Reprinted here by special permission of the author, Cindy Beckman, a retired Conway High School history teacher who writes local history.
Central Arkansas in the 19th century was significantly different than it is today. Faulkner County, with Conway as the county seat, was not carved out of Conway and Pulaski counties until 1873. Instead, one of the most significant towns in the area was Springfield, which served as the county seat for Conway County. Continue reading
You can see it now only by hiking to Cadron Creek off Springfield Road north of Wooster on Faulkner County’s edge with Conway County, but that will soon change: the City of Conway will restore and move the 142-year-old Springfield-Des Arc bridge to Beaverfork Lake, where it will be used for walking/bicycling.
Thanks to efforts by the Faulkner County Historical Society and UCA history professor Ken Barnes (a FCHS member), the City of Conway Continue reading
by Carol Rolf
Published in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette on August 16, 2015
Photo of bridge by Wayne Kizziar, used with permission.
Back in the day, the Springfield-Des Arc Bridge was an important part of a trade route that connected Des Arc on the White River in Prairie County with Springfield, which was the seat of government in Conway County from 1850-1873. Des Arc was a steamboat landing on the White River. Continue reading