Pea Ridge, Arkansas

Pea Ridge is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The name Pea Ridge is derived from a combination of the physical location of the original settlement of the town, across the crest of an Ozark Mountains ridge, and for the hog peanuts or turkey peas that had been originally cultivated by Native American tribes centuries before European settlement, which later helped to provide basic subsistence once those pioneer settlers arrived.

Pea Ridge, Arkansas
City
Location of Pea Ridge in Benton County, Arkansas.
Coordinates: 36°26′52″N 94°7′0″W
CountryUnited States
StateArkansas
CountyBenton
Area
 • Total7.12 sq mi (18.45 km2)
 • Land7.12 sq mi (18.45 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
1,289 ft (393 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total4,794
 • Estimate 
(2019)[2]
6,211
 • Density872.09/sq mi (336.71/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
72751
Area code(s)479
FIPS code05-54200
GNIS feature ID0077964
Websitecityofpearidge.com

The rural town is best known as the location of the pivotal American Civil War engagement the Battle of Pea Ridge, or, as it is locally known, the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, which took place approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of the town. The site of the battle is preserved as the Pea Ridge National Military Park.

The town's downtown business district is on the National Register of Historic Places and largely comprises commercial structures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The population of Pea Ridge was 4,794 at the 2010 census,[3] which was a 104.3 percent increase over the 2000 census number of 2,346. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The local weekly newspaper is the Times of Northeast Benton County.

History

Pre-pioneer history

While the official governmental history of Pea Ridge dates to the establishment of a post office in 1850, the area actually has a history of human habitation stretching back centuries prior.

Archeologists from the University of Arkansas have determined the first people to occupy the area were Bluff Dwellers or Rock Shelter Indians. By the artifacts, arrowheads, rock hammers, and crude knives which have been found, they can tell which native peoples were here first. They also note that for each period of time there was a vast improvement in their relics. During this time several families lived together because the caves or shelters under bluffs were larger. These shelters were always near to a clear spring of bubbling water.

Next came another group of Indians known as Mound Builders. The Mound Builders were more prevalent in the area, although many of the mounds were destroyed by early white settlement, by either not knowing their significance, or by cultivating the ground in such a manner that would level them out. It was indicated that these Indians were a fun-loving people. They loved to hunt, fish and even to put out gardens in the summer. This may have been because the sparse population allowed them to not need to be over-protective of their hunting grounds. Archeologists report that pieces of pottery unearthed from the mounds were not only skillfully produced, but beautifully decorated; revealing an artistic flair and skill much improved compared to the Bluff Dwellers.

It is not known exactly how long the Native Americans who occupied the area that became northwest Arkansas were here before the westward expansion of European settlers arrived. But it is known that the Osage Indians were roaming on lands north of the Arkansas River. They were roving bands, very venturesome, and known to delight in making war on their neighbors. The Quapaw tribe also roamed northwest Arkansas. They were a fearless, happy people who were more settled than the Osage. They loved fishing, hunting and a more peaceful way of life, unlike the fighting Indians. From the makeup of the Pea Ridge area, it is thought that it fits the mold of the Quapaw Indian. It is known that the tribes of this area were more settled and were actually farmers in their way. The town's namesake wild peas are believed to be a product of this early farming, since it would have taken many years of preparation and cultivation to produce them.[4]

White settlement

White settlers first began staking claims in the Pea Ridge area during the decade prior to Arkansas statehood in 1836 and continued through the 1850s. The official history of the town dates to August 6, 1850, when its first post office was established. The town was laid out by Robert Carroll Foster, with Robert H. Wallace serving as the first postmaster. At first, the town's name was one word, Pearidge, but it soon was changed to two.

Prior to the American Civil War, area roads were few and undeveloped. Access from other regions was by horseback, wagon, or stagecoach on what became known as Old Wire Road, after the US Army ran a telegraph line from St. Louis, Missouri, to Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1859. In the late 1830s, the Trail of Tears, over which many Cherokee and other tribes moved on their way to Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory reservations, formed part of the roadway that would later be the Wire Road.[5]

The settlement which became Pea Ridge began at the western edge of the original town site, near a spring that provided a water supply. Foster is thought to have built the first house at Pea Ridge and also established the first store, across the trail from his house. As streets were formed, the original main street began at the Foster Store and extended three blocks east.

Early settlers to the area included the Fosters, Pratts, Misers, Mahurins, Pattersons, Lees, Marshes and Morgans. The Foster family was settled east of town and just west of Little Round Mountain. The first skirmish of the Battle of Pea Ridge was fought mostly on the Foster farm. The Pratts also settled near the Elkhorn Mountain at what is now known as Winton Springs.

George W. Miser was in Arkansas when the treaty with the Indians was signed in 1826. He staked out a large spring southwest of Pea Ridge. He eventually acquired 1,460 acres (5.9 km2) in the Pea Ridge area. George Miser started a Methodist church, school, and campground near the big Miser Spring. It was burned down by Union soldiers and never rebuilt. George W. Miser and his wife bought the ground for his nephew, Rev. Elijah H. Buttram, to build the Buttram's Chapel and School. Buttram was a circuit-riding Methodist minister who was instrumental in organizing Buttram's Chapel and School in 1860 east of Pea Ridge. While the church and school no longer exist, the spot is marked by the still-in-use Buttram's Chapel Cemetery, where many of the town's pioneers and their descendants are buried.

