the army. Oliver Gray survived the war and came back to Princeton, but they soon left for Little Rock where they were at St. John’s College. Prof. Parham also went there with them.
John Brown moved to the Princeton area, and he tells of his troubles trying to run a plantation and manage his slaves so he soon moved to Camden where he was engaged in high finance rather than farming. He was also a lawyer.
We have some of these diaries in the archives at the museum. They were donated by Clora Smith Parham. You are invited to come by and read them.

05/25/2026

05/25/2026

Remembering and honoring those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

05/24/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell
Our Mission Statement at the Dallas County Museum is to collect, preserve, record, educate and disseminate the history of Dallas County and the surrounding area. So, let’s take a look at some of the history of Dallas County, Fordyce, Sparkman, Princeton, Tulip, Carthage, Jacinto, Holly Springs and other communities in Dallas County.
Dallas County was formed in the fall of 1844 by the State Legislature and was officially established January 1, 1845. It was taken from portions of Clark and Bradley Counties and comprised an area of 672 square miles.
In the presidential campaign of 1844, George Mifflin Dallas was running mate with James K. Polk and Arkansas cast her vote for Polk for President. When the time for the naming of the county came, Presley Watts suggested that it be named Dallas for the Vice President.
The first court met October 20, 1845 at the home of Presley Watts. A. Ramsey, Ephram Russell, Albert Phillips, Hawes Coleman and Thomas Hudson were appointed commissioners to locate the county seat. They selected a site in the geographical center of the county known as Dallaston until November 1845 when the name was changed to Princeton. Joe Gray, the first surveyor to arrive in Dallas County, laid off the plot of ground upon which the county seat was to be established. Squire Ramsey, the only carpenter in the county, cleared the land for the Princeton city square. In 1848, Robert Coleman built a jail on the square. The front of it is still standing and is the entrance to the pavilion. A public well was put on the square at a cost of $50.90.
When Dallas County was formed, Presley Watts was the first County and Circuit Clerk and since his home comprised 3 room, plus a detached kitchen and dining room, it served as Dallas County’s first courthouse for the first 18 months of the new county. In July 1848, the Dallas County court provided for the construction of the first courthouse. Moses Overton was the low bidder: the contract called for $344.91. The structure was a log building, located on the east edge of the public square in Princeton.
The second courthouse was built at Princeton by 1854, and was a large two-story white frame building erected near the center of the square. The cornerstone of this building was delivered to Dallas County Judge Jimmy Jones in 2005.
From October 1908 until sometime in 1912, the county offices and records were in the second floor of the McKee building in Fordyce. That’s upstairs in what is now the Dallas County Museum.
The third and present Dallas County Courthouse was constructed in Fordyce during the years 1911-1913; E. L. Koonce worked as general contractor. The cost was approximately $65,000.
Someone asked me some time ago if any other business was ever in the building on East First Street before Williams Cleaners. I said I didn’t know. When people tell me things I often jot it down on a piece of paper and forget where I put it. This morning, I found where I had written that A. W. Smith had the first Oldsmobile Dealership in Fordyce, and it was located on East First Street in the building later occupied by Williams Cleaners.
On this same piece of paper, I had written that the first beauty queen in Fordyce was Mary Harris. She was Miss Fordyce of 1932. In 1956, she did my hair when I got married!
Recently the students (Anderson Bryant, Jamison Bryant, Benjamin Bryant and Emmalyn Williams) and their teacher (Jodi Reaves) of the Bryant Academy visited the museum, and I gave them a tour. They were impressed with Bill Ladd’s telephone exhibit, the real dinosaur bone and tooth, and of course the polar bear. What they really liked was the old fashion school room. In the work room of the children’s section, Garie Johnson always has crafts for the children to do, and they enjoyed making some of those. We are always happy for groups to come to the museum for tours. Just let us know if you would like a tour.

