Yesterday and Today : Early Benton County pioneers were creative and industrious
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
In looking around for information on the history of the Benton County Fair, I came upon some quite surprising, at least surprising to me, information on the agricultural history of the county. Thinking that this might be of interest to our readers, I have tried to weave together my findings. Benton County has not always been the chicken-growing mecca that we have grown accustomed to in the past 50 years.
The native Indians probably grew tobacco, corn, squash, beans, potatoes, tomatoes and sunflowers. The sunflowers were perhaps grown for their tasty seeds and for their tasty tubers called Jerusalem artichokes. By the time the first white people arrived in the county they, too, had learned to grow these staple food crops.
Along with these crops, the first white farmer also grew some corn for meal and wheat for flour. Though he had probably not yet realized the value of grinding the cotton seed into feed for the milk cow, that early farmer perhaps grew a few rows of cotton to spin and weave into clothing. He kept a few sheep for spinning wool and maybe grew some flax for making linen thread. I inherited a family coverlet that appears to have either linen or cotton thread along with wool thread. Family tradition says that all of the materials in this coverlet were grown and processed by Jane Potter Miser (1819-1907 ) and her daughter, Sarah Miser Buttram, (1846-1922 ) for Sarah to weave into the coverlet.
Northwest Arkansans have sometimes been accused of thinking that they lived in a state other than Arkansas. When we look at the history and success of these Arkansans in growing the most and the best of many crops we might be tempted to say "Well, … "Agricultural statistics, such as were kept for the 19 th Century, prove the first part of that statement to be true. The commercial success is proof of the second part.
History shows that as time passed, the Benton County farmers and businessmen successfully promoted and grew almost every known crop. The need for cash crops is first noted in about 1840 when the farmers were growing tobacco to sell. It is said that the quality of the tobacco grown in Benton County was better than the tobacco grown in Kentucky. The war years from 1861 to 1864 brought the growth of agriculture to a halt with very little of any kind of farming taking place. But by 1870 the farmers had cleaned their fields and had replanted their crops.
Several different tobacco leaf types were by then being grown with Benton County always having the best and highest quality. Wheat, oats, sorghum molasses made from cane, hops, hemp, flax and cotton also became important cash crops with, again, Benton County usually growing the most and the best of any county in Arkansas.
An Indian woman is supposed to have planted the first apple tree and developed the first apple orchard in Benton County beginning in about 1840. Peaches, strawberries and other fruit crops for both home use and as a cash crop were in abundance by 1890. Noted, too, by the 1890 s, the sale hogs, poultry and poultry products had become an important agricultural addition as cash income. More next week on the growth of the apple industry in Benton County. An addendum here. The raccoons of peach devilment fame are back. This time they are after the water in Edgar's rain gauge. The gauge bracket is simple one screw with a slip on bracket. Edgar says he will add another screw in an attempt to outwit the rascals. Anybody want to place a bet ? Are you betting on Edgar or the raccoons ?
Editor's note: Helen Pitts Arnn, the sister of long-time TIMES columnist Joe "Pea Patch"Pitts, writes her recollections of growing up in the Pea Ridge / Garfield area.
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