Assessors – E. W. Good, O. P. Madess (rejected and H. C. Brooks in office from March 18, 1871), H. C. Burke, J. Folliard, J. F. Folliard, J. F. Bussey, W. L. Hart, W. F. Bessellieu, M. G. Peebles
The Representatives in the Lower House of the State Legislature were: Wilford Garner, in the Seventh; Hugh Rogers, in the Eighth; Ninth, W. D. Crook; Tenth, William G. Guice; Eleventh, William D. Trotter; Twelfth, C. F. Hemmingway; Thirteenth, w. M. Harrison and C. F. Memmingway; Fourteenth, B. Collins and E. H. Haynes; Fifteenth, William Cox and F. H. Boyd. Confederate Legislature, Sepember 22 to October2, 1864, Benjamin Collins and E. H. Haynes; Sixteenth, L. L. Brooks and Benjamin Collins; Seventeenth, D. S. Wells; Eighteenth (Twenty-second District, comprising Ashley, Chicot, Drew and Desha Counties)< A. J. Robinson, C. W. Preddy, H. Marr, E. A. Fulton, J. W. Harris and John Webb; Nineteenth, A. E. Beardsley; Twenty-second District, S. W. McLeod, John C. Collins, X. J. Pindall, O. F. Parish, J. T. W. Tillar and J. E. Joslyn. At an extra sessilon, convened by Elisha Baxter, governor, May 11, 1874, the Twenty second District was represented by J. T. W. Tillar, L. L. Jonston, A. W. Files and X. J. Pindall; Twentieth, D. S. Wells; Twenty-first, James R. Cotham; Twenty-second, D. E. Baker; Twenty-third, L. E. Baker; Twenty-fourth, D. E. Baker; Twenty-fifth, D. E. Baker; Twenty-sixth, N. Y. Waddsworth; Twenty-seventh, N. Y. Waddsworth.
Monticello, the county seat of Drew County, is situated on the Warren Branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, and has a population of about 2,000. Its total valuation of property is $449,965, divided into: Real, $158,745, and personal $291,220. Goods and merchandise are valued at $75,690; moneys, credits, book accounts, etc., $123,560; domestic animals, $15,800; all other kinds of personal property, $66,170.
At the July term of the county court, 1849, the question was first agitated of moving the seat of justice from Rough and Ready. At the October term of court of that year three commissioners were appointed to select a new location. These commissioners were Josiah Halcomb, John M. Carr, and J. Sanders. At the January term of court, 1850, they filed a report to the effect that Fountain C. Austin had deeded to the county eighty-three and two one-hundreths acres, for the purpose of building thereon the county seat. The town was survey and platted July 24, 26, 27 and 30, and August 1, 1849, the deed and plat were displayed in court. The report further showed that they had let the building of a temporary courthouse to William D. Ford, the consideration being $174, the house to be completed by February 1, 1850, and the public square to be 170 feet square. The October term of county court was the first court held in Monticello, and from there dates the removal of the county seat.

Abel Whitehead was granted license to keep the first tavern, and William J. Barksdale was the first man to sell liquor in the new town. The village was incorporated December 20, 1852. July 3, 1853, John M. Sanders, county commissioner, reported sales made of town lots to the amount of $2,960.27, and that he had paid out $817, besides $1,400 to Hyatt & Wells, for building a jail making a total of $2,217 expended. This left in the hands of the commissioners $728.47 together with $107.95, a total on hand of $836.43 and a total received by the commissioners of $3,053.48. This is the precise way in which the report shows on the record, and while there is a slight discrepancy in the total, the report was accepted and approved.
In November, 1855, plans and specifications for a courthouse was submitted, to be a frame building forty feet front, sixty-five feet deep and two stories high, not to exceed in cost $5,300. In January, 1870, the site for the present courthouse was selected; plans and specifications were submitted, and the contract awarded, $20,070 being appropriated for the building. The cornerstone was laid in October, 1870. Additional appropriations were made during the process of construction, till the entire cost approximated nearly $40,000. The building is a magnificent brick structure. The tower is 110 feet high, standing high above all surrounding objects. A four-dial clock marks time and strikes the hour. In July, 1860, $6,350 was appropriated for the building of a new jail, and in 1866 $4,500 was devoted to repairs. This jail yet does service for such offenders as come within the scope of its authority.
Monticello has had a steady growth over since its foundation. The merchants are alive to the interests of the place, wide awake, and fully abreast of the times. The public square is lined with good brick and frame buildings, most of them two stories high. A business in enjoyed ranging from $10,000 to $120,000 a year, and all the branches of trade are well represented. Of the cotton crop of 1889, 14,000 bales were shipped from this place. Religious interests are looked after by the Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian Churches, and the colored folk also have organizations. Rev. E. N. Evans is pastor of the Methodist Church, and Rev. Frank White pastor of the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian pastorate is now vacant. A fact that speaks volumes for the town is that the people voted out saloons some time ago.

