Fayetteville History

A Symbol of Higher Education

An 1890 engraving of the University of Arkansas campus shows University Hall, now known as Old Main, at the center of campus. Other buildings include Buchanan Hall to the left, the original frame classrooms used while Old Main was being built, and the Agricultural Experiment Station beyond the north tower.

Old Main

The symbol of higher education in Arkansas, Old Main was the first permanent building to be erected on the Arkansas Industrial University campus. Its exterior was finished in 1875, just three years after the university opened for classes. It is the oldest building still standing on the campus and the only one built in the 19th century still standing.

Initially, it was simply referred to as “the University building,” but it was formally named University Hall in 1895. By the turn of the 20th century, the more sentimental name of Old Main had gained currency, and the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees officially changed the name to Old Main in 1991.

A firm at Helena, Arkansas, McKay and Helmle, was originally considered for designing a university hall, but trustees visited campuses in Illinois and Michigan, coming away set on having a main building like the one at Illinois Industrial University, designed by John Mills Van Osdel, a Chicago architect. Although the two buildings were nearly identical, the towers were swapped, with the taller bell tower to the right side of the building and the smaller clock tower moved to the left. Although the reason for the switch is unknown, two myths for why this switch occurred have attained:

• Moving the taller tower to the north would symbolize the Union’s victory in the Civil War, waged only a decade earlier.
• The contractor while drunk got the plans backwards.

Whatever the reason, the switch made it easier for residents of downtown Fayetteville to see the clock tower, not that there was a clock to see. Because of expense, installation of a clock was put off.

The construction bid from Mayes and Oliver of Fayetteville was accepted, and Joseph Carter Corbin, the superintendent of public instruction for Arkansas and ex-officio president of the university board of trustees, signed the $123,885 contract for erection of University Hall. John McKay was made supervising architect, and two Fayetteville civic leaders, Lafayette Gregg and Stephen K. Stone, were added to the trustees’ building committee.

Materials for construction came mostly from local sources. Lumber was milled at Peter Van Winkle’s mill near the historic War Eagle Mill and hauled to Fayetteville by oxen. Bricks were made from clay deposits on the south side of Fayetteville and fired in the brickyard of John L. Kelton. Cut stone for the exterior trim came from northeast Washington and western Madison counties. And sandstone for the foundation and basement was quarried near the building.

During the early part of the 20th century, professors erected a large aerial between the towers of Old Main, barely visible in this picture, to receive radio signals.

Old Main’s architectural style is known as Second Empire, and its mansard roof is perhaps the most obvious expression of that style. The east portico, however, is a classical design and is immortalized in the official seal of the university.

Although the building has needed repairs almost as soon as it was finished and has been remodeled almost as often as new academic programs were initiated at the university. By the early 1980s, though, the building was closed because of safety concerns. A fund-raising campaign was launched to renovate the structure, and it was rededicated in 1991.

In 2005, a clock was finally installed as part of the culmination of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. Today, Old Main is home to the dean’s offices of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences as well as several academic departments.

BIBILOGRAPHY
Schaefer, Don. “History of University of Arkansas Buildings (Unpublished manuscript, most recently updated April 29, 2003).
Facilities Management. Historic Buildings (University of Arkansas Facilities Management: 2003).
Rothrock, Thomas. “The University of Arkansas’s ‘Old Main,’” Arkansas Historical Quarterly (Arkansas Historical Association, Fayetteville) Spring 1971.

Headquarters House

Headquarters House, 118 E. Dickson St., as it appeared about 1950. Today, it's owned by the Washington County Historical Society and used for historical programs.

Also known as the Tebbetts House, this frame home with Greek revival design was built in 1853 by Matilda and Jonas March Tebbetts as their family home in Fayetteville. Its design was the same as the William Baxter House, which stood across Dickson Street at about the location of the Washington County Courthouse.

Jonas Tebbetts was a lawyer and civic leader who owned land in Washington and Crawford counties. The Tebbettses sided with the Union when the state seceded, and Jonas Tebbetts was taken prisoner in early 1862 and held at Fort Smith for hanging. He was granted a reprieve and freedom not long after the general who had planned to have him hanged, Gen. Benjamin McCullough, was killed at the Battle of Pea Ridge. After release, the Tebbettses moved to St. Louis, Missouri, when conditions allowed for safe transit.

During the war, the house was used at various times as headquarters by both Union and Confederate forces. It was at the center of the Battle of Fayetteville on April 18, 1863, when Confederate forces attacked the Union army, with the heaviest fighting occurring on the grounds in front of the house. The front door of Headquarters House sustained damage from mini-balls, and that door was later moved to an interior doorway to better preserve it.

The house was designed and built by William Baxter with a central hall and matching wings to left and right. A brick smokehouse and hand-dug well still stand in the backyard. Since 1967, the house has served as headquarters for the Washington County Historical Society, which conducts tours and opens the house to visitors during its annual Ice Cream Social and commemorations of the Battle of Fayetteville.

