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Area
Cultural
This
area was near the center of the
Cherokee settlement in Arkansas and
has several markers designating places of
historical significance. In 1820
Reverend Cephas Washburn set up
Dwight Mission just west of present
day Russellville. At one time there were
seven assistant teachers at the mission
and about a hundred Cherokee
children enrolled. A post office was
established here in 1823.
The most distinguished of the
Indians who gathered at the mission was
Sequoya. Intrigued by the white
man's ability to communicate with written
characters, he developed a simple Cherokee
alphabet. Subsequently, literacy spread
quickly throughout the Cherokee Nation.
Sequoya is said to have completed work on
the alphabet at the mission and at nearby
Galla Rock. A large kettle
reportedly used durning Sequoyah's era to
extract salt is located on the town square
in Dover.
In 1834 the first house was built
in present day Russellville. The
traditional double log dog-trot house
belonged to British born and educated
Dr. T.J. Russell.
Russellville was the longtime residence of
Jeff Davis (1863-1912), United
States senator and three times governor,
noted for his colorful down-home
rhetoric.
Source:
Chamber of Commerce; The WPA Guide to
1930s Arkansas; Arkansas Roadsidesby Bill
Earngey
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