Six signs mark Heritage Trails route through town

Identifying the rich historical heritage of the trails of the Pea Ridge area, Heritage Trail signs were erected recently by Pea Ridge Street Department employees Larry Majors, Nathan See and Tommy Thompson.
Identifying the rich historical heritage of the trails of the Pea Ridge area, Heritage Trail signs were erected recently by Pea Ridge Street Department employees Larry Majors, Nathan See and Tommy Thompson.

— The paved roadways through town align with some of the oldest trails in the area.

This past week, six new signs were erected on the side of the state highways throughout Pea Ridge identifying the trails referred to as Heritage Trails - the Butterfield Stagecoach Trail, the Trail of Tears and routes used during the Civil War.

Heritage Trail Partners, a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting historic roads and trails in western Arkansas, was founded several years ago, according to Pea Ridge Mayor Jackie Crabtree.

“We’ve been working to establish those areas so people can drive through the history of this part of the country,” Crabtree, past president of the organization, said.

The signs, placed along Arkansas Highways 94 and 72, are designed with symbols of the stagecoach, Trail of Tears and troop movement, each representing a different part of history merging in this town.

At Elkhorn Tavern at the Pea Ridge National Military Park, all three trails combine.

“(The signs) get people to focus a little more about what’s happened in this part of the country ... what’s made this area,” he said.

The Butterfield Stagecoachtrail began in 1858 when John Butterfield began operating the longest stagecoach run in the history of the world, according to Heritage Trail Partners. The trail ran from Tipton, Mo., to San Francisco and ran through the area now occupied by Pea Ridge and the Pea Ridge National Military Park. It stopped at Callahan’s Station in what is now Rogers and on to Cross Hollow to Fitzgerald’s Station in Springdale.

Both the Confederate and Union armies utilized the roads and trails across northwest Arkansas leading up to the battles at both Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove.

The Trail of Tears refers to the routes used for the forced Indian removal from 1837 to 1839 from the east to land now known as Oklahoma. The road through this area followed what would become the Telegraph Road, entering the state just north of the Pea Ridge National Military Park and tracking southwest towardFayetteville.

“One of our main projects is to place Heritage Trail signs at locations associated with historic routes of the Butterfield Stage, the Trail of Tears, and Civil War troop movements in the region,” Crabtree said. “When completed, the trail will connect northwest Arkansas to its rich heritage and cultural assets, and provide opportunities to experience the historic and natural environments of the area.”

News, Pages 1 on 03/03/2010