Monticello's public school is the pride and boast of the citizens, there being an enrollment of 400 children, while the expenditures are over $4,000 yearly for educational purposes. The school is graded and employs four assistants besides the superintendent. The building itself is a handsome modern structure, erected at a cost of $3,500. The Negro children are also well cared for, two-fifths of all the moneys expended for school purposes being in their behalf. There are two separate buildings for their use. Over 300 scholars are enrolled. Monticello has the only bank in Southeast Arkansas, known as the Bank of Monticello. Its paid-up capital stock is $40,000.
Another evidence of the thrift and enterprise of the city is the grounds of the Agricultural and Mechanical Fair Association, of Southeast Arkansas, located here. In October, 1880, was held the fifteenth annual fair. The district supporting this enterprise is composed of Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Cleveland, Chicot, Desha, Drew, Jefferson, Lincoln and Union Counties in Arkansas and West Carroll, Morehouse, Union and Ouachita Parishes in Louisiana. The exhibits cover all departments usual in such cases, and premiums are awarded horses, cattle, mules, sheep, hogs, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, implements, manufactured articles, etc.; field products, domestic industry, preserves, pickles, cakes, wines, etc., fine arts, bric-a-brac, etc.

The city government is looked after by a mayor, board of aldermen and town marshal, all elective offices. Being situated in the "hills", the drainage of the place is excellent. An abundance of water is furnished by cisterns and wells. The Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Knights of Honor each have lodges here. A telephone line affords communication with Hamburg.

Tillar, next in importance to Monticello, from a commercial standpoint, is situated on the main line of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, in the northeast corner of the county. It has a population of about 130. Several general merchandise stores thrive here and considerable quantities of cotton and lumber are shipped annually. The town was laid off in 1879 and the first house completed in May of that year. Six thousand bales of cotton, 50,000,000 cypress shingles, valued at $125,000; $13,500 worth of cotton seed and 125 carloads of hewn timber were shipped from this point during the season of 1888-89, much of the timber finding a market in Europe. The extent of the business done in the town merchandise will approximate $200,000 each year. The Methodists have an organization and church and Sunday school services are held regularly. A church and public school building affords opportunity for the instruction of children. Among the general interests are 4 general stores, steam gin and grist-mill, 3 saw mills, 2 hotels, blacksmith, wagon and barber sops and 2 resident physicians. The Masons and Knights of Pythias each have lodges.
Baxter and Collins, on the Warren Branch Railway, are thriving little villages, and are mainly supply and cotton shipping stations. Wilmar and Alice, west of Monticello, are lumber stations.

Agricultural pursuits form the chief industry of the citizens of Drew County. Though corn and cotton are conceded to be the staple crops, oats, field peas, sorghum, and millet are raised quite extensively. The lands on Bayou Bartholomew are the richest and most productive. Cultivated as it is, in a very indifferent manner from other localities, this section yields an average crop of one bale of cotton per acre, valued at $40, and 30 bushels of corn, with a cash value of $15. The cost of raising a bale of cotton is estimated to be $7. This land may be purchased at a price ranging from $5 to $15 per acre. All cleared land in this district rents at $5 per acre. The hills or uplands of the county, while not so productive naturally (though they are preferable for residence purposes, being removed from the malarial influences of the bottoms) yield a bountiful return for labor expended in their cultivation, producing one half bale of cotton and fifteen bushels of corn to the acre, and by judicious distribution of fertilizers they become equally as productive as the bayou lands. Stock raising is receiving no little attention, mostly in connect with farming interests. For thirty years there have been occasional importations of short-horn cattle, and within the last ten

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