William Ruddick was also in this area when the treaty was signed in 1826. He staked out a spring near what is now the Elkhorn Tavern, and then returned to his home in Illinois. In 1832 he moved his family to Arkansas, built a log cabin near the big spring, and later built the first Elkhorn Tavern. Twelve Corners Baptist Church, recognized as one of the oldest continuously operating Baptist churches in Benton County, was started in the log cabin home of William Ruddick.[6]

Brothers Amzi, Horace H. and John R. Patterson settled in Pea Ridge with their families and elderly parents, William and Elizabeth Patterson, around 1850 from Tennessee. Descendants of this family would play an influential role in the early growth of the town, with family members running the bank, building a large portion of the downtown business district, playing an active role in local churches, serving in local offices, and representing the area in the state legislature. The Patterson Cemetery, where several generations of the family are buried, in the eastern section of the town, marks the location of the family's original settlement site.

Pea Ridge settlers were mostly farm families. Early farms usually focused more on supplying family needs and less on production of crops for market. Most families kept livestock, raised large gardens, and harvested wild berries, such as the plentiful blackberries. As community life developed, farm families could market corn, oats, wheat, tobacco, butter and cream, eggs and meats. After 1881, with the building of the railroad through nearby Garfield and Avoca, and with the rise of the new city of Rogers (all in Benton County), the area's apple industry grew quite strong, supplying an economic boon to Pea Ridge and the county during the late nineteenth century and into the 1920s.[5]

Civil War
Main article: Battle of Pea Ridge

Old Wire Road, which took its name from the telegraph lines running beside it after 1860, passed through the area 5 miles (8 km) east of Pea Ridge, providing a connection north to Springfield, Missouri, and south to Fayetteville (Washington County) and Fort Smith (Sebastian County). Before 1881, mail for Pea Ridge was dropped at Elkhorn Inn and Tavern, a stagecoach stop, and carried to the town by horseback, buggy, or wagon. The Butterfield Company bought the stage line in 1858, making the road part of the Butterfield Overland Mail trail reaching west to California.

On March 7–8, 1862, the fields around Pea Ridge Mountain and Elkhorn Tavern were the site of the Battle of Pea Ridge during the Civil War. The battle raged between 16,000 Confederate troops led by General Earl Van Dorn and 10,500 Union troops led by General Samuel R. Curtis. This was the largest Civil War engagement west of the Mississippi River and is credited with preserving Missouri for the Union. Pea Ridge National Military Park, on the battlefield site, was created by the United States Congress in 1956 and dedicated in 1963.

Although the town of Pea Ridge did not suffer significant physical damage in the war, the times were hard. As a seceded state, Arkansas officially supported the Confederacy, but the support was not unanimous in northwest Arkansas. Some families with roots in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio held Union sympathies. Movement of military units through the area brought instability and insecurity as control shifted many times. Raids by "bushwhackers" made the times dangerous and frustrating.[5]

Educational history
The 1880 Pea Ridge Masonic College building as it appeared in 1920, about ten years before it was razed

The first known school to operate at Pea Ridge was the Shelton Academy, opened in 1851 with a Professor Lockhart as teacher. For unknown reasons (possibly low enrollment and inadequate funds), the school closed in 1858. In 1874, Reverend Elijah Buttram opened a school at Buttram's Chapel outside town, with Professor John Rains Roberts as principal. After five years, the school, sponsored by the Masonic lodge, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and local patrons, was moved into Pea Ridge where, in 1880, a two-story brick schoolhouse was erected. The school was granted a charter as an academy in 1884, and in 1887–88, the building was enlarged to accommodate 250 pupils. Professor Roberts directed the academy until 1894. Nannie Roberts, his sister, devoted her long career to teaching younger pupils at Pea Ridge Academy and later in the public school. By 1914, the academy was known as the Pea Ridge Masonic College. It operated until 1916, offering elementary, high school, and college-level instruction. Then, as community sentiment favored forming a public school system, the college was closed, and the property deeded to the Pea Ridge Public School. In 1930, the school district dismantled the college building and constructed a one-story building on the site. Principal Joe Roulhac, a noted local educator and carpenter, supervised the design and construction. Extra wings were added in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This community landmark, which housed the entire school before 1948, served as home of the Pea Ridge High School until 2001, when a new high school complex was completed on West Pickens Road. The 1930 building was finally razed in March 2005 after estimated costs to update the aging building to current school standards, or to convert it to other community uses, were determined to be prohibitive.[5]

Commerce history
Downtown Pea Ridge looking east on Pickens Road in 1914. The white structure at the end of the street was a hotel operated by the Martin family, which burned down around 1920.

The Bank of Pea Ridge, incorporated in 1911, was one of only two banks in Benton County that did not fail during the Great Depression. This success is largely attributed to then Bank President W. T. Patterson's contribution of his own wealth into the bank's coffers, thus keeping it solvent. After 57 years in its original downtown location, the bank moved in 1968 to a new facility at Curtis Avenue and Leetown Road, where the new town center was developing. During the last quarter of the 20th century, the bank's ownership changed several times. It currently operates as Arvest Bank of Pea Ridge. W.T. Patterson, a descendant of the early Patterson settlers, served as the bank's second president for more than 50 years, not retiring until he was well into his 90s. His antique wall clock is still a feature in the current bank building. The Pea Ridge Community Library occupies the original 1911 bank building downtown.[5]

The original J.J. Putnam's general merchandise store, which later burned down and was replaced with a cement block building, which still stands on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue. This photo antedates 1914.
The cement block building that replaced J.J. Putnam's first general merchandise store, which burned, on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue in 1914.

Through the years, many businesses have come and gone in Pea Ridge, such as the Pea Ridge Canning Company, which long canned tomatoes under various brands. The building was destroyed by fire in January 1977, and the plant never reopened. The J.J. Putnam general merchandise store operated for many years on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue, first in a wooden structure that burnt down prior to 1914 and then in a replacement cement block building, which still stands. The Stroud family opened their first retail business in Pea Ridge, co-owned by Allen Bryant Stroud (1831–1914) and his son Harlan Lafayette (H.L.) Stroud (1858–1950). In 1884, H.L. Stroud sold his interest in the Stroud store in Pea Ridge and purchased a dry goods store in Rogers, which would be named Stroud's Mercantile and become a regional institution, remaining in business until 1993. In 1930, major league baseball pitcher Pea Ridge Day, built the Day's Place filling station at the main downtown intersection. This structure, built of native rough stone in an attractive design, with its small adjacent park area and shaded "loafer's benches", gave an appealing picturesque flavor to downtown Pea Ridge. It was finally removed in 1990 to make room for an expanding building materials business. Two early newspapers also operated in the town, the Pea Ridge Advertiser, which was founded by I.H. Baxter in 1905 and folded about a year later, and the Pea Ridge Pod, which had a national reputation for its homespun and witty content, was established by William Baxter in 1913 and moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas in 1916 before folding the following year. One of Pea Ridge's most enduring businesses has been Webb's Feed and Seed, established in the 1930s by Hugh and Nell Webb. As a farm supply store and poultry production firm, Webb's was influential, especially in the 1940s, in greatly expanding the local broiler industry. The store, now owned and operated by Fred and Mabel Webb McKinney, continues in its original location on East Pickens downtown. Pea Ridge City Hall occupies a restored historic 1920s building at 227 East Pickens, previously the site of cafes, markets, and medical offices.[5]

World War II to present

The years after World War II brought major changes. In 1945, rural electricity was extended to the farms around Pea Ridge. City water and fire departments were initiated in the early 1950s. Televisions began appearing in homes circa 1951. By 1954, the Pea Ridge Telephone Company had extended service to most rural homes in the school district. In place of the disappearing apple orchards, large poultry farms appeared, as did modern dairy farms and beef cattle operations. The formation of Beaver Lake on the White River enhanced the area's tourist and retirement attractions and provided abundant water supplies for Pea Ridge and other area cities.

As a result of these new economic opportunities, the population of Pea Ridge has grown steadily. The town is still largely residential, with a variety of service businesses and several busy cabinet shops and small construction firms. Many residents are employed at large industrial and commercial firms in Rogers and Bentonville, so the Pea Ridge economy is closely tied to the economic life of the larger area.[5]

Geography

Pea Ridge is located in northern Benton County at 36°26′52″N 94°7′0″W (36.447822, -94.116691).[7] Arkansas Highway 94 is the main road through the city, leading south 8 miles (13 km) to the center of Rogers and northwest 6 miles (10 km) to the Missouri border. Arkansas Highway 72 leads east 5 miles (8 km) to U.S. Route 62 at Pea Ridge National Military Park, and southwest 9 miles (14 km) to Bentonville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.1 km2), all land.[3]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
194072—
1950268272.2%
196038041.8%
19701,088186.3%
19801,48836.8%
19901,6208.9%
20002,34644.8%
20104,794104.3%
Est. 20196,211[2]29.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

As of the 2010 Census, Pea Ridge had a population of 4,794. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 90.7% white, 0.7% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 2.0% from two or more races and 5.8% Hispanic or Latino.[9]

There were 1300 households, out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,244, and the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median income of $29,340 versus $21,298 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,149. 7.7% of the population and 6.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

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References
  1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Pea Ridge city, Arkansas". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  4. "Who Lived in Our Area Before Our Ancestors Came?", Pea Ridge Historical Society Newsletter, January 2006, http://www.prark.org/nws.htm
  5. Nichols, Joe Jerry. Pea Ridge (Benton County), The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
  6. "Some of Our Early and Legendary Settlers of the Outlying Districts of Pea Ridge", Pea Ridge Historical Society Newsletter, January 2006, http://www.prark.org/nws.htm
  7. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  9. 2010 general profile of population and housing characteristics of Pea Ridge from the US census
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