Rocky Bayou Saloon

Articles by Freda Phillips originally published in Stone County Citizen Reprinted by permission of the Author

“The Place Where Men that Mattered Met”

By Freda Cruse Phillips

Taverns and saloons, coffee shops and “round tables” play an important part of our nations’ growth. The location and establishment of a tavern was as significant to a settlement’s plan as police, sanitation and fire departments are today. Budgets for public works were non existent and it was essential that officials conduct business without encumbering “the crown”. As talk of independence became a reality for the colonists much of the plans for the American Revolution took seed within the walls of our nation’s saloons and taverns. The first ‘volunteer’ militia was organized within the walls of such establishments as The Three Cranes tavern in Boston. Following the American Revolution the new country was broke, heavily indebted to France. A system known as “riding the circuit” began and taverns were used not only as gathering places and to hold meetings but to conduct court when the “judge” was in town.
The Rocky Bayou saloon, the first saloon in Izard County, was located and identified in 2009. Since then it has been dismantled and moved back to its original location at Lunenburg. The area between Batesville, the oldest surviving city in the state and Buffalo City where the White and Buffalo Rivers converge near Mtn Home, is one of the oldest continuing settled areas of the state, making the White River Valley the Jamestown, VA of Arkansas if not the entire Ozarks. Arkansas was declared a territory in 1819 and according to old deeds and land claim documents Lunenburg was founded as the settlement of Rocky Bayou a year later by Adam Walker. He had to prove he had continuously lived on the land and improved it for 10 years in order for the homestead to be granted. Sometime between 1810 and 1815, Walker is likely who built and first operated the “Rocky Bayou Saloon”.

