Drawn from "ARKANSAS PLACE NAMES" by Ernie
Deane)
The grand old American patriot, Benjamin Franklin, was honored in the
naming of Franklin County when it was created in December of 1837 from parts
of Crawford County.
Ozark was designated as county seat. The Arkansas River, flowing west to
east across the county almost at its middle, made difficulties for residents
south of the river to reach the courthouse.However, not until 1885 was Charleston designated the seat of justice for the southern district of the county.
The name of the town of Ozark must have come from that of the range of
mountains just to the north. How the town of Ozark came to be is related in
a history published in 1889.The story, briefly, is this:
David Walker, Archibald Yell, and others were on a hunting expedition in the Ozark hills near the river in the 1830's. One of the party, observing fields and forests between the hills and river, suggested a new town could be started there in an advantageous location.In earlier years, William Hail (also spelled Hale or Haile) and William Cureton had started a settlement thereabouts, with a landing place for river boats and a warehouse that later became a store.
Walker and Yell, prominent in Arkansas affairs, bought land from Hail and the three of them decided to plat a townsite. Their promotion effort extended as far as New Orleans. Perhaps more significant for the future was a grand barbeque, with much liquid refreshment, staged on the riverside property.According to one account, the surveyor with great enthusiasm threw a stick to the ground, crying, "There, I'm going to lay out a courtyard around that and the town around the courtyard." The spot was the one, the story says, where a courthouse was later built.
The sale of the lots promptly began, and in March of 1838 a windowless log school house served as the first official place of county business.
Charleston was originally known as Charles Town. The origin of its name is not definitely known, but a few recorded details offer an explanation. Among individuals who entered land claims during the 1840's and 1850's thereabouts was one C. R. Kellum, a Baptist minister who came in the early 1840's from Massachusetts.
He is credited with building the first structure on the site of the future Charleston, for a general store. Kellum (also spelled Kelleam) was the first postmaster. Local legend is that a man who had come with Kellum agreed, in exchange for a favor, to the name of Charles Town for the settlement that developed. After Kellum sold out and ceased to be
postmaster, the name was changed to Charleston, and the town was incorporated in 1874 under this name.