Mock Park – The Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his men were the first white Europeans in present day Arkansas in 1541, and may havecome through this area. The plaque tells of Spanish coins being found in the spring but I’ve never been able to find any more information about them. Prior to the arrival of white settlers in the early 1800s, this region was home to the Osage and Cherokee tribes. Several of the very first white men to stay in the area for a time were Thomas Wagnon and brothers James and Isaac Marrs. They stayed in the west Washington County area during 1817 and 1818 in order to map the terrain and to look for potential farmland. They eventually went back home to Tennessee, but Isaac Marrs and Thomas Wagnon returned in 1827 with their families and slaves and settled in the Rhea Community north of Lincoln. Thomas Wagnon also claimed additional land that included this spring.
In 1829, Andrew Buchanan, who had recently become an ordained minister with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, left Kentucky with his wife Sinai and stepson James Preston Neal, to visit his brothers in Cane Hill. During his visit, he heard about a fertile valley with a bountiful spring several miles to the northeast, which was Thomas Wagnon’s claim right here. He traveled to the spring, liked what he saw, and made an agreement with Wagnon to trade the land for two good sermons. Reverend Buchanan built a house near the spring, and in 1831, organized the Prairie Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The third church building that was built in 1887/1888 is down the street by the cemetery and is now a wedding chapel.
In August 1838, Buchanan bought a little over 160 acres of land from the federal government that included most of Main Street north to Bush Street, and south to around the Aquatic Park.
Buchanan’s stepson, James Preston Neal, eventually left Prairie Grove and became a lawyer in Fayetteville, was a soldier in the Mexican American War from 1847-1848, and came back to Fayetteville and was elected mayor from 1851-1854. Neal returned to Prairie Grove in 1868 and settled here on part of the old Buchanan property. In 1871, he decided to formally establish Prairie Grove as an actual town and was soon appointed postmaster. A blacksmith and wagon shop opened in 1872, three years later a storehouse was built, and in 1876 a steam-powered flour mill began operation. Lots on the growing Main Street went on sale in March of 1877, and in September of that year, Neal requested a survey and plat for the downtown area. In 1888, physicians E.G. McCormick and W.W. Mahan had grown tired of the rowdy behavior and drunkenness occurring in town and wrote a letter of incorporation and petition on a piece of notebook paper and sent it to the county judge, and the state approved its incorporation on July 25th, 1888.
The name “Prairie Grove” was chosen because the town was set on a prairie surrounded by rolling hills and a grove of trees that grew around the spring. Prairie Grove was previously known by 2 other names—the first post office from 1840-1846 was called Sweet Home and was run by postmaster James Pittman, and in 1857 a second post office was established called Ada, after one of Archibald Borden’s daughters.
In 1890, the U.S. Census recorded 412 residents in Prairie Grove, and its Main Street had 4 general stores, a furniture store, harness & saddle shop, 2 drug stores, a jewelry store, a marble works, a hardware store, a lumber company, a flour mill called the Prairie Grove Mill, the Prairie Grove Canning & Evaporating Company, and a music store.
In 1901, the Ozark & Cherokee Central Railroad came through Prairie Grove, providing a way to ship fruits, vegetables, grain, timber, and livestock out of the Illinois River Valley. The Ozark & Cherokee Central hooked onto the St. Louis-San Francisco or Frisco Railway at Fayetteville and extended southwesterly through Farmington, Prairie Grove, Lincoln, Summers and into Oklahoma, where it passed through Westville, Talequah, Muskogee, and ended in Okmulgee. The Prairie Grove Depot was constructed about 1901 on the north side of the railroad tracks at the corner of South Neal and Commercial streets. The wood-frame depot contained a waiting room, baggage room, Western Union Telegraph office, and Wells Fargo & Company Express office. In addition to shipping freight, the railroad provided passenger service. In November 1917, former President William Taft left Muskogee by train and came through Prairie Grove. The train stopped for about 5 minutes and President Taft came out on the rear platform and spoke to a crowd that included Prairie Grove’s schoolteachers and their students. And in August 1930, what was referred to as the “World’s Biggest Tire,” stopped in Prairie Grove for a few minutes. Built by the Goodyear Tire Company, it was attached to the back of a special passenger train car. It looked like a regular tire except it was 12 feet tall, 4 feet wide, took 15 minutes to inflate and was worth $5,000. In July 1942 during the early months of World War II, the Frisco Railway announced that the branch line through Prairie Grove would close. Almost immediately, the rails were taken up and sold for scrap to help with the war effort, and the depot was demolished.