Izard Co was formed Oct 27, 1825. The first postal station was at Wolf House, which served as the seat of jurisdiction until 1831. Situated between Wolf House and Mt. Olive, Athens became the county seat in 1830 and opened the Pine Bayou post office. Little Rock lawyer, John Paxton Houston had been coaxed to Wolf House to serve as the first clerk of the newly formed Izard County in 1825. June 15, 1836, AR was admitted to the Union. In 1842 the Pine Bayou post office was renamed Athens. Although Wolf House remained an important settlement, the post office was closed in 1844 and reopened as North Fork. Other settlements were rapidly growing including Rocky Bayou, Franklin and Wild Haws in which postal stations were established in 1847. By the mid 1830’s Rocky Bayou had a general store, sawmill, two cotton gins, a gun powder mill, a blacksmith and livery, a tannery, a cider mill, three general stores and a school. Because Rocky Bayou had a saloon, the place where men that mattered met, it became an important location in the area and in 1900 had a larger population than nearby Melbourne.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, many local men including Adam Walker (CSA) were torn between remaining loyal to the Union or fighting for the Southern cause of states rights to self govern. The Skirmish at Lunenburg, fought on January 20, 1864, is an example of such division, where family, friends and neighbors fought each other. A detail of 44 men of the (Union) Fourth Ark Mounted Infantry under Capt. T. A. Baxter attacked (Confederate) Col. Thomas Freeman’s men driving them from their camp at Lunenburg. My gg grand father William Chitwood who served with Freeman told stories to his son, my great grand father John Richard Chitwood b 1877, who passed them on to me before his death in 1974. Four Confederates were seriously wounded and two were captured, along with horses and equipment. Freeman had no head quarters and few military reports were made. He took up where he could frequently using people’s barns and homes at Calico Rock, Buckhorn, Mt. Olive and the Harris house at Sylamore with his most secure encampment at Mammoth Spring. One of the four men wounded at Lunenburg was 18 year old, William Hinkle, son of Jesse and Sarah Cole Hinkle. He died that day and was buried at Lunenburg Cemetery.
Following the Civil War, AR remained under militia rule until 1903, its first 4 Governors northerners. Union sympathizers were given positions of power with the charge to reduce or eliminate Southern sympathies which included the re-location or re-naming of towns. Former Confederates were not allowed to hold office, name their children after Southern Generals, vote or attend political gatherings. Although known officially as Rocky Bayou, the settlement had taken on a new name as documented in Civil War records as Lunenburg. The stories go that while partaking of the saloons beverages a man of German Prussian descent declared, “Name her Lüneburg, by Gott!” In 1868, Robert Case, the new post master at Rocky Bayou, did just that. The post office opened Feb. 3, 1868 and Rocky Bayou became Lunenburgh.
I can see the gathering, men of prominence sitting about the hand made stools, benches, whiskey barrels, singing ballads in their baroque Irish, Scottish, English and German. A very large man John Paxton Houston sauntering in, perhaps with his visiting brother Gen. Sam Houston, if they weren’t arguing or with a rowdy Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie cohorts of both Houston’s and Abraham Ruddell. Used at the Alamo, the Bowie knife remains in use by the U.S. Military, known as a K-Bar. One of the earliest settlers of Batesville, Ruddell lived nearly 20 years as a brother of Tecumseh after having been captured as a 6 yr old by the Shawnee at Ruddell’s