Many of the pieces of furniture in the house are from the Tebbetts family or from the period in which the family lived in Fayetteville. It is perhaps the most beautiful antebellum home still standing in Fayetteville. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In the 1980s, the law office of Archibald Yell was moved to the backyard of Headquarters House.

BIBILOGRAPHY
Leflar, Helen Finger and Carolyn Lewis Newbern. Yesterdays: A Walk through the Washington-Willow Historic District. (Washington County Historical Society, Fayetteville: 1983).
Lemke, Walter J. Some Old Fayetteville Homes (Fayetteville: 1951).

Arkansas Air Museum

The museum opened to the public in 1986 with displays and exhibits about the history of aviation in Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas and vintage aircraft, both civilian and military, from across the 20th century. The museum is housed in the historic White Hangar at Drake Field, Fayetteville's municipal airport at 4290 S. School Ave.

Although the collection of aircraft rotate in and out because many of the aircraft are still flying, aircraft on display will always include biplanes, jets, helicopters and, most recently, the cockpit of a Douglas DC-3. The museum also sponsors an airfest each year, usually in June.

To become a member, the Arkansas Air Museum has an online form.

• They also have news and events;
• An online list of aircraft and aviation engines;
• And, a list of permanent exhibits.

Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

The city of Springdale established Shiloh Museum in 1965, initially with a large collection of archeological items from Native American cultures that were donated to the museum. Its mission has grown from preserving and displaying historical artifacts related to Springdale to include the a six-county area of the Ozarks. The museum today has the largest public collection of historic artifacts in Northwest Arkansas, including more than a half million photographs.

The museum property covers more than a city block with a 22,000-square-foot museum and several historic structures. It provides meeting space for numerous community organizations and historic presentations each month.

It is located at 118 W. Johnson Ave., Springdale. For membership information, go to the Shiloh Museum's online website.

• They also have a calendar of events;
• Information about exhibits and collections;
• And, an online gift shop.

Washington County Historical Society

Established in 1951 with a goal of "preserving the past for the future," the Washington County Historical Society is based at Fayetteville, Arkansas, and publishes a quarterly historical journal called Flashback that is available to members.

The society's offices are in Headquarters House at 118 E. Dickson. Although the society gathered historical items related to the history of Washington County for many years, most of its archives and photo collections have been donated to the Department of Special Collections at the University of Arkansas Libraries and to the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.

Annual events sponsored by the society include a commemoration of the Battle of Fayetteville in April, and an ice cream social in August to raise funds for the society's operations. Aside from Headquarters House, the society also owns the Archibald Yell law office, which was moved to the grounds of Headquarters House, and the Ridge House at 230 W. Center.

Membership is available in the society through annual dues. A form is available at the society's website.

• They also have a calendar of events;
• Historical presentations and re-enactments;
• And, an online gift shop.

Butterfield Trail

For those wishing to following the historic route of the Butterfield Overland Stage Company, the map below shows the original route in blue with historic spots noted along the way. So far, we have the portion through Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and part of Texas, but intend to add the rest of the route as time permits. You can either click on the map or follow this link to get more detail about each historic spot. Use the map's zoom-in function to see the various spots in Fayetteville better.

Timeline -- Prior to 1820

1804
President Thomas Jefferson negotiates the Louisiana Purchase from France, including the land that would one day become the state of Arkansas.

1814
The Missouri Territorial Legislature creates Lawrence County, which initially covered the northern half of Arkansas, including present-day Fayetteville.

1817
July 17 -- Land in the Arkansas Territory, including Northwest Arkansas, is taken from the Osage Nation and given to part of the Cherokee Nation that had agreed to move westward.

1819
Although the French and early American traders had likely visited the region where Fayetteville now exists, the first recorded visit by an Anglo-American was by Frank Pierce, who was hunting buffalo near the West Fork of the White River. William Campbell wrote in his history of Fayetteville that Pierce was seeking advantage for a shot when "he discovered a band of Indians stalking the same game. He did not shoot, but spent the night beneath a great elm. Next day he crossed the present town site and striking across to the Illinois [River], followed it to its mouth, thence on the Arkansas to points in the east." Nine years later, Pierce returned and settled near where he had spent that uneasy night, Campbell wrote.
March 2 -- The Arkansas Territory is created by an act of Congress, splitting it administratively off from the Missouri Territory.

Timeline -- 1820s

1828
George McGarrah, his wife and their three sons settle near Big Spring at what is now the corner of Spring Street and Willow Avenue.
Larkin Newton is appointed postmaster by President Andrew Jackson.
October 17 — Washington County is established and the town of Washington Courthouse, renamed Fayetteville a year later, is chosen as the county seat.

1829
The first county courthouse, a crude 20-foot by 20-foot log building with puncheon floor, is erected about where Block Street passes between the present-day Bank of Fayetteville and the Old Post Office.
Because of confusion arising from another Arkansas town in Hempstead County already being named Washington, the postmaster general orders Washington Courthouse to be renamed. City commissioners choose the name Fayetteville because two of the commissioners were from Fayetteville, Tenn.

Timeline -- 1830s

1830
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is organized by the Rev. John Buchanan of Cane Hill in a blacksmith shop owned by John Lewis on East Center Street.

1832
The Methodist Church was established in Fayetteville.

1833
Alfred Wallace opens one of the first general stores, if not the first, on the west side of what is now the Fayetteville square. Soon after, the McGarrah family built a store at the corner of East and Center, with William McGarrah running the store.

1834
October 28 — The Cumberland Presbyterian churches of Fayetteville, Mount Comfort, Walnut Grove, Prairie Grove and White River convened at Cane Hill to organize a Presbyterian College, which resulted in Cane Hill College eventually being created.
The Methodist Episcopal Church South was organized at the home of Lodowic Brodie.
Isaac Murphy, later a state senator and governor, moved to Fayetteville with his wife Angelina Lockhart Murphy to teach school and practice law.

1835
Feb. 27 — Patent for the land of the original town is issued by President Andrew Jackson. It was described as the south half NE one-quarter and north half of SE quarter, Section 16, Township 16, Range 30 West. In easier terms to understand, this is the land bounded by what are now College Avenue on the east, Gregg Avenue on the West, Dickson Street on the north, and South Street on the south.
Soon after, the city was surveyed into lots by Charles McClelland, the deputy county surveyor, and a survey team of John West, William McGarrah, James Parr, John Smallman and A. Mankins.
All of the lots except the square were auctioned off by A. Whinnery between 1835 and 1837, raising $6,339 in the course of 169 sales, the money being used for erection of a courthouse and clerk’s office.
The military road was cut through Fayetteville en route from St. Louis to Fort Smith.
November 5 — The Washington Lodge of the Masons, the first Masonic lodge in Arkansas, is chartered in Fayetteville. In 1840, a two-story frame hall was erected on land deeded by Archibald Yell.

1836
Lodowic Brodie and A.B. Anthony build the city’s first brick house for school purposes on what is now called School Avenue, between Meadow and Center.
Arkansas is granted statehood. Archibald Yell, a Fayetteville resident, is elected the state’s first congressman.
Isaac Murphy became the first county treasurer of Washington County and served through 1838.
October 27 — The Fayetteville Female Academy was chartered with Robert H. Mecklin in charge of the school.
November 3 — The first state legislature passes an act to incorporate the town of Fayetteville. The first alderman, the equivalent of a mayor today, was P. Vinson Rhea.

1837
A new county courthouse is built of brick in the center of the Fayetteville square.

1838
January 18 — The city’s first bank, a branch of the State Bank, was opened. Jacob Wythe Walker was an early president, if not the first, of the bank, signing the bank’s lithographed currency from February to November.

1839
Archibald Yell contracts for construction of two-story jail, with dungeon and debtors’ cell in the lower story and a jailor’s residence on the upper floor. It was built on the southwest corner of College and Rock by Matthew Leeper for $4,000.
Sophia Sawyer, a missionary to the Cherokee Nation, moves to Fayetteville after civil strife between Cherokee factions and establishes the Fayetteville Female Seminary.

Timeline -- 1840s

1840
Census shows that the Fayetteville population is 425. Washington County’s population is 7,148.
Charles F. Town publishes the city’s first newspaper, The Witness, a relatively short-lived paper that carried mostly national news.

1841
Fayetteville was incorporated this year. Municipal operations were suspended during the Civil War.
The Royal Arch Masons established the Far West Chapter at Fayetteville.

1844
The Far West Seminary was incorporated on Nov. 30.
Archibald Yell and David Walker run for Congress, Yell as a Democrat and Walker as a Whig. Yell eventually won the election, his second time to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

1845
May 19 — Robert W. Mecklin and Robert Graham organize the Ozark Institute in northwest Fayetteville near Mount Comfort. The school, which had more than 100 men in attendance at its height, continued in operation until 1857.

1846
Isaac Murphy was elected as Washington County’s representative to the Arkansas General Assembly.

1847
February 22 — Archibald Yell is killed by a Mexican lance during the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War.

1848
Addison Crouch establishes a carding factory on South East Avenue. The factory had the capacity to card 100 pounds of wool per day through use of a treadmill generated by horses and mules.
The Christian Church is organized by Rev. Robert Graham with about 50 members.
Isaac Murphy is re-elected as Washington County’s representative to the Arkansas General Assembly.
May 23 — The Episcopal Church is founded by Rev. W.C. Stout.

1849
Catholic congregants begin meeting together in Fayetteville although formal organization of a church wouldn’t happen until 1878.