2016Progress.March13

Looking to the future
Area Towns Government Religion
CALION – Nestled in the northern part of Union County along the Ouachita River, the city of Calion is looking forward to the new opportunities gained with the widening of U.S. 167.
When the city was incorporated in 1921, the name Calion was created from a combination of the names of the surrounding counties – Calhoun and Union.
The city was established as a sawmill town with the opening of Thomas’ Sawmill in the early 1900’s. While the sawmill is no longer in operation, the lumber indus- try continues to play a large part in the city’s economy. Calion Lumber Co., owned by Charles E. Thomas, grand- son of the sawmill’s founder, continues to be the city’s largest employer.
The city is currently comprised of two convenience stores, four churches and the beautiful 478-acre Calion Lake.
Karen Evans, mayor of Calion, said she is looking for- ward to the many opportunities the expansion of U.S. 167 will bring to the community. For the past eight years, the city has been working toward providing their citizens on the south side of the lake with sewer services. According to the mayor’s office, construction on the project is planned to begin in the near future.
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FELSENTHAL — The village of Felsenthal officially counts 152 residents, but sends out 250 water bills each month to residents’ homes and the camps and housing for weekend and hunting season visitors.
“We are outnumbered by the part-timers,” said Mayor Linda Newbury.
A vintage plat map of Felsenthal published in 1904, shows the original plans for the town. It has yet to meet that dream. Guests have said it reminds them of the 1950s – calm and peaceful with no traffic.
The community is surrounded by the wooded areas including the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge and the Beryl Anthony Lower Ouachita Wildlife Management Area.
In recent years, the primary point of pride has been the paving of the main street through the community and the side streets. “Our big thing is to get rid of the pot holes,” Newbury said.
Besides the annual influx of visitors for duck hunting (and other seasons) Felsenthal holds an annual Breamfest at the end of May with fishing contests, entertainment and food.
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HUTTIG – Located two miles north of the Arkansas- Louisiana state line, the city of Huttig continues it’s lega- cy as a historical sawmill town while looking forward to the prospect of expansion.
When the railroad made it’s way into Union County in the early 1900’s, the area now known as Huttig, received an increase in interest from the timber industry. The Frost-Johnson Timber Co. purchased land and estab- lished a sawmill and company town in the area. Sawmill owner, C.D. Johnson, named the fledgling town after his industrialist friend, William Huttig.
Huttig quickly became known as the largest sawmill community and second-largest city in Union County until the 1920’s oil boom. While the sawmill has changed hands throughout the years, it has remained a staple of the area. To this day, the sawmill continues to play a vital role in the community’s economy.
In 2003, a ruling by the Arkansas General Assembly resulted in the consolidation of the Huttig School District with neighboring district, Strong, due to the low number of students enrolled in the district.
Huttig Mayor Tony Cole, said that the city has recently taken over ownership of the school and city officials are in the process of devising a strategic plan to utilize the facility for community involvement.
“We are looking forward to growing the city and expanding the city limits and population,” Cole said. He added that the city has recently taken over ownership of the cemetery and is looking forward to the possibility of a much-needed expansion.
They have also filed for a grant of $1.4 million to replace all of the city’s water lines. According to Cole, permits and bids should be completed by August 2016, with con- struction to begin soon after a bid has been approved. The city has also acquired ownership of both parks in Huttig.
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JUNCTION CITY — Incorporated on Feb. 21, 1895, Junction City is nestled in the southernmost part of Arkansas and north Louisiana.
Created by Arkansas Southern Railway Co., the city lies within one county and two parishes – Union County and Union and Claiborne parishes. The city was platted when the company began to build a railroad line from El Dorado to the Arkansas/Louisiana state line.
Though the two sides of the city were separately incor- porated, they share a volunteer fire department and school. Following desegregation of schools, the Junction City football team became one of the most successful 2A schools in the state, winning championships in 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
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NORPHLET – Incorporated on July 27, 1923, Norphlet rose to prominence due to the oil industry. The railroad and timber industry brought new life into Union County and Norphlet was one of several depots created along the railway, according to an Encyclopedia of Arkansas article.
Reportedly named after Nauphlet Goodwin, the Postal Department misspelled Nauphlet in 1891, when the town’s post office was created. After first being named Haymos and Jess, the small settlement was named Norphlet.
