History of Lurton, ArkansasThe community now known as Lurton, began
developing long before the turn of the century and was
originally named Spence. The only road through the
area at this early stage was the old Chisum Turnpike, a
wagon road which ran from Dardanelle through
Spence, to Carrollton. This road was later replaced by
the Jefferson Highway and finally became Arkansas
State Highway 7. In the later part of the 19th century,
major settlements of the area were located at upper
Richland Creek and Tarlton Flats. Upper Richland
Creek is southeast of Spence (Lurton) and Tarlton
Flats is two miles to the north.
Spence had a post office as early as the mid 1800’s but
no data has been found concerning the earlier postmasters or the origin of the name of Spence. The
present knowledge of the earliest post office in the area
was at Tarlton during the year of 1900, with Francis M.
Jackson as postmaster. However, no information has
been found as to the origination of the name of Tarlton,
either.
Many one room log school houses were scattered
around the area near the numerous small settlements.
Pleasant View, also called ‘Hardscrabble’ was a one
room log school house erected two miles south of
Spence. Another log school was located at upper
Richland Creek about three miles southeast of Spence.
The Tarlton School called the ‘Board Shanty’ due to
boards being nailed over the cracks of the log structure, was two miles northeast of Spence. A school was
located in the Brimmage district two miles east of the
Tarlton School. Liberty School, also a one room log
building was three miles north of Spence.
During the later era of Spence, George Hamm owned
a large portion of the town and surrounding area, and
operated a general store in Spence. The year of 1907,
Nonimus Rosamond and sons began operating a saw
mill and grist mill in Spence, situated a few yards
north of the present old hotel building. Nonimus and
Rosa Rosamond had five sons; Sam, Frank, Jim, Ed
and Fred. Ed and Fred were twins and the youngest of
the boys. Sam, the oldest son, tired the boiler for the
mill while the twins worked the off board. Although Ed
and Fred were quite young at the time, they helped to
saw the lumber for one of the few remaining land-
marks of Spence. It was a large two story home,
erected for George Hamm in 1907. Nonimus Rosamond
was killed January 1, 1908, and Sam became operator
of his father’s mills.
In January 1914, I.C. Sutton, Sr., bought some
property two miles south of Spence. He moved his
family to this home May 10, 1915. Then he purchased
George Hamm’s large home in Spence and all of his
property, including 270 acres in and surrounding the
town, December 1916. At this time Spence had almost
become a dead town. Meanwhile the area post office
had moved several times before coming back to
Spence. April 17, 1914, it was moved from the Francis
M. Jackson place at Tarlton, to the Freeman home
near by and was operated by Eula Freeman. It was
discontinued in Tarlton September 30, 1916, and the
mail was sent to the town of Moore, five miles east of
the Freeman property. January 9, 1917, Cornelia
Sutton, wife of I.C. Sr. contracted the post office and it
was moved back to Spence. Mrs. Sutton was asked to
submit five names to the postal service, in order to
choose a new name for the post office. The name of
Lurton was selected as no other post office had that
particular name. Lurton was the surname of Mrs.
Sutton’s half sister’s husband, Marion Lurton. Thus,
the old name of Spence ceased, and the new town of
Lurton began. Mrs. Sutton operated the post office
until her retirement in 1945.
In 1921, I. C. Sutton, Sr. established a general store in
Lurton, and in 1925 he began to manufacture split
bottom chairs in the mill shed the Rosamond family
formerly operated, he also ran the grist mill. In 1925,
E. J. Sutton, brother to I. C. Sutton, started a business
of a garage and cafe. So Lurton was well on its way to
becoming a boom town. E. J. Sutton sold his garage to
Andrew Smith, and sold the cafe to Joe and Lizzie
Hefley in 1928. The next year Mitchell Smith bought the
garage from his brother Andrew, and later bought the
cafe from Joe Hefley. Around this time, South Lurton
came into existence when Mitchell Hefley began
operating a gas station, store, garage and grist mill.
This business section was approximately ¼ mile from
downtown Lurton. A small community grew up around
this south side of Lurton.
Mr. I. C. Sutton decided it was time that Lurton had
its own school, so he donated two acres of land for the
building site and supplied most of the lumber and
materials to erect the school. The labor was supplied
by local men, and this was the first school house in the
area to be built with sawed lumber. With the opening of
the Lurton School. the other small surrounding log
schools closed, and the children then came to Lurton
School. Although this school had only one room, it also
had a stage, and was a fairly large building. Grades
one through eight were taught, with only one school
teacher in the beginning, but later an extension was
added and another teacher had the lower grades for
some time. Lurton became the first school to consoidate with Deer School and the four upper grades
were bused to Deer, around the late 1930’s. It continued
on as a wing school however, until the doors were
finally closed to students in 1961.
