Thought you might enjoy this article. Will later post the remainder. Eagle Democrat Warren, Arkansas 1940 Business History of Warren Dates Back Seventy-five Years, to 1865. River Boats, Ox Teams Hauled Goods. In August, 1912, the late John E. Bradley contributed a series of interesting articles about Warren at the close of the Civil War and which were published in the Democrat News, then edited by W.G. Clugston. A digest of the articles is given here: When the Civil War ended in 1865, Warren was devoid of business life and industrial activity. Only one store was open--Dr. Swain's Drug Store, located where now stands the Bailey Drug. The first new store opened was by a Sutler in May, 1865, and for the benefit of Federal soldiers who garrisoned the town. It was located in the Van Valkenburgh storehouse at the site of Hankins Hardware. here for the first time in four years boys and girls had a chance to see candy. Plain candy cost seventy-five cents per pound and sugar sold for fifty cents. In the building occupied by the Sutler store, soon a jew, Charlie Bloom, operated a place. In the early summer of 1865 Major Bratton operated a saloon and billiard parlor on the present site of the telephone exchange. T.M. Goodwin and W.H. Wheeler then operated a business where stands the Owens two-story brick building. Another grocery and saloon was opened by Captain Wheless and Finney Jackson just north of the county jail. J.N. Hamilton started business on the site of Hurley Hardware. Saloons in those days were called groceries. In 1867 Martin and Goodwin operated a general store in a two-story log house. In 1869 Wheeler and Ederington began business, and a year or two later built the first brick storehouse, which is now occupied by Ederington. In 1866 J.W. Johnson started a tin shop and in it he made many a copper still for the use of plentiful local distillers. There was not a single church in the community. The Methodists and Presbyterians had services occasionally in the courthouse. In 1867 and 1868 the Methodist built their first church. When the first Baptist church was built by Rev. Ben Hyatt in 1870, while the building was being constructed the framework collapsed and but for a miracle, all of the ten workmen would have been seriously injured or killed. There were two hotels here, one operated by Major Jim Bradley, and the other by Captain Jenkins, who was succeeded by Isham Cone. A terrible cyclone swept the town on one night in June, 1866, and blew away many of the buildings. There was no loss of life, but the contents of the smokehouse for the Bradley Hotel were blown all along the town branch. A new top buggy left standing on the site of the East School grounds was found a day or two later lodged in a tree a mile and a half east of town and without great material injury. The entire wheat crop of Ben Webb on the W.H. Blankenship farm was destroyed. The path of the storm lay between the court square and the Blankenship farm about a mile and a half wide. At the close of the war Bradley County contained twice as much territory as at present. It extended north to within twenty miles of Pine Bluff, northwest withing four miles of Fordyce and included Kingsland. In 1873 that section of the county was taken away to form Cleveland county. As a result of this the county lost the splendid red land section and the historic site of the Battle of Mark's Mill, which was fought in May, 1864, between the armies of General Fagan, Confederate and General Steele, Federal. The cannonading in this battle was heard by those who lived in Warren during the war. Another battle was that fought at Mount Elba on Saline River twenty miles from Warren. General Dockery commanded the Confederates and General Steele, the Federals. The Confederates lost this skirmish on account of the fact the Confederate General was intoxicated. In 1865 the county civil government had ceased functioning. The civil officers had little authority during the war. "There were bands of bad men who had neither patriotism nor courage to enlist and fight in the war, but remained at home--that is, in the county--forming convenient groups of from ten to twenty in number, and lived by theft, pillage and plunder from the helpless left by those who had gone to war and from other aged and helpless citizens. That class of men were called the Gray Backs because they hid in and lived in the thick woods and cane brakes to avoid discovery by Confederate soldiers. To Be Continued __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com