West Point:
That the second oldest existing post office in White County opened in West Point in 1852?
That in 1860 West Point was the second largest town in White County?
That merchants from inland towns such as Stoney Point, Mt. Vernon, Rose Bud, Center Hill and Searcy would have their goods shipped to West Point where they would pick them up and haul them overland by wagon?
That in 1860 West Point’s population was 350 and Searcy had 500 people?
That in the Arkansas Democrat Magazine of 1953 the headlines read: River Metropolis Which Came Near Being State’s Capitol Is a Quiet Village Basking in Glory of Early History? Yes, they were talking about West Point.
That Mississippi River Fuel built its plant in 1935 and brought new life to the town of West Point?
That at one time the means of transportation in West Point was by mule train?
That in 1922 the last steamboat to come up Little Red River to West Point was called Issaquena?
Higginson:
That at one time the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Rock Island crossed at Higginson?
That at one time there were two water towers where the steam engines got water at Higginson?
That there was a hotel in Higginson owned by the O’Donnels and many of the men who worked on the railroad stayed there?
That people worked in a sawmill and a cotton gin in Higginson?
That the town of Higginson burned on Easter Sunday 1924 and as the people of the community worked to put out the fire by connecting a water hose to the tower across the tracks a train came through and cut the hose? That’s how Higginson burned to the ground in many parts of the town.
Morning Sun:
That Morning Sun was known for the thick timber in the area? Old-timers say that Morning Sun was named by a man who saw the sun breaking through the morning timber.
Georgetown:
That Georgetown is the oldest existing community in Arkansas?
That Francis Francure is believed to have settled in the Georgetown area in 1789, the year that George Washington was inaugurated first president? [Additional research is being done on this.]
That Georgetown celebrated a bicentennial June 17, 1989? The town was celebrating its 200th birthday. The money raised went to support a town park.
In 1949, Georgetown School consolidated with West Point? They continued grades one through four for a few years.
In 1875 or 1876, the first school was started in the Georgetown area? Newt Nelson built a one-room cabin on his farm to be used by any children in the community. The name of the first teacher is not known. Later, Eva Miller from Griffithville taught there. The building was located about a half-mile south of the present Nelson Cemetery. About 1885 postmaster Tom Evans gave the use of one acre of land to the school. A nice one-room building was erected and painted white. The first teacher there was Clyde Blue. The Evans School was located about a quarter of a mile northeast of the Georgetown water tower. In 1919, a school was built near Barber’s Lake and called the Barber’s Lake School. This school was discontinued when a sawmill town was built at Enright. A school was established there in 1919 or 1920. Also in 1910, a school was built where the present Bethany Baptist Church stands. In those days, church services were usually held in the schoolhouse. When the new three-classroom school was built at Georgetown and occupied in 1928, Georgetown merchant George Akers purchased the old building from the school and gave it to the church. In 1953, Georgetown School consolidated with West Point. They continued to have grades one through four at Georgetown for a few years. In 1964, West Point consolidated with Searcy. Until 1991 we still had kindergarten through the third grade at West Point Elementary School. But now our children go to school in Searcy.
That in 1790 three hunters along the White River were robbed by Osage Indians?
That West Point was called “the town with a heart” because the river was shaped like a heart as you enter West Point?
That the road in front of the West Point School was called Wire Road because of a telegraph wire that led to Des Arc? Civil War troops marched down this road to Des Arc.
That West Point had a newspaper in 1860 called the West Point Times?
That West Point was named for J.M. West? The town was laid out and surveyed in 1850.
The West Point hot lunch program was begun in 1941. It started in a white frame building that consisted of a kitchen with built-in cabinets, dining room, reception room and two storage rooms. In 1946, a new wood cook stove was purchased. A three-room compartment sink and water heater were installed in 1947. A new refrigerator in 1948 brought the lunch program up to date. This history would not be complete without mention of the fine women who made the lunches, Mrs. Lily Johnson and Mrs. Zelma Bradley, and Emojean Cleaver, who ran the West Point Lunch Room for many years.