Bearden High School - Bear Echo Yearbook (Bearden, AR)

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CHAPTER I BEARDEN BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN by Florence Bethea 1Bearden was laid out by the Southwestern Improvement As SOCIHIIOH fthe Rallway Land Cob ln 1882 and namedlnhonor of Judge John T Bearden thexr attorney for the company The plot embraced both sxdes of the track w1th the mam street north of the track The fxrst cars arrlved 1n July 1882 Durmg the years E W Norman opened the fxrst permanent store and was soon followed by T S wrglnton and W M Gatlrng The growth has been gradual smce ln 1889 Dr T J Henry led 111 a movement of business south of the track but the mam busmess 15 st1l1 north yet The populatlon lS between 250 and 300 Th1s lb the seat ofthe Cotton Belt Lumber Company whlch employs about 100 men and has a fourmlll tram way They have a small commercxal school and the only secret order IS the Masons The Bearden Banner founded by Jack Ofterlee 1n 1889 lb now edlted by Oscar Lmdsey 2 The early settlement of Bearden and surroundmg country lS not unl1ke that of many other countrxes where ploneers went to a new land and a new country and where these ploneers saw VISIOHS of the future greatness of the country 1n whlch they became c1t1zens It 1s largely the same story over and over agaln of the settlement of the Umted States and lts advancement westward by the hardy adventurous ploneerxng qnrlt that prevalled Ill the yesterdays and to some extent contmues among our own people One of the oldest settlements m the state was that of Holly Sprmgs n1ne mlles north and west of Bearden Long before the ra1lr0ad bu11t 1nto that sect1on of the country another town was started a mile from the present town of Bearden It was called Gatlm and located on the old Pxne Bluff and Camden hlghway Here a store was bullt Ln the same v1c1n1ty some fellow was operatlng a d1st111ery a school house was erected and the surroundmg country was belng settled by prosperous farmers In the year 1885 the flrst bxg event rn the career of the new c1ty struggllng along for lts exxstence m the thlck ofthe pmey woods came In that year the Cotton Belt Lumber Company located tnexr mammoth plant here w1th m11ls planmg mxlls commlssary general offlces and a tlmber supply that was to keep the mlll Lnoperatlon Footnotes 1B1ograph1ca1 H1stor1a1 Memors Southwestem Arkansas P 641 from copy of publlcatlon belongmg to Mrs W H CBessj Brooks ZTaken from an article 1Il Bearden Banner Sept 10 1931 13 . - 1 Q y ' J I 4 , . - g 1 1 ,. . - 1 , . . - , . . . , . , . - J , . rl - r Y . x 1 A 9 . - Q 2 I 1 , . . 1 1 1 . . . . . ' ' rr n I ' I