05/15/2026

Notes From the Dallas County Museum
By Melrose Smith Bagwell

Once again, we have new information on the Fordyce logging camp at Ivan, Arkansas. People have said they would like to see a list of those at the camp to see if some of their family lived there. Kaye McGriff Talley sent me a Roster of the Fordyce Camp 1923-1938 that her father, Cutter McGriff, made a number of years ago. There are lots of names including the children’s names.
Starting with Mr. J. T. Duncan who was superintendent of the camp and his wife, Nettie, and their children John, Ola Mae, Fred and Mary.
Mr. Joe Boyer was the team boss, and his wife, Lizetta, and the children Paul, Ted, Irene, and Orland (Polly).
Dr. Dyer was the commissary manager.
Others included the camp doctor, Charles McLaughlin (sp?), and his wife;
Mr. and Mrs. Lummy (or Lummie) Jacobs;
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Elmer Shields (Bertha) and Mae, Lois and Louis Elmer, Jr.;
Mr. and Mrs. Freer;
Mr. and Johnny Massey (Mattie) and Joyce, Lois and Francis;
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hornaday (Nell) and Vernon, Edward Glenn, Nanny Howard, Lois;
Mr. and Mrs. Wylie Connel (Maggie) and Leonard and Lila Mae;
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Garner (Edna) and Georgia Lou and Jimmy Sue;
Mr. and Mrs. Lee Garner (Cynthia) and Lee Elton;
Mr. and Mrs. Lester Finley (Ola Mae);
Mr. and Mrs. Buster Burford and Teddy;
Mr. and Mrs. William Bradley (Leulla) and William, Raymond, Remona and Troy;
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Garner (Cora) and Dowell, J.P. (John Paul), Randolph and Harry;
Mr. and Mrs. L. T. McKinney (Edna) and Mabel, Ruby, Charley, Dorothy Sue, Jannetta;
Mr. and Mrs. Ruel McMann (Ruth) and Aline, Mary Lena and Bill;
Mr. and Mrs. John Lovan (Kate);
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Adair (Beulah) and Lee;
Mr. and Mrs. Dowell Garner (Lila Mae);
Mr. and Mrs. Charley Rogers and Gracie Mae;
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Taylor (Lucy) and Harvey, Jr., Kenny, Harold, and Eloise Berthilel;
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Crouse (Bertha) and Alford;
Mr. and Mrs. Horace Richard Burford (Lanny Mae) and Horace, Jr., and Catherine;
Mr. and Mrs. Richard (Dick) Peters;
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Rogers (Artie Maude) and Billy Clyde;
Mr. and Mrs. Robert (Cheese) Finley (Mydice), not sure of name, hard to read writing);
J. R. (Sweet Corn) Finley; and
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Sechrist and Roy, Ray, Howard and Leon.
Lena Burford and Mabel Garner worked in the boarding house.
Mr. and Mrs. W. E. McGriff (Effie) and their children Cleta, Leo, Kate, and James Lacey (Cutter) lived in the camp and Effie ran the boarding house.
Those living in the boarding house were Mr. Woodrow Garner, Mr. Josh Caldwell, Mr. Lewis Smurl, Mr. Shorty Hughes, Mr. Jim Finley, Mr. Johnie Mitchell, and Mr. Johnny Belin.
I knew at least 10 of these people. I hope you find some that you recognize. Thanks to Kaye for sharing this list with us.
For Fordyce, AR, is planning a big celebration for America 250 on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 in downtown Fordyce. Some of the events planned include a parade (featuring bikes, wagons, scooters, strollers), water activities (big Poppa Bubble Foam, fire truck spray), a live band, a pie baking contest in the museum annex, food trucks and vendors. The museum will be open and you can see the America 250 display which includes a birthday cake with 250 candles on it! The Chicot Trace-Robert Abernathy Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Ouachita Valley Chapter of the Colonial Dames XVII Century will be participating. There will be more details later. Contact Madonna Erwin for more information.