Fort, KY. Certainly Jehoiada Jeffery, first settler of Mt. Olive who served in the AR Legislature and as judge over the trial of Big Charley and Chief Syllamo in the attempted murder of Jared C. Martin (State Treasurer) was here. Sam Houston later secured Jeffery’s services as a surveyor on portions of the Old Military Road (Southwest Trail), which runs through Batesville. Daniel Culp served as his personal secretary. Thomas Riggs first settler of Riggsville (Mtn View) served in the Ark. Legislature and was witness to the will of Jehoiada Jeffery certainly met his friends here, bringing his wife’s cousin, a visiting Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. Taverns, watering holes and places to get a bite of food dictated the paths, the routes people took, which likely included Frank and Jesse James, Cole, John, Jim and Bob Younger. The movers and shakers met here, the un-named frontiersmen who toiled the earth, bartered and traded, established
homesteads and raised families.
By the time I arrived, Denny Elrod and Rick Dowdle, of the Exploring Izard County Crew (EIC.com) were water and sweat soaked from the power washing of the nearly 200 year old hand hewn timbers that once were the walls of the Rocky Bayou Saloon, where songs were sang, tempers flared, fists flew, prayers were said and men that mattered made plans, legal or not, that shaped our county, state and nation.
***To donate to the restoration project of the Rocky Bayou Saloon, visit Exploring Izard County***

Note - In the second paragraph above, the saloon is described as having been located and identified in 2009. Actually, the building has long been known to be that erected early in the foundation of the community of Rocky Bayou/Lunenburg as a tavern and has also long been credited with being the first one to operate in Izard County.

ESC Extra! Bud Cooper on Gunpowder Production During Civil War

While browsing YouTube this morning, I came across this excellent short interview with Izard County's own Bud Cooper, a noted local historian.
The information Mr. Cooper provides during the interview is great. Equally great is the knowledge that as more people become aware of the usefulness of the internet through blogging and video hosting, the more great local interest stories like these we will find!http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Kudos to civilwarhalftruths for their effort to preserve our local history and culture!

ENJOY!



NOTE- Cross-posted at Exploring Izard County

The Timber Rattler

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The Timber Rattler
By Freda Cruse Phillips

Ah Summer time. Sweet summer time. It’s officially here along with the heat and humidity. Laughter and sounds of people talking interrupt the usually quiet areas of the creeks and swimming holes, birds chirping and water gurgling. The smell of roasting hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill fill the air. Yes, summer is here along with blackberries and watermelon, ticks, chiggers and snakes. Saturday the crews of Exploring Stone Co and Exploring Izard Co (.com) met up for an early morning excursion into what may be the pre-Civil War slave auction site of the Dillard family. A small cave, perhaps 2,000 sq feet partitioned into one large room and four small ones, it is a remarkable location that will now require extensive historical research to document. Will Dillard was one of the largest slave traders in the White River area. The 1837 Dillard Settlement at Round Bottom in Stone Co is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is a far larger settlement than Wolf House from the same period. Will’s sister Lucy Dillard married Henry Harris. Their home built by slaves in 1848, sits at the junction of 5, 9 & 14 at Allison and is presently owned by Guy and Liz Harris.

