Wealthy Mountain is a small residential space that’s half of a bigger, 200-square-mile tract of land that lies within the Ouachita Mountains and spans the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line. The identify Wealthy Mountain applies to the mountain (which, at 2,681 toes above sea stage, ranks as Arkansas’ second-highest peak) and the Polk County group at its northern base. Whereas few folks reside locally within the twenty first century, the affect of the identify can nonetheless be seen in space establishments.
In 1820, the US gave the Choctaw tribe the a part of the Arkansas Territory that included Wealthy Mountain. The boundaries of the Choctaw land have been altered in 1825 to mirror the boundary between Arkansas and Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) and once more between 1831 and 1833.
The earliest white settlers went to Wealthy Mountain within the 1850s and 1860s. These settlers traveled to Wealthy Mountain for 3 principal causes: the wealthy soil, which was helpful for rising greens; the spring water and mountain air, believed by settlers to be therapeutic in nature; and other people’s need to reside at larger elevations as a result of prevalence of malaria and tuberculosis in lowlands of Louisiana and Texas, the river bottoms of Arkansas and the southeastern portion of Indian Territory. A retailer, blacksmith store and moonshiner’s nonetheless sprang up throughout this time.
In 1875, William A.J. Beauchamp took a printing press to the mountain, the place he later revealed the Mountain Sign, Polk County’s first newspaper. The primary problem was revealed in 1877, and it ran for seven years, printing new editions solely when adequate information justified a problem. Beauchamp left Wealthy Mountain in 1884 after printing the story of an area homicide, because the folks named within the article threatened to kill Beauchamp and his total household. He deeded his actual and private property to his son, E. Louis E. Beauchamp, and returned to Texas, the place he operated a sawmill on the Neches River.
Though it had a publish workplace as early as 1878, Wealthy Mountain formally grew to become a city in 1890. The identical yr, A.Y. Hays and M.M. Triplett deeded one acre of land to be used as a cemetery and mixture church and college. About 4 years later, Arthur Stilwell — a Kansas Metropolis, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (KCP&G) government — traveled to Europe to safe funding for a railroad that may lengthen to the deep-water ports of the southern United States. He discovered success within the Netherlands, the place he secured $3 million in funding to construct the railroad. In 1897, Stilwell introduced {that a} resort, Mount Mena, could be constructed on the mountain’s peak. Moreover, a street could be constructed from the KCP&G station to the brand new inn.
The inn opened on June 22, 1898, below the identify Wilhelmina Inn in honor of the queen of the Netherlands. By 1900, Stilwell misplaced management over development of the railroad, and KCP&G grew to become Kansas Metropolis Southern (KCS). This led to the decline of the Wealthy Mountain group. By 1905, the inn and a whole lot of tons inside the group had been disposed of by a lottery, with possibilities bought for $30 every. Some 3,000 folks attended the drawing, with E.A. Cotham of Monticello successful the inn. It closed completely in 1910 and fell into disrepair.
Homestead at Wealthy Mountain (Polk County); 1937 (Courtesy of the Butler Heart for Arkansas Research, Central Arkansas Library System)
In April 1921, the U.S. Forest Service constructed trails to the mountain’s peak, which created scenic views accessible to most people. The positioning grew to become Queen Wilhelmina State Park in March 1957 by state laws, and in 1959, work started on a second lodge, utilizing the ruins of the primary inn as its base. The inn formally reopened on June 22, 1963, 65 years after the grand opening of the primary inn. This, mixed with official naming of the Talimena Scenic Drive in 1966, introduced vacationers again to the Wealthy Mountain group.
The second lodge was destroyed by hearth in November 1973, and a 3rd inn was constructed in 1974–1975. The present lodge, park and scenic byway take guests to the realm every year. Vacationers and locals alike get pleasure from tenting, climbing, strolling within the park and consuming on the Queen’s Restaurant.
Whereas the earliest financial exercise within the space revolved across the railroad, practically all trade locally within the twenty first century pertains to tourism and the hospitality trade. College of Arkansas Wealthy Mountain, which started providing courses in 1975 below the identify Wealthy Mountain Vocational-Technical Faculty, takes its identify from the mountain. — Mysti L. Gates
This story is customized by Man Lancaster from the net Encyclopedia of Arkansas, a undertaking of the Central Arkansas Library System. Go to the positioning at encyclopediaofarkansas.internet.
