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The northeastern Arkansas town of Ash Flat is a significant agricultural,
medical, and retail district serving the needs of Sharp County since 1856.
Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood
The area that
would become Ash Flat was first settled by farmers in the 1820s, when Arkansas
was still a territory. After the state was admitted to the Union in 1836, the
Ash Flat area was located within Lawrence
County. The community emerged as an important agricultural trading center,
and in 1856, the town of Ash Flat was founded when a U.S. post office was built.
A group of local residents, led by postmaster James McCord, chose the name Ash
Flat because of a nearby grove of ash trees.
Civil War through the Gilded Age
Arkansas’s secession
from the union in May 1861 was greeted with enthusiasm by Ash Flat citizens, who
supported the Confederacy. The only significant engagement in Sharp County took
place in the early 1864, when the Third Missouri Confederate Cavalry defeated a
unit of Union cavalry near Martin’s Creek. As the population of northeastern
Arkansas increased after the Civil War, Ash Flat was carved from Lawrence County
and made a part of the newly formed Sharp County in 1868.
Isolated from Arkansas’s major commercial centers, Ash Flat evolved into an
important trading destination for the surrounding farm communities. Ash Flat
reportedly had, in 1871, a population of 150 people, as well as a blacksmith
shop, three stores, two saloons, and a cotton gin. Thomas V.
Stephens and R. J. Wilson put the cotton gin near Big Creek so the oxen that
turned the tread wheel could have access to fresh water.
By 1889, Ash Flat’s business interests had expanded to include a
saddle-making operation, a grist and flour mill, a drug store, a hotel, and a
sawmill. The town also had two churches and one physician, as well as Eastern
Star and Masonic lodges. In addition to cotton farming, Ash Flat also
experienced an increase in lumber production as the
nineteenth century ended. Despite the increase in trade, the population of Ash
Flat expanded to a mere 200 people by 1889.
Early Twentieth Century
As the twentieth century began,
citizens of Ash Flat recognized the need to provide their young people with
better educational opportunities. Local citizens W. E. Brawley, J. R. Garner, L.
D. Phillips, and R. E. Sample each donated $500 to the town for the construction
of a high school. Ash Flat’s first high school, known locally as “The College,”
opened its doors in 1905.
By the late 1930s, Ash Flat remained a small but vital agricultural community
with a population of 500. The town’s two most important businesses continued to
be the cotton gin and mill, which serviced nearby farmers. Other major
businesses in 1938 included a hotel, a gas station, a drug store, and six
dry-goods stores. Social life in Ash Flat revolved around its distinctive stone
schoolhouse and its three churches. The majority of Ash Flat citizens belonged
to Baptist, Church of
Christ, or Methodist
congregations.
World War II through Modern Era
For more than seventy
years, Sharp County had two county seats, one in Hardy and the other in Evening
Shade. In 1967, the Arkansas General Assembly abolished the dual county
locations, and Ash Flat was designated the seat of government for the combined
county. The relocation of the county seat improved overall business conditions.
Ash Flat also benefited economically from tourism to the Spring
River area, although it does not have any resort communities like nearby Cherokee
Village (Sharp County) and Hardy (Sharp
County). Despite the benefits derived from tourism and the operations of the
courts, Ash Flat’s economy suffered as agriculture declined in
the 1960s. According to the 2000 census, household income for Ash Flat residents
was a mere $16,797, compared to the Arkansas average of $32,182. Also, the
unemployment rate was 7.2 percent in 2002. Despite economic decline, Ash Flat
has emerged as an important medical community, with several home health services
and nursing homes. In addition, Ash Flat is home to the Sharp County Regional
Airport. However, one aspect of Ash Flat’s economy has not changed. The town
remains a vital retail center with several stores—including Family Dollar,
Sears-Roebuck Company, and Wal-Mart—that meet the
consumer needs of area residents. In this way, twenty-first-century Ash Flat
operates much as it did when it was founded in 1856.
Education, Industry, Attractions, and Famous Residents
In
addition to its important contributions to Arkansas agriculture, Ash Flat also
produced a noted educator and a renowned athlete. Born in 1906 in Ash Flat,
David W. Mullins served as president of the University of Arkansas
(UA) in Fayetteville
(Washington County) from 1960 to 1974. Another Ash Flat native made
important contributions to major league baseball. Left-handed pitcher Charles Elwin “Preacher”
Roe, born in 1915, won 127 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn
Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals between the years 1938 and 1953.
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(42.2%)
(57.8%)
46.8 years
36.0 years
and/or