In spite of the damp air, sandy bottom and deadfall that has washed into the cave, it wasn’t here that we encountered our baby Timber Rattler. Larry Stroud from the Batesville Guard who had joined us for this excursion had never seen City Rock Bluff, the large beautiful bluff off Culp Road that overlooks the river bottoms just north of present day Calico Rock. It was named not for the city of Calico Rock seen to the south, but for the bustling community of white people that inhabited the river bottoms on the ‘civilized’ side of the river (Izard Co) viewed by the Indians atop the bluff on the west side (Stone Co) 200 years ago. Calico Rock was settled long after the name was given the beautiful bluff, which is now part of Stone County’s Ozark National Forest. A little further down Culp Road lays Table Rock Cemetery. Being this close I wanted to go back by and get a photograph of Josiah “Jody” Rorie’s headstone. A remarkable man who deserted the Confederate army, he was found, tried and pardoned then released back home to help his father and brothers make wagons for the cause of the South. Jody had been home only a few months when the Union soldiers attacked and burned Rorie’s Mill. Believing the Rorie’s also to be the source of the well hidden munitions efforts Absalom and his sons Andrew and Hezekiah were tortured and killed. Their arms were ripped from their bodies by horses pulling against each other. Little is known as to what Jody did to stop the killing, but three days later after burying his father and brothers and moving his entire family to safety near Big Flat, he joined the Union Army. Several of us drove up to the cemetery and walked it, looking through markers and cairns to locate Jody’s grave. Recently decorated during Memorial Day weekend, I felt the pride of this small community for its heritage. The older marker was laying flat on the ground with a newer smaller one at the head. Reaching to move the flowers so I could get a better photo, everyone jumped back at the site of a snake curled up there.
True to character, this small baby Timber Rattler remained calm to our wide eyed, rapid back stepping heart beating panic. While I snapped photos one of the men offered to ‘stretch him out’ so we could see how big he was. This angered the docile little snake who quickly coiled again and began darting his head at me. He was about a foot and a half long. I think. The Timber Rattlesnake is one of the most venomous snakes in Arkansas. Its habitat runs all the way to New Hampshire, where less than 25 are now known to exist. Considered an endangered snake it is protected in most states other than Arkansas and carries a huge penalty if killed. A shy snake they will not generally even move when encountered. Laying on a foot trail, they will remain still and often will not strike even if stepped on. Their primary food is rodents and birds. There is a balance in our ecosystem as these snakes, like the King and Black snakes, also eat other snakes. The venom of the rattler is meant to disable its prey. Slow to grow many reach as much as 5 ft in length and live 20-25 yrs. The females deliver live birth litters of 8-10 babies. Because these snakes lay motionless as a means of self protection, it also makes them incredibly vulnerable to humans, who in their fear, just want to kill them. Timber Rattlers den in the winter, but don’t really hibernate like most people believe. In the spring, they emerge from these underground tunnels, often old animal burrows to begin their basking in the sun and search for food. When out hunting for prey, they may travel as much as three miles. This travel makes them most vulnerable to humans as they are creatures of habit and where clear cutting of timber, construction of new homes and other actions by man change their topography they become confused and may end up in a flower bed near a house, a place normally they would never go.
People who kill these and other venomous snakes love to tell tales of how they saved the community from this serpent. As one entomologist says, “The logic of killing one of these snakes is about as reasonable for you to go out and destroy every knife and fork in your community due to the potential danger they hold.”
Babies are generally born in the winter in the dens in order to give them a period of growth before emerging into the thick forested, rocky terrains they call home. This baby Timber Rattler is distinguished by his button rattle that as yet can make no noise, and its large head compared to its neck diameter. Often known as the “Gentleman Caller” because they alert you that they are coming, the rattlesnakes are also one of the most feared and misunderstood snakes. Arkansas has a number of other poisonous snakes that unlike the Timber Rattler aren’t afraid of people. My niece Josie Phillips nearly died after having been bitten by a copperhead at a picnic table at Blanchard a few summers ago. Although rattlers have the worst reputation, they do not hang out near the water nor play dead. Nor will they open their mouths and lunge without provocation and they rarely even attempt to bite unless startled or harassed. They do not chase people and in fact will retreat quickly if allowed. Any story told of an aggressive rattler without provocation is merely a tale. Now, will they strike and try to defend themselves against a stick, shovel or hoe. This baby rattler was highly irritated at our prodding and efforts to ‘stretch him out’ to get a better photo. He had remained still when my fingers brushed against him as I removed the flowers. It was me the aggressor that wanted him to show his stuff. I don’t know the roll this snake plays in the ever tenuous environmental balance we live in, but I do know, not unlike the lengths to which a man will go seeking freedom when enslaved, this little snake was ready to fight the odds to survive.

