"Camp Chaffee -- Fort Chaffee" by Dr. H. G. ALVAREZ, as published in The Key, Volume 24, Issue 1, 1989, Pages 28 & 29 Official publication of the South Sebastian County Historical Society P.O. Box 311, Greenwood, AR 72936 "At the beginning of 1800, the west boundary of the United States (was) the east bank of the Mississippi River. However, negotiations had been underway for some time to get France to sell its holdings west of the Mississippi. This was accomplished April 30, 1803. France sold to the United States in what is known as the "Louisiana Purchase" 827,000 miles of real estate, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. No sooner the purchase was made than Americans from Georgia, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama, flocked across the Mississippi River into what then was known as the New Frontier, by every means of transportation possible. By the time Arkansas became a state and Sebastian had become a county in 1851, this part of the New Frontier was well populated. Those who homesteaded the 75,000 acres which in 1941 was to be Camp Chaffee were: J. M. WEAVER J. M. CAMPBELL A.M. GILLIAM D. M. SIMS GEORGE S. BERNIE J. M. ROGERS J. M. PECK R. L. MC CLURE T. M. GIPSON J. G. BELL D. B. GLASS E. B. STANFILL D. J. TUCKER W. B. WITT W. N. CLAUNT W. J. RAMSEY JAS BROOK THOS KERSEY J. S. TRIPLIN H. H. BIRK W. M. GARNETT J. J. OLDHAM W. H. NANCE R. J. HEARN D. N. CARDEN H. R. THOMAS T. H. B. MC ALISTER S. J. EPPLEY J. H. KIRBY A. M. CAHOON J. M. NEEDHAM J. J. HEARN A. J. JOHNSON J. W. LAMB E. S. MURPHEY J. A. HOUSE HAZZARD BEEN J. C. AUTRY S. E. LAWRENCE ESA HELM JON T. BELL FRED COLEMAN F. W. DUNN WM. STEWART R. Y. BEEN J. T. BUTLER C. J. REDDING T.S. WARE THOS. COLEMAN A. CLEAVES A. J. CARTER D. H. STEWART M. DORSEY S. A. BRADLEY A. R. PARKER J. P. DURDEN M. T. TATUM L. T. TORRANCE REUBEN WRIGHT T. A. RIPPY G. T. MATTHEWS L. M. DEAREN J. M. JOYCE R. M. MC CONNELL J. W. WEST ALEX BROOK L. L. SOUTHERLAND N. H. OSBURN E. P. BASSETT C. C. MC CORD O. J. DAVIS S. H. MC CONNELL J. B. RAY R. M. JOYCE PHILLIP PENZINGER J. W. PINKERTON JOHN PHELP HENRY BROWN S. D. RICHARDSON C. L. HAMBLE JOHN CARNALL T. H. SAMPLINGTON B. L. NORRIS G. H. CARSON JOHN MILHOAN JOHN CARRUTH L. R. CRAWFORD JOHN LUNINGAN F. M. MC CLENDON G. H. BERRY G. H. COOK FRANK BAKER H. H. TOWNLEY J. E. BENNETT MARY E. CORSWELL J. A. MC CLENDON M. M. WHEELER J. W. CHASTAIN J. M. JACKSON G. W. AMES J. D. MAYFIELD J. A. WINFORD W. R. PUCKETT G. A. WATSON J. M. ALBRIDGE A. N. HAPKIN M. M. SWIFT W. H. BALLARD J. E. CROSSLAND W. H. WARREN J. P. FLETCHER JOHN DE WITT W. P. FRY C. T. PADOCK W. R. CARROLL W. J. WEBB J. L. SPEEGLE J. E. JONES W.R. STEELE RACHEL COTTON C.M. FLYNN R. A. WALLACE A. J. JETTON W. R. WAGNER T. L. BURRELL A. C. MOORE J. S. LUCK LAWRENCE MC CONNELL ROY STEWART CLARENCE CARSON WRIGHT GRANT LEONARD MC CONNELL IKE MC CLENDON JOE MC CONNELL GEORGE HORNE HEARAM PICKLES ROBERT MC CONELL NATHA CUMBIE RUBY CUMBIE EVERETT CUMBIE CHARLIE CUMBIE HERMAN CUMBIE WINFORD WILLIAMS MARLIN JAMES WAYNE WINFORD LOUIS CARSON MARVIN STEWART A. A. BUD JOYCE HOMER DAVIS JOHN HERAN JAMES SHACKEFORD GROVER STEWART HERSHELL MOORE RAY SHOCKLEY VERNON WINFORD RAY WINFORD GEORGE CLARK NOEL MC CONNELL WILLIE SMITH MARTIN GANT EVERETT GANT RASVOE RICHARDSON KENDRICK RICHARDSON ALBERT JOYCE HITE LEWIS FRANK EVERETT GRADY CROSS JACK BROWN RUFUS BEEN VIRGIL BEEN JERRY BEEN PRUITT BEEN RUFUS RICHARDSON ALBERT RICHARDSON BOB WINFORD JOHN JONES BUN MC CONNELL JIM WILSON OTIS BEEN MOLLIE BEEN JIM SHACKERFORD LEWIS MOORE ORVILLE BASSETT VERNON MC GEE HAROLD LEWIS LUCY HEARN BOB GANT CHARLIE CAPERTON HENRY JESSIE WILLIE THORTON WINSTON BEEN JOE BEEN BEN STACY JIM BARNETT BEN WILLIAMS OPHELIA SHACKLEY and countless others. These pioneer men with the assistance of their wives, children, and other members of the family, cleared the land, plowed the soil and planted corn and cotton and raised a herd of cattle. Anything that would bring a dollar in the market. They built their homes, churches where to worship their Creator, schools where to educate their children and communities such as Union Grove, Cornish, Oak Valley, Union Valley, Auburns and others. Little did these hard working pioneers visualize that after one hundred and fifty years, they had to gather their belongings and move. The world was at war and their country needed their farms in which to build an army training camp. This was devastating; to part from friends and neighbors, to find a new location and start anew. This was not an easy task as land owners, adjacent to where the camp was to be, hiked the price of their land and besides there was not enough land available at any price for those who had to relocate. These people were in one accord. Regardless of how they felt, their country needed their land. However, they had been promised that if and when the camp would be of no use to the nation, those who had to leave had priority to buy back their land. However, on March 24, 1946, Camp Chaffee became Fort Chaffee and what hope these pioneers had to buy back their farms vanquished. Of course Army Camp has its advantages as well as detriments. Many prominent Fort Smithians had expressed great interest in securing the camp in this section, some perhaps with a selfish viewpoint of profitting for the short lived boom which accompanies the construction of a large camp and others probably from a genuine patriotic standpoint. The Greenwood District was to suffer as those 75,000 acres set aside for the camp was no longer taxable. But building an Army Camp of this magnitude offered employment to several thousand local citizens. The 35,000 plus soldiers which were to be trained there and some of their families which were to move in, compensated for the loss of taxation. At present, there is not remorse for what took place back in 1941. The citizens of Sebstian County as a whole, are glad to have an Army Fort next door as there is a great cooperation between the civilians and the military."