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Summers Depot

by | Photo of the Month, Transportation

Ozark & Cherokee Central (O&CC)/Frisco Muskogee Branch Railway depot, Summers (Washington County), early 1900s. Constructed 1901–1903, the O&CC connected Fayetteville and Okmulgee, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The O&CC was leased by the Frisco Railroad in 1903 and merged with the Frisco in 1907. The line became known as the Frisco Muskogee Branch. Passenger service on the Muskogee Branch ended in 1940; all rail operations between Fayetteville and Fort Gibson (just outside Muskogee) ended in 1942 and the tracks were pulled up to provide scrap metal for the war effort.

Jerry Risley Collection (S-87-343-2)

Frisco depot, Summers, Arkansas, early 1900s
Photo of the Month Archive
Frisco depot, Summers, Arkansas, early 1900s

Ozark & Cherokee Central (O&CC)/Frisco Muskogee Branch Railway depot, Summers (Washington County), early 1900s. Constructed 1901-1903, the O&CC connected Fayetteville and Okmulgee, Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The O&CC was leased by the Frisco Railroad in 1903 and merged with the Frisco in 1907. The line became known as the Frisco Muskogee Branch. Passenger service on the Muskogee Branch ended in 1940; all rail operations between Fayetteville and Fort Gibson (just outside Muskogee) ended in 1942 and the tracks were pulled up to provide scrap metal for the war effort.

Jerry Risley Collection (S-87-343-2)

Photo of the Month Archive

Brogdon and Hazel Produce Warehouse

by | Agriculture, Business, Photo of the Month, Transportation

Brogdon and Hazel produce warehouse on Emma Avenue, Springdale, circa 1939. Forrest Hazel and Preston Brogdon ran a bustling wholesale produce market for more than thirty years, during Springdale’s heyday as an agricultural hub where crops which were shipped out or processed locally.

In the 1930s, artist Natalie Henry was hired to paint a WPA mural for Springdale’s post office. She spent time in Springdale taking photos as a way to inform her artwork, including this scene at Brogdon and Hazel’s warehouse.

Today, Natalie Henry’s mural, “Local Industries,” hangs in the Shiloh Museum. Learn more about the mural under the “New Deal” section of our 1920 to 1950 online exhibit.

Natalie Henry, photographer. Martha Hall Collection (S-96-112-15)

Photo of the Month Archive
Brogdon and Hazel produce wholesale warehouse on Emma Avenue, Springdale, Arkansas, circa 1939

Brogdon and Hazel produce warehouse on Emma Avenue, Springdale, circa 1939. Forrest Hazel and Preston Brogdon ran a bustling wholesale produce market for more than thirty years, during Springdale’s heyday as an agricultural hub where crops which were shipped out or processed locally.

In the 1930s, artist Natalie Henry was hired to paint a WPA mural for Springdale’s post office. She spent time in Springdale taking photos as a way to inform her artwork, including this scene at Brogdon and Hazel’s warehouse.

Today, Natalie Henry’s mural, “Local Industries,” hangs in the Shiloh Museum. Learn more about the mural under the “New Deal” section of our 1920 to 1950 online exhibit.

Natalie Henry, photographer. Martha Hall Collection (S-96-112-15)

Photo of the Month Archive

Parthenon

by | Education, Photo of the Month, Transportation

Parthenon (Newton County), circa 1929. The group stands next to a school bus for the Parthenon Consolidate School District. Elmer Casey, who taught at Parthenon, is the man wearing a suit and tie, standing in the center of the group.

Elmer Casey Collection (S-83-115-16)

Photo of the Month Archive

Parthenon (Newton County), circa 1929. The group stands next to a school bus for the Parthenon Consolidated School District. Elmer Casey, who taught at Parthenon, is the man wearing a suit and tie, standing in the center of the group.

Elmer Casey Collection (S-83-115-16)

Photo of the Month Archive

Frisco Coaling Tower

by | Photo of the Month, Transportation

Frisco Railroad coaling tower at Fayette Junction, a switchyard that was located near the present-day intersection of Cato Springs Road and Vale Avenue in south Fayetteville, early 1900s.

Virginia Threet Collection (S-88-156-11)

Frisco Railroad coaling tower at Fayette Junction near Fayetteville, Arkansas, early 1900s.

Coaling towers were a necessary fixture along railroads during the era of coal-powered steam locomotives. Coal was carried on the train in a special car called a “tender.” When the tender needed to be refilled, the engineer positioned the train so that the tender was parked under the tower chutes at the coaling tower. The chutes were then lowered and coal was released into the tender. In the 1950s, diesel replaced coal as the fuel of choice for locomotives, and coaling towers fell out of use.

Photo of the Month Archive
Frisco Railroad coaling tower at Fayette Junction near Fayetteville, Arkansas, early 1900s.

Frisco Railroad coaling tower at Fayette Junction, a switchyard that was located near the present-day intersection of Cato Springs Road and Vale Avenue in south Fayetteville, early 1900s.

Coaling towers were a necessary fixture along railroads during the era of coal-powered steam locomotives. Coal was carried on the train in a special car called a “tender.” When the tender needed to be refilled, the engineer positioned the train so that the tender was parked under the tower chutes at the coaling tower. The chutes were then lowered and coal was released into the tender. In the 1950s, diesel replaced coal as the fuel of choice for locomotives, and coaling towers fell out of use.

Virginia Threet Collection (S-88-156-11)

Photo of the Month Archive