Caption, Lower Right: EIC/ESC Crew at City Rock Bluff

Mountain Meadows Massacre - Kenneth Rorie

Mountain Meadows Massacre – Kenneth Rorie

By Freda Cruse Phillips & Bob Fleming

In 1845, Absalom Rorie and his family arrived in present day Stone County. Followed by friends and more family the community around “Mill Creek” (Middle Sylamore at Newnata) became a thriving community long before the Civil War. The Rorie’s built and operated a grist mill and a two story saw mill that in addition to producing the regions best wagons, provided white oak for barrels, bins and barns throughout the area. Kenneth Wayne Rorie, ggg-grandson of Absalom Rorie & Sarah Jane Elizabeth Meador, gg-grandson of Hezekiah Columbus Rorie & Louisa A. Ticer, g-grandson of Newton Monroe "Newt" Rorie and Sarah Beaver is the son of Eulis and Cleo Graddy Rorie. Eulis learned to make wagons from his father Newt. Kenneth learned as a young child how to guide a team, including the meaning and use of the words, Gee and Haw.
When the Baker family started making plans to go west to join the California Gold Rush, John Tweety Baker from Searcy County purchased wagons built by the Rorie’s knowing they would be the strongest and surest, able to make the torturous trek west from Arkansas. Outfitting a wagon suitable for a cross country trek was a special order, costing around $5,000, the “Aire Steams” of the 1850’s.
In March 1857, the Baker wagon train met up with other families from the area at Caravan Springs on Hiway 7 near Harrison to begin the journey. A monument stands at the site from which they departed. Squire Beaver, after whom Beaver Lake was named, operated a trading post in Carroll County where the wagon train made its last stop purchasing final supplies for the arduous trip.
On May 13, 1857, in Alma, Ark, Parley P. Pratt, one of the 12 Mormon apostles, was killed by Hector McLean. Pratt had usurped the marriage of McLean and his wife Eleanor, taking her as his 12th plural wife leading to an outraged McLean stabbing then shooting him. Pratt died 2 ½ hours later from loss of blood. Word arrived to Utah of the murder making Pratt yet another martyr to the Mormons, who had been chased out of both Missouri and Illinois. In 1838, the state of Missouri had issued Executive Order #44 also known as the extermination order which Gov. Boggs stated was a result of “open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made war upon the people of this State ... the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description.” This order was not formally lifted until 1976. The fiery rants of Brigham Young citing the on going persecution led him to declare martial law in Utah issuing a command that they would not provide any supplies to passers through, directing followers instead to cache supplies of food, grain and munitions in the hills and caves in order to fend off aggressors. It was in accordance with Mormon policy to hold every Arkansan accountable for Pratt's death, just as every Missourian was hated because of the expulsion from there.
The following is excerpted from depositions in the National Archives given by survivors, Martha Elizabeth Baker and her brother, William Twiddy Baker during the post Civil War investigation into the massacre; “My father (George), mother (Minerva Beller Baker), grandfather (John Twitty Baker), several uncles and aunts were among those killed.” “My brother, sister and I were kept in the family of John D. Lee,” leader of the Mormon sect who attacked the wagon train, “until the soldiers came a year later upon the insistence of families here, to retrieve the survivors.” “Only 17 children under the age of 8, who were deemed “too young to tell” were spared. The wagon train was under attack for 5 days.” “We ran out of water with people dying in the hot sun from thirst as much as from wounds. There really was no choice but to surrender to John Lee who said he had worked out with the attacking Indians to allow safe passage,” “but the men had to give up their guns. They loaded us children into a wagon.” Elizabeth recalled the last time she saw her mother alive was as she was being placed into a wagon. Seeing the men wash the Indian paint from their faces, they realized these were white men, dressed as Indians. But it was too late. Given a signal by Lee, the Mormon’s turned and shot each unarmed person with whom they were walking. More than 120 innocent men, women and children over 8 years old were killed. The survivors recalled seeing their mother’s dresses worn by the Mormon women, their daddy’s guns used by the men and Brigham Young himself riding around in one of the fine carriages” made by Absalom Rorie. When the soldiers came to retrieve the children over a year later, they found the remains of the slaughtered and stopped to bury the bodies that had been left exposed, ravaged by animals. Elizabeth, Sally Ann and William’s grandma Mary came from Arkansas to claim them.
In 1864, brothers, Andrew and Hezekiah Rorie were tortured and killed along with their father Absalom by Union soldiers who were looking for Confederate troops and the powder work munitions being made in the caves of Stone County. Hezekiah’s widow Lousia Ticer was left alone to raise their young children, Martha 4, Sarah 7 and Alan 11. Their four oldest children, sons, became men and heads of the house overnight, responsible for not only themselves but their siblings and mother. Their 18 year old son Newton “Newt” Monroe Rorie had become a skilled wagon maker. In 1869 he married Sarah Beaver, niece of Squire Beaver, who had supplied the Baker wagon train. Sarah Beaver Rorie lived to be over 100. She was the oldest person attending the 1941 Folk Festival at Blanchard where she sang and played, and won the hog calling contest. The desecration and irreverence of our nation’s history continues, from the horrendous unconscionable acts of bulldozing cemeteries to renaming roads, mountains and lakes. Squire Beaver’s trading post lay’s beneath Beaver Lake. Succumbing to political pandering Beaver Lake was recently renamed Hobbs Lake.
In 2006 the movie September Dawn was released. It tells the story of this shocking piece of our nation’s history and the lengths to which people will go when they are fighting for religious freedom. A full investigation into the massacre did not occur until after the Civil War. In 1879 John D Lee was tried, convicted and returned to the site of the massacre for hanging. It was no small footnote that the Pratt murder occurred on May 13, 1857 and the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the slaughter of Arkansas’ people in the Baker wagon train occurred just four months later on September 11.
***Bob Fleming completed the research and writing on this story on Saturday night May 22nd. He died the following morning. Born in 1946 to Beulah Bryce Fleming, he is the great grandson of early Mormon settler Ebenezer Bryce (1830-1913), of whom Utah’s Bryce Canyon is named. Bob was raised as a Mormon and served as a missionary in Brazil. He was a devoted member of this community, researching and writing and photographing people and places in an effort to preserve the history of Stone County. He will be greatly missed.