One of Norphlet’s most well-known attributes is the Norphlet Crater. Workers for Oil Operators Trust were drilling a well on May 14, 1922, which was designated Murphy No. 1, and their drilling hit a large pocket of nat- ural gas. On the morning of May 16, 1922, the gas ignited, which shot flames more than 300 feet in the air and cre- ated a crater that was at least 450 feet across and 75 feet deep. Currently, the crater is filled with water and sur- rounded by a fence to prevent accidents. The crater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Jim Crotty, mayor of Norphlet, said that since Smackover and Norphlet have combined school districts and have programs like the STEM program, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math, Norphlet “should see a lot of expansion in the next five to 10 years.”
“Norphlet is sitting in a good place,” Crotty said. “I feel like the oil industry will come back around as well.”
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SMACKOVER — Settled in the early 1830’s, Smackover quickly became one of America’s largest oil reservoirs by 1922, according to the Smackover Chamber of Commerce website. Within six months of 1922, the town grew to 25,000 people.
Thousands of drill bits discovered oil with a 95 percent success rate from 1922 through 1925. Also, during the first five years of the Smackover oil boom, $600 million poured into South Arkansas for petroleum development, according to the website.
Smackover was officially incorporated on Nov. 3, 1922, according to an article on www.arkansas.com. However, by the early 1930’s, the Smackover oil field production had declined dramatically.
The city of Smackover comes together to celebrate the oil field discovery well, the Richardson No. 1, every year with the annual Smackover Oil Town Festival, which was first held in 1971.
Smackover Mayor Bobby Neal said that he hopes the combined school district (Smackover-Norphlet School District) continues to grow and that he wants the busi- ness areas and industries to increase.
“Oil prices affect everybody,” Neal said. “Especially a little town that depends on them.”
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STRONG – Tucked snugly in the eastern sector of Union County and seven miles north of the Louisiana border, the city of Strong was founded in the early 20th century amid the booming railroad construction that spurred significant growth in the region.
Upon the completion of the El Dorado and Bastrop Railway in the early 1900s, leaders of small communities in the surrounding area were called for a meeting in Collinston, La., to discuss area development.
During the meeting, James Solomon Coleman offered a right-of-way to his land for development in South Arkansas and railroad executives dispatched employee William Strong to take on the project.
Strong accepted the property and named the soon-to- be-completed rail stop Victoria.
The community was incorporated on Sept. 7, 1903, with a post office, bank and mercantile store. However, confu- sion over the name Victoria would lead to a renaming of the city.
Coleman called the rail stop Strong in honor of William Strong and when the post office from Concord was moved to the site, leaders discovered a post office with the name Victoria already existed, so the post office was re-chartered as Strong.
Like many other communities in South Arkansas, Strong’s economy relied heavily on timber. The open- ing of the Strong Lumber Company and three sawmills helped to drive steady growth between the 1920s and 1960s.
The city quickly rebounded from a devastating tornado that struck on May 9, 1927, killing 30 people, injuring at least 100 more and destroying a three-block wide area.
By the end of the 1930s, Strong’s population had grown to 762, and in 1949, the city joined the Community Development Program, which steered citywide clean- ups each Wednesday and school enhancement projects, including the first new, modern gym to be built outside the county seat.
Additionally, streets were graveled, the city park reno- vated, a municipal water system added, a medical clinic was opened and the first a volunteer fire department was established.
The city’s population began a steady decline following a period of growth in the 1970s.
In the early 2000s, the Huttig school system was con- solidated with Strong, per a statewide mandate, and the Strong-Huttig School District was born.
The 2010 U.S. Census showed that Strong had a popula- tion of 558 people.
Today, Mayor Daryell Howell identifies economic development, police protection, affordable housing and beautification as primary focus areas for Strong. To meet some of the city’s challenges, Howell has called for the implementation of a new water system, community involvement to clean up the city and is seeking people who are interested in full- or part-time police work.
Howell said he believes his vision for the future of Strong can be achieved by creating an Action Coalition to organize community, government, business and other partners who are willing to work collaboratively.
“A visions is simply a vision. It takes people to breathe life and energy into it. Let’s work together to rake our community’s vision into the next phase,” Howell said.
Progress 2016 El Dorado NEWS-TIMES – Sunday, March 13