To evidence the fact that Lurton was growing into an
industrious town through the ingenuity of the Sutton
family, the following ad was placed in the ’L.oumar
Souvenir Guide, Touring Information’, published in Ft.
Smith, Arkansas, in 1927. The ad reads as follows:
A map showing Highway 7 through Newton County,
in this Tourist Guide, says the population of the town of
Lurton was 25, and has the Tourist Camp rates "O.K.".
The camp consisted of a spring of water, being piped to
a large horse trough near the road. The road was
widened at this point to permit parking of wagons and
cars. The spring and camp was located across the road
from the I. C. Sutton home, near the present Gilmore
Tackle Shop.
In 1929, I. C. Sutton, Sr. purchased a rough-turned
handle factory equipment at Bass, Arkansas from W.
E. Bruner and Sons. He erected the proper buildings
for a handle factory, Just northwest of the Sutton home,
and moved the equipment to burton. I.C. Sutton, Sr.
and his two older sons, I.C., Jr. and Charles began the
operation of a growing business. They first started
making striking tool handles, but later added a line of
shaped tool handles and base ball bats. The factory
began with 25 workers, but had as many as 75 employeed during World War 11. In 1930, Elmer Hamm
purchased the general store from I. C. Sutton and
employed W. A. Thompson as clerk. A few years later
W.A. Thompson bought the store from his employer,
and moved it to a new building south of the garage.
Also, Ed Erickson operated a small notion store in a
little building, between the garage and the old Hamm
store building. I. C. Sutton, Jr. bought the inventory of
this notion store in 1941, and in 1943 he purchased the
general store from W. A. Thompson. Ruby Hefley
Sutton, wife of I. C., Jr. took over the post office in 1945
when Mrs. Cornelia Sutton retired. The post office was
moved into the general store building, where Ruby
maintained it until 1952.
Around 1930, Harry and Jossie Tatro built a large two
story hotel, a few yards south of the Smith Garage.
This added another business to the town. The hotel was
very plush for its day and time; it also served
delicious home cooked meals. It was a popular stop
over for tourists, as well, as providing a home for some
of the Sutton Factory employees. A deep well of good
water had been hand dug in the earlier days of Spence,
which is still in existence and use, near the old hotel
building. This well of clear cold water, served several
homes, businesses, and provided a refreshing cold
drink to travelers passing through. The hotel ceased
it’s business years ago, and is now used as a private
home. it is presently owned by Nolan and Gelene Smith
Castleberry, daughter aad son-in-law of Mitcheel
Smith.
The busy little town of Lurton began to decrease in
population in 1952, when the Sutton Handle Factory
moved it’s location from Lurton, to Harrison,
Arkansas. This business provided the major employment
of the area men. Some families moved with
the Sutton Factory to continue working, while others
went elsewhere to seek employment. Lola Dollar was
an employee at the factory in Lurton, but she purchased
the general store and contracted the post office,
from I. C. Jr. and Ruby Sutton, at the time the factory
moved. Lola operated both the store and post office
until she sold her porperty to Nolan and Gelene
Castleberry in 1966. At this time the store ceased
operation, but the post office was commissioned to
Glenna Sam Adams. Glenna operated the post office
from 1967 through 1969. Finally, the post office was
completely phased out, thus ending another era of the
history of Lurton.
During the years of the Lurton School, the building
was used for all of the community functions. It served
as a church house for all denominations and revival
meetings, pie suppers to collect aid for family
disasters, 4th of July picnics, a voting place for all
elections, traveling medicine shows, and at times
during the summer it provided housing for musical
lessons given by a traveling music teacher. One of the
well remembered events held annually, was the
Christmas program. The skits and plays were acted
out by the local children and was directed by the school
teacher. There would always be a large community
Christmas tree the night of the program, with sacks of
candy, nuts and fruit, for every child in the entire
surrounding area. The tree, decorations, and treats
were furnished by the local business men. Most every
child in the area participated in the programs, as this
was the highlight of the entire school year.
Many factors over the years helped in the decline of
the once thriving town of Lurton. When the Ozark
National Forest Service was founded in 1908, many
homestead farms were purchased, as well as land from
large property owners. During the years of World War
1, local men went into the service, and some families
moved east to work in war related industries. Some of
these families never returned to the area, and the
Forest Service obtained more land for back taxes on
the deserted farms. Other families lost their property
during the depression years, for lacking of tax or mort-
gate money. Then