The Death of Peter Cornstalk III

The Death of Chief Peter Cornstalk (III)

By Freda Cruse Phillips

Ticks, chiggers and the possibility of snakes didn’t deter Cecila and me but the dead fall from last year’s ice storm did as we headed off to the base of the mountain at the back of her farm in Searcy County. We edged our way over rocks along the ledge searching for the rock box (cairn) the reported final resting place of Peter Cornstalk (III)/85. It’s difficult to sort out who is who in the Cornstalk family lineage because they were a polygamous clan of the Shawnee and Young Hokolesqua (1710-1777) the first “Peter” Cornstalk had at least 8 wives and possibly as many as 30 children. The lineage may be tedious to follow but three of his son’s are important to our local history; Young Peter (I) born 1744 by his 1st wife Helizikinopo and Peter (II) b. 1755 and John Wolf b. 1750 by his 2nd wife, Ounacona Moytoy. Young Hokolesqua Cornstalk of Chalakatha/Mekoche (Shawnee) lineage became Chief of the 20 tribe Northern Confederacy in the Ohio Valley in 1755 serving until his death in 1777. He was the first “Chief Peter Cornstalk”, given the name by whites due to his height of over 6 ft 6 and his flowing white hair, “Cornstalk”.

His son Young Peter (I)/44 married Elizabeth See, his adopted white sister, the daughter of Chief Peter’s 5th wife Catherine Vanderpool Sharp and Frederick See (Seay). Young Peter (I)/44 and Elizabeth had White Wing, b. 1770. She became the third wife of Tecumseh. Young Peter I/44 was Tecumseh’s father in law and Peter II/55 and John Wolf/50, White Wing’s uncles.

Chief Peter’s second wife was Ounaconoa Moytoy (1718-1758), mother of Black Beard born 1735, Black Wolf/41 John Wolf/50, Peter Jr (II)/55 and Susannah/57.

Black Wolf fathered a child with Jenny Sellard Wiley, captive white woman. She reportedly gave their son to Black Wolf as ransom to return to the whites. Then reported the Indians had tomahawked the child. That child is Chief John Black Wiley, Wiley’s Cove now Leslie, Arkansas.

Peter (II)/55 married Mary Francis Avery (Avey)/b. 1764, ½ white and half Shawnee who had been raised by Chief Peter’s 5th wife Catherine See (Seay). They had Peter/85.

John Wolf/50 married a Shawnee woman with whom he had a daughter, Black Poddee/85 and sons Henry Clay/90, John Wolf Jr/92 and Peter Wolf/94.

In 1826 at Norfork, Arkansas, Wolf House, John Wolf Cornstalk/92 married his second wife Nancy Jane Avey/05, the daughter of his cousin Chief Peter III/85 and wife Mary Frances Avey. John’s brother, Peter/94, married Mary Adams. Brothers, John/92 and Peter/94 took the names of their wives becoming John Avey and Peter Adams. Peter (Avey)/85, John (Avey)/92, Peter (Adams)/94 and Chief (John Black) Wiley/87, were grandsons of Young “Chief Peter Cornstalk”/1710. The Adams descendants reside primarily in Searcy and Marion County. It is the descendants of Peace Chief John Cornstalk born 1792 aka John Avey who we find in Stone County. He settled west of Mountain View, near Big Springs.

Of greater importance is the relationship created between the Moytoy’s and the Cornstalks with the marriage of Young “Chief Peter” Cornstalk to his second wife, Ounaconoa Muskrat Moytoy. Ounaconoa’s brothers and uncles were of the Principal Chiefs, members of the 1730 Delegation to King George II. Their portraits hang in the British Royal Museum in London. Ounaconoa‘s brother Fivekiller, a member of the delegation, married Tame Doe. Their daughters, Nancy Moytoy, Beloved Woman of the Cherokee, married Bryant Ward, and Elizabeth Kittegusta Moytoy married Chief John Walker. Caty Walker, grand daughter of Chief John and Elizabeth and niece of Ounaconoa and Chief Peter/1710, married David Fulks, the first of the Fulks to arrive in Arkansas along with Peter Cornstalk Jr (III Adams), John Wolf Cornstalk/92(Avey), Peter/94 and the Wards around 1820. Elias Fulks, son of David and Caty, married Martha Houston Grigsby, a cousin to brothers, General Sam Houston and John Paxton Houston, first clerk of Izard Co, buried at Athens, 3 miles south of Calico Rock. Although many Cherokee came through Arkansas on the Trail of Tears (1831-1838) these Shawnee and Cherokee came here voluntarily, were not assigned roll numbers and contrary to belief most did not leave when the 1817-1828 reservation ended. The Native Americans who moved here voluntarily were among the first to circumvent the U.S. patent laws by adopting the white man’s names and thus patenting land as such. It is the fear of the loss of their land that for years forced silence and denial of their ancestry upon the people who moved here.