The canning of fruits and vegetables, mainly tomatoes, beans, and strawberries, was a major industry in Prairie Grove for many years. In the early 20th century, Prairie Grove had at least 2 canning factories—the Arkansas Canning Company and the Prairie Grove Preserves Company Canning Factory. Smaller canning operations existed in communities all around the area. In 1953, the Prairie Grove Preserves Canning Co. became the Kelley Canning Company, which operated on S. Mock until 1978 when it went out of business because of the rising costs of shipping in tomatoes. You can still see the foundation for the old canning factory on the west side of S. Mock across from the Washington County Milling Company Event Center.
Prairie Grove has had 3 large flour mills, only one of which exists today. The first mill, constructed about 1876 by McPhetridge, Baggett, and Rogers was behind the McCoy Produce Building on South Mock Street & was in regular use until about 1905. It was dismantled in 1914, and at that time, it was the oldest commercial structure in Prairie Grove. The wood-frame mill was 4 stories tall and had a gabled roof. The lumber was salvaged and possibly used to construct part of the Washington County Milling Company on South Mock in 1919.
The L. C. McCormick Mill & Elevator Company was built in 1902 next to the railroad tracks near the end of South Pittman Street. In its early days, the McCormick Mill produced 2.4 million pounds of flour and shipped 60,000 bushels of wheat from its elevators each year. In 1913, the mill’s name was changed to the Prairie Grove Milling Company. It closed in 1941 and the building no longer exists.
Finally, the Washington County Milling Company was built in 1919 on South Mock Street and is now the Washington County Milling Company Event Center.
Back to where we’re standing. The spring runs in a kind of east/west direction and was originally a big water hole surrounded by large rocks where people could sit. Next to the spring is the old concrete water trough that used to sit behind the Southern Mercantile and is now used as a flower container by the Master Gardners. The trough was filled with water from the spring at Mock Park by gravity flow, and both horses and people would drink out of it. Also behind the Southern in the parking lot is the old concrete jail that was built sometime between 1925 and 1930 and was only used for a couple of years. It was very primitive and had no electricity or running water.
In 1963 Dr. Will Mock, a long-time local physician and civic leader in Prairie Grove, donated this land to the City for use as a public park. Dr. Mock purchased the property in 1901, removed all the old buildings, hauled in wagonloads of soil to level the land, and planted trees. For many years, the spring was the water source for the town.
In 1829, Andrew Buchanan, who had recently become an ordained minister with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, left Kentucky with his wife Sinai and stepson James Preston Neal, to visit his brothers in Cane Hill. During his visit, he heard about a fertile valley with a bountiful spring several miles to the northeast, which was Thomas Wagnon’s claim right here. He traveled to the spring, liked what he saw, and made an agreement with Wagnon to trade the land for two good sermons. Reverend Buchanan built a house near the spring, and in 1831, organized the Prairie Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The third church building that was built in 1887/1888 is down the street by the cemetery and is now a wedding chapel.
In August 1838, Buchanan bought a little over 160 acres of land from the federal government that included most of Main Street north to Bush Street, and south to around the Aquatic Park.
Buchanan’s stepson, James Preston Neal, eventually left Prairie Grove and became a lawyer in Fayetteville, was a soldier in the Mexican American War from 1847-1848, and came back to Fayetteville and was elected mayor from 1851-1854. Neal returned to Prairie Grove in 1868 and settled here on part of the old Buchanan property. In 1871, he decided to formally establish Prairie Grove as an actual town and was soon appointed postmaster. A blacksmith and wagon shop opened in 1872, three years later a storehouse was built, and in 1876 a steam-powered flour mill began operation. Lots on the growing Main Street went on sale in March of 1877, and in September of that year, Neal requested a survey and plat for the downtown area. In 1888, physicians E.G. McCormick and W.W. Mahan had grown tired of the rowdy behavior and drunkenness occurring in town and wrote a letter of incorporation and petition on a piece of notebook paper and sent it to the county judge, and the state approved its incorporation on July 25th, 1888.
The name “Prairie Grove” was chosen because the town was set on a prairie surrounded by rolling hills and a grove of trees that grew around the spring. Prairie Grove was previously known by 2 other names—the first post office from 1840-1846 was called Sweet Home and was run by postmaster James Pittman, and in 1857 a second post office was established called Ada, after one of Archibald Borden’s daughters.
In 1890, the U.S. Census recorded 412 residents in Prairie Grove, and its Main Street had 4 general stores, a furniture store, harness & saddle shop, 2 drug stores, a jewelry store, a marble works, a hardware store, a lumber company, a flour mill called the Prairie Grove Mill, the Prairie Grove Canning & Evaporating Company, and a music store.
In 1901, the Ozark & Cherokee Central Railroad came through Prairie Grove, providing a way to ship fruits, vegetables, grain, timber, and livestock out of the Illinois River Valley. The Ozark & Cherokee Central hooked onto the St. Louis-San Francisco or Frisco Railway at Fayetteville and extended southwesterly through Farmington, Prairie Grove, Lincoln, Summers and into Oklahoma, where it passed through Westville, Talequah, Muskogee, and ended in Okmulgee. The Prairie Grove Depot was constructed about 1901 on the north side of the railroad tracks at the corner of South Neal and Commercial streets. The wood-frame depot contained a waiting room, baggage room, Western Union Telegraph office, and Wells Fargo & Company Express office. In addition to shipping freight, the railroad provided passenger service. In November 1917, former President William Taft left Muskogee by train and came through Prairie Grove. The train stopped for about 5 minutes and President Taft came out on the rear platform and spoke to a crowd that included Prairie Grove’s schoolteachers and their students. And in August 1930, what was referred to as the “World’s Biggest Tire,” stopped in Prairie Grove for a few minutes. Built by the Goodyear Tire Company, it was attached to the back of a special passenger train car. It looked like a regular tire except it was 12 feet tall, 4 feet wide, took 15 minutes to inflate and was worth $5,000. In July 1942 during the early months of World War II, the Frisco Railway announced that the branch line through Prairie Grove would close. Almost immediately, the rails were taken up and sold for scrap to help with the war effort, and the depot was demolished.
The canning of fruits and vegetables, mainly tomatoes, beans, and strawberries, was a major industry in Prairie Grove for many years. In the early 20th century, Prairie Grove had at least 2 canning factories—the Arkansas Canning Company and the Prairie Grove Preserves Company Canning Factory. Smaller canning operations existed in communities all around the area. In 1953, the Prairie Grove Preserves Canning Co. became the Kelley Canning Company, which operated on S. Mock until 1978 when it went out of business because of the rising costs of shipping in tomatoes. You can still see the foundation for the old canning factory on the west side of S. Mock across from the Washington County Milling Company Event Center.
Prairie Grove has had 3 large flour mills, only one of which exists today. The first mill, constructed about 1876 by McPhetridge, Baggett, and Rogers was behind the McCoy Produce Building on South Mock Street & was in regular use until about 1905. It was dismantled in 1914, and at that time, it was the oldest commercial structure in Prairie Grove. The wood-frame mill was 4 stories tall and had a gabled roof. The lumber was salvaged and possibly used to construct part of the Washington County Milling Company on South Mock in 1919.
The L. C. McCormick Mill & Elevator Company was built in 1902 next to the railroad tracks near the end of South Pittman Street. In its early days, the McCormick Mill produced 2.4 million pounds of flour and shipped 60,000 bushels of wheat from its elevators each year. In 1913, the mill’s name was changed to the Prairie Grove Milling Company. It closed in 1941 and the building no longer exists.
Finally, the Washington County Milling Company was built in 1919 on South Mock Street and is now the Washington County Milling Company Event Center.
Back to where we’re standing. The spring runs in a kind of east/west direction and was originally a big water hole surrounded by large rocks where people could sit. Next to the spring is the old concrete water trough that used to sit behind the Southern Mercantile and is now used as a flower container by the Master Gardners. The trough was filled with water from the spring at Mock Park by gravity flow, and both horses and people would drink out of it. Also behind the Southern in the parking lot is the old concrete jail that was built sometime between 1925 and 1930 and was only used for a couple of years. It was very primitive and had no electricity or running water.
In 1963 Dr. Will Mock, a long-time local physician and civic leader in Prairie Grove, donated this land to the City for use as a public park. Dr. Mock purchased the property in 1901, removed all the old buildings, hauled in wagonloads of soil to level the land, and planted trees. For many years, the spring was the water source for the town.
