Abandoned Place in Arkansas
On June 15, 1836, Arkansas joined the union as the 25th state. With a history going back over 185 years, plenty of events, memories, and ghost towns helped develop the territory into the state we know today. There are around 23 known ghost towns in Arkansas. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase granted the United States ownership of the land that includes present-day Arkansas. The economic downfall had an unfortunate hand in many towns being abandoned. In 1835, Arkansas had over 52,000 residents and met the minimum qualifications needed for admission into statehood. The following year, 1836, the Democratic party pushed for statehood before the presidential election that Autumn in hopes of an advantage for a Democrat win. President Andrew Jackson signed the Arkansas statehood bill into law that summer.
Bear, Arkansas
While maintaining its townsite location near Lake Ouachita, Bear was first established in Montgomery County before being rezoned to Garland County during the 1900s. Also known as Bear City, the town was named after Bear Mountain and began with only a post office in 1882. Two years later, in 1884, the first plat for the city was filed. Only a few homesteaders lived in the area when rumors of gold started to spread. By 1887, 35 mining companies were setting up in Bear. Two newspapers, Bear City Times and Arkansas Mining Journal, set up shop in the bustling town that had grown almost overnight from a few homesteads to nearly 5,000 people. Disappointment hit hard as the stories of gold turned from hope to speculation to scams. After the Geological Survey of Arkansas exposed the gold scams for what they were, many residents moved away. The families that chose to remain in Bear City continued to live off the land in a homesteading fashion. A school was built in 1906, and in 1930 a chair factory offered employment to a few individuals in the town. To this day, Bear continues to keep a small population.
Graysonia, Arkansas
The present-day ghost town of Graysonia was a thriving lumber town in its prime time. Now located on a dirt road locally known as “the middle of nowhere” with a few scattered structures throughout the vicinity of the townsite, at its peak, Graysonia was one of the main towns for lumber work and consistently kept over 1,000 full-time residents. The lumber town of Graysonia was named after William Grayson, one of the shareholders in the Arkadelphia Lumber Company. In 1902, Grayson made a joint decision with Nelson McCleod, another shareholder, to move company lumber operations along the Antoine River in southwest Arkansas. When the town was founded, it started with a population of only 350 people. As lumber demands increased through World War I, Graysonia became a leading hub for lumber operations and quickly grew in size and population. Arkadelphia Lumber Company employed more than 500 people and produced more than 150,000 feet of boards each day. In 1907, a water reservoir, firehouse, kilns, and the main mill house were built. Between 1909 and the 1930s, the Memphis, Dallas, and Gulf railroad ran through Graysonia.
Around 1915, the town consisted of hundreds of houses, small cafes, a hillside restaurant, three hotels, and multiple mills. By the 1920s, there was a movie theater, a school, a church, and even running water and electricity. The once-small town was well on its way to success. Unfortunately, being a company-owned town and the lumber company having a “cut and move” policy, once all the resources were used, the company moved on to its next location, leaving Graysonia to begin its downfall.
The company’s “cut and move” policy was not the only issue the town faced for any chance of survival. In 1929, the Great Depression was sweeping across the county. As much as the residents tried to hold on, Graysonia fell victim to other towns. As the lumber mills closed, some residents tried to find work at the Cinnabar mines, but mining operations were unsuccessful. Soon the city was abandoned. The lumber and logging equipment used in the town was moved to Delight, Arkansas, in 1937. The post office remained operational until its final days in 1950. The last resident of Graysonia moved away in 1951. Today, all left of the ghost town are foundations from some structures.
Rush, Arkansas
Rush had a significant role in railroad and infrastructure development during its time. Located in the North Arkansas Lead and Zinc District, Rush Creek mines were a major part of the zinc industry in the 1880s to 1940s.
Starting in the 1800s, Rush was a thriving community of homesteaders near the Buffalo National River. The former town was established on 1,300 acres in a historic mining district. As zinc ore was discovered in the Rush Valley, the mining boom took over, and by the 1890s, several homes, families, and businesses were trying to stake their claim at fortune. During World War I, Rush held a prominent role in railroad development. Several processing mills were dismantled and salvaged by World War II as the community tried to hold on a bit longer.
The post office stopped all operations in the 1950s and the residents who remained finally deserted the town in the 1960s. At its peak time, ten mining companies operated 13 mines. The setting of Rush today is the same as it was during its glory days. In its isolated part of the Ozark Mountains, Rush is seen as an abandoned town with buildings still erect, foundations, mines, and other ruins common to a mining town. In 1987, Rush was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