Chief Peter (1794) settlement known as Sequatchee was located on Bear Creek in Searcy County. Some say the creek is named due to the abundance of bear in the area, while others say it is due to the fact it was the location of the Bear Clan of the Shawnee of whom Peter was Chief. Cecilia Wood who lives in Mountain View, was born and raised north of Marshall where she retains ownership of a portion of the former Shawnee land not far from Bear Creek. She is the descendant of Peter Adams Tyler, son of Baker Tyler and Agnes Adams. Peter Tyler married Eveline Minerva Price daughter of Elizabeth Brewer and Buck Price, believed to be a relative to John Price who settled Bull Pen Holler in Stone County around 1820 and the Brewers of west Stone County.

According to Shawnee Heritage by Don Greene, “In 1841 Chief Peter Cornstalk (Peter III/85) was killed in Kansas by Peter A. Tyler, a former family friend.” Both family and local stories report that while at a tribal gathering near where the Buffalo and White River’s converge, Chief Peter (III) became enraged when a child stepped on a stick at the fire circle flipping fire sparks onto him. Chief Peter (III) in anger struck the child killing him. Realizing what he had done he fled. On the decision of the convening chiefs, members of Chief Wiley’s clan (Wiley’s Cove, now Leslie, Arkansas) along with Peter Adams Tyler pursued Chief Peter (III) into Kansas.

The Adams family bible lists as brothers, Matthew and Robert Adams. Robert Jr. is the first white settler of Searcy County. Mary, Robert Sr’s daughter, married Chief Peter/94 in 1826 at Wolf House. Matthew’s daughter, Agnes Adams married Baker Tyler, parents of Peter Adams Tyler. Therefore Mary’s first cousin Agnes’ son, Peter Adams Tyler, killed Chief Peter Cornstalk (III/1785), the cousin of Mary’s husband “Chief Peter Cornstalk”/94.

Little is known as to what transpired that they did not bring him back alive other than Chief Peter (III) was killed by 18 year old Peter Adams Tyler. The body of Chief Peter (III/85) was brought back to the Bear Creek settlement for burial. He is reportedly buried in an above ground three sided rock box, cairn, at the face of the mountain overlooking Bear Creek Valley. Tyler’s Bend located on the Buffalo River, north of Marshall is named for the Tyler family. Peter Adams Tyler was one of the men marched to Little Rock in chains as a member of the Searcy County Peace Society which then included most of west Stone County. He died during the Civil War at Bowling Green, Ky.

Descendants of Chief Peter Cornstalk Adams, Chief John Wolf Cornstalk Avey, Walkers, Wards, Fulks, Grigsby, and many others continue to live in the White River Valley.

Please contact Freda at 870 213 5015 or fredacruse@yahoo.com if you have any information regarding Native American descendants

PHOTOS

Cecilia Wood on her farm near the burial site of Chief Peter Cornstalk (III)/85

Daniel Peter Avey (1858-1899), son of Jacob Avey (1835-1880). Jacob is the son of John Wolf Cornstalk (Avey)/92 and 2nd wife Nancy Avey/1805, married 1826 Wolf House.

