Railroad-Era Resources of Southwest Arkansas (Lafayette, Little River, Miller, and Sevier Counties) 1870-1945 By the Staff of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program Originally published by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program in 1996. This volume is one of a series developed by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) for the identification and registration of the state's cultural resources. For more information, write the AHPP at 1100 North Street, Little Rock, AR 72201, call (501) 324-9880, or send an e-mail to [email protected]. The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is the agency of Arkansas Heritage responsible for the identification, evaluation, registration and preservation of the state's cultural resources. Arkansas Heritage is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism. Arkansas Historic Preservation Program 1100 North Street | Little Rock, AR 72201 | p: 501.324.9880 | f: 501.324.9184 [email protected] | ArkansasPreservation.com Railroad-Era Resources of Southwest Arkansas (Lafayette, Little River, Miller and Sevier Counties) 1870-1945 Cotton Belt Railroad Hospital, Texarkana, Miller County Cover photo courtesy of Arkansas History Commission Contents Early Railroad History .......................................................................................................................3 Early Railroad Development in Arkansas ..........................................................................................3 Railroad Development in Southwest Arkansas..................................................................................9 The Kansas City Southern Railroad............................................................................................9 The Mississippi, Ouachita and Red River Railroad....................................................................10 The DeQueen and Eastern Railroad............................................................................................10 The Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad ...............................................................................11 The St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad ..................................................................................11 The Missouri Pacific Railroad ....................................................................................................11 The St. Louis Southwestern Railroad .........................................................................................12 The St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad .................................................................12 The Memphis, Paris and Gulf Railroad ......................................................................................12 The Cairo and Fulton Railroad ...................................................................................................12 The Arkansas and Choctaw Railway Company ..........................................................................14 Southwest Arkansas Counties ............................................................................................................14 Sevier County .............................................................................................................................14 Railroad Communities .............................................................................................................15 Lockesburg..........................................................................................................................15 DeQueen .............................................................................................................................17 Gillham ...............................................................................................................................19 Horatio ................................................................................................................................20 King ....................................................................................................................................21 Provo...................................................................................................................................22 Avon ....................................................................................................................................22 Brownstown ........................................................................................................................22 Chapel Hill..........................................................................................................................23 Geneva ................................................................................................................................23 Neal Springs .......................................................................................................................23 Paraloma .............................................................................................................................24 Pullman ...............................................................................................................................24 Little River County .....................................................................................................................24 Railroad Communities ..............................................................................................................24 Alleene .................................................................................................................................24 Ashdown ..............................................................................................................................25 Foreman ...............................................................................................................................26 Ogden...................................................................................................................................27 Lippton.................................................................................................................................27 Arkinda ................................................................................................................................27 White Cliffs .........................................................................................................................28 Wilton (Millkin)...................................................................................................................28 Miller County..............................................................................................................................29 Railroad Communities .............................................................................................................29 Garland ................................................................................................................................29 Texarkana .............................................................................................................................30 Doddridge ............................................................................................................................30 Fouke ...................................................................................................................................31 Lafayette County.........................................................................................................................31 Railroad Communities .............................................................................................................32 Bradley .................................................................................................................................32 Canfield ...............................................................................................................................32 Lewisville ............................................................................................................................33 Stamps .................................................................................................................................34 Additional Railroad Communities ..............................................................................................35 Endnotes ............................................................................................................................................36 Selected Bibliography ........................................................................................................................42 2 Early Railroad History The first railroad in the United States, built in 1825, ran from Quincy, Massachusetts, to the Massachusetts Bay. With cars drawn by horses and a three mile long track, the train transported granite from the Quincy quarries to the barges headed for Boston. Only three years later, on July 4, 1828, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began operating the first passenger train in the United States. During the next 20 years, the legisla- tures of nearly all the states granted charters to railroad companies, though many of these enterprises were purely speculative and the roads were never built.1 By the early 1850s, there was a considerable amount of discussion on the construction of a transcontinental railroad beginning at the port city of Charleston, South Carolina, and extending by the way of the most direct and convenient route to a terminus at San Francisco, California. When the