The town of Bald Knob is located about eleven miles west of White River in the middle eastern part of White County, Arkansas. The town is on what is commonly known as the hill line, the White River Valley flood plain to the east and south, the foothills off the Ozark Plateau to the west and north.
Points of Interest
One point of interest in Bald Knob is Arkansas Traveler Hobbies, which is housed in the old Missouri Pacific Railroad depot at 400 E Market Street.
Here Comes the Train:
In 1881 a section house was built at Bald Knob, with Stephen Neal overseeing it. The section house brought more new families to the area, since it was a fairly permanent job. Another interesting sidelight of the Bald Knob-Memphis Railroad was the check for $1,500,000 which Jay Gould wrote on January 4, 1887, to pay for the building of the road. The Memphis Daily Avalanche reported it was the largest check written up to that time.
By 1900, Bald Knob was a booming railroad town.
In and around 1950's Bald Knob was a busy railroad center, with between 40 and 50 trains passing through in a 24 hour period.
Jeff Tackett was one of those railroad workers who knew he had a good job, and appreciated it. He did a good job for the company and stayed with it from 1924, until his death in 1965. His last 20 years was at Bald Knob as a ticket agent.
The Big Rock Gives Birth to a Town
The big mass of layered sandstone rock that stuck up out of the ground was described by some people as being beautiful; some said it was fairly flat on top, and that it was about an acre big, and it was round. We have described it as resembling a giant wash tub that had been turned upside-down and partially buried, partially sticking up out of the ground. This rock was south of Highway 367, behind the antique and fur buying place operated by Marvin Pearrow.
The coming of the railroad in 1873 had ended the isolation of the community and connected it with the rest of the world. Railroad officials were getting ready to undertake the mammoth job of putting rock under and around the miles of new railroad tracks.
Sometime between January of 1876 and February of 1878 the area arond the big rock came to life. The quarry workers brought the town to life and the town came into being very quickly booming town.
Most of the settlers who lived here lived out to the north and northwest of the rock; Shady Grove community centered around where the cemetery is now.
Bald Knob's namesake was a huge, somewhat round rock out-cropping which covered nearly an acre of ground. It was surrounded by a flat rock shelf and could be seen from quite a distance. It was a landmark for many years before it was quarried and used in the construction of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
Legend has it that Hernando De Soto, during his explorations of the Mississippi River Valley in 1541, discovered and named this large rock mound "Bald Knob." It was used by Indians before the coming of the white man as a camping ground during their hunting trips up and down the White River Valley. Later it was used by marauding outlaw bands and slave traders. Cattlemen used the area to assemble their herds for salting, branding and selling after the stately rock was quarried. Today, the quarry remains very much as it was 125 years ago. Several businesses are located around its perimeter. The original top shelf rock remains in only one area which is between V.M.&J. Fur and Jiffy Jerry's. A marker has never been established at this historic site to this day.
Businessess
Most of the first businesses were boarding houses and hotels which provided lodging for the quarry workers. The first one believed to have been operated by an Irishman, J.H. McNeal and Sarah his wife.
B.H. Lumpkin's Planter's Hotel also on Front Street to the southwest of Main. B.J. bought this in around 1882 and the value was $350.00.
The founder of J. Collison Company, June Collison, proved that in America you can make good, no matter how humble your beginning--if you work hard, use good common sense and strive to get ahead. Around 1896 Jim went to work on the railroad and soon left to work for B.F. Brown as a bookkeeper. They became partners and opened a mercantile store and cotton gin. In 1902 Jim married Donna Watson; they had three children, Joe, Helen and William. In 1908, Jim bought out B.F. and continued in the business.
Jim passed away in 1944, when his estate wa settled in 1951, William took over the hardware and furniture business. William's son Billy came to the company in 1958. A stable, successful company has evolved from Jim's humble beginning--a company that has been an important part of White County's farming industry for 92 years.
The Berry Shed
Bald Knob and the surrounding area soon became known as "The Strawberry Center of the World." Truck and train car loads of this highly sought after commodity were shipped from the Waller Family Strawberry Market for several years. Other states found they could grow them earlier, but none could grow them any sweeter.
The Strawberry Company was formed in 1921. B.W. Brown., J. Collison and E.R. Wynn were involved with that group. The longest strawberry shed in the world, 3/4-mile long, was built alongside the railroad tracks, and Bald Knob gained the title of "Strawberry Capital of the World."
POST OFFICE
On February 18, 1878, Lunsford Worthington made an application for a post office in the village of Bald Knob, listing about 150 families in the area to be served. Mr Worthington did notkeep the post office very long; and by 1879 Stephen Neal was Postmaster, along with operating the section house for the railroad. The Parham family has been associated with the post office for several years. Joe Parham retired in 1979 after 34 years of service, added to the years his brother and uncle served, made a total of 92 years' service.
1925
Wars
We know that there were several men from the community who went to battle, and many verterans, both from North and South.
Many, many houses in Bald Knob had stars in their windows in the early 40's; each star represented a loved one in the armed forces.
One of the families who had more than one son in the war was the Heard family, whose four sons, Neal, William, Robert and Harold all served.
1952 Tornado
March 21, 1952, the angry, greenish-black clouds virtually destroyed Judsonia, then churned and twirled along Highway 67 to Bald Knob about 5:40. it cut a path from near the railroad tracks to the northern edge of the town. The wind wa 300-miles-per-hour, electrical wires snapped and popped and flashed with blue fire. Hundred were injured: 71 homes in town were demolished and dozens more damaged, including a number of businesses. The school plant was damaged so badly that it had to be rebuilt and school was turned out for the rest of the year.
Schools