Dulcie Avey Kirby holding the original photo of her grand father Daniel Peter Avey. Her father was his only son Charlie LeRoy “Lee” Avey. Dulcie is the “double” GGGG Grand daughter of Young Hokolesqua “Chief Peter” Cornstalk 1710-1777, Principal Chief 1757-1777 due to the marriage of cousins, John/92 and Nancy Avey/05

Bob Fleming 1946-2010: Partner with Freda Cruse Phillips and the EIC Crew in Preserving and Promoting the History and Heritage of White River Valley

Bob Fleming's passing was a complete shock to us all. Though I did not know him well personally, I had the pleasure of his company on a couple of occasions as we explored the White River Valley region with him and his fiance, Freda Phillips. While the pain of his early departure from this life runs deep with our blogging/exploring partner, Freda...the fact that I and the rest of the EIC/ESC Crew will not have the opportunity to get to know him better saddens me greatly.

He was a good companion for our dear friend and a welcome additional voice for our efforts at EIC and ESC.

Thank you, Bob, for your devotion to both Freda and the efforts to preserve our area history and culture!

Bob Fleming's Obituary is as follows:

Bob Fleming 1946-2010

Robert "Bob" Jarvis Fleming dedicated son of Beulah C. Fleming was pronounced brain dead on Monday May 24th 7:35 am following treatment for blood pressure at a West Plains, MO hospital and med flight to St. Johns in Springfield. He wa botn Jan 21, 1946 in Long Beach, CA. He served as a missionary for the Church of the Latter Day Saints in Brazil from 1965-1967. Bob attended both U.C.L.A. and Cal State Fullerton where he graduted in 1970 with a degree in English. He served his country as an officer during the Vietnam War in Germany from 1972 to 1975. Bob moved to the Ozarks of West Plains MO in 1976 and continued to operate Fleming Foto for 34 years, taking countless photographs of families and friends, and the mills of Southern Missouri which was his passion. Bob was a world traveler and loved sharing his treasured writings with friends and family. He enhanced his natural charisma with his love and passion for music and art. Bob's spirit will continue to thrive in the work he has left behind and the many lives he has touched all over the world. He was a vital part of the community of Mountain View. He had been working with Freda Cruse Phillips, interviewing, photographing and videotaping hundreds of musicians and people documenting and presering the history of the White River Valley. They had two major projects underway "Mountain Music Project" a photographic exhibit of Stone County musicians and "Places of Our People", the second book in their series, The Vanishing Ozarks. Bob was an organ donor. He was cremated and returned to Big Springs Cemetery in Caulfield Mo for a private graveside service May 27th. His extended family of friends in Stone County held a Memorial Service on Sunday May 30th in which Bob's military service was recognized with taps played by Court of Appeals Judge Jo Hart, Col. Judge Advocate General (ret), services conducted by David Campbell, arranged by Beverly Dunaway with music by John and Terri Van Orman and Connie and David Powell. Supreme Court candidate Karen Baker fought back tears as she spoke of the time and dedication Bob had given to her campaign without compensation. Although Bob can be seen everywhere in Mtn View, from photos at Country Time and Tres Amigos to the weekly articles he helped write, he was vital member of our community and he will be missed.

He is survived by his fiance, Freda Cruse Phillips, Mtn. View, Arkansas, Beulah Fleming, West Plains, MO, daughters Nicole Codling of Vermont, Cherice Togun of Florida and son Nathan Fleming of Caulfield, MO, former wife of 30 years, Arlene Arnold, five grandchildren, Hali Codling, Isabella, Issac and Carolina Fleming and Matheus Togun of whom he was immensely proud. He is preceded in death by his adopted father, Richard Fleming and his brothers, Stephen and Leo.

West Richwoods Schoolhouse

Pictured below is the West Richwoods School. The school, which has also served as a church as evidenced by the cross perched upon the belfry, was built in 1921 by Albert Huebbler, a craftsman of German descent who built several other structures in the county. It's design is set apart from other schools in the county by the "splayed entry" with double doors as opposed to the more common two-door configuration most common in the surrounding hills.

This one-room school building, which lies just off Highway 9 a few miles south of Mountain View, is in the old Richwoods community where Stone County's own Jimmy Driftwood was born and raised.

The site is listed in on the National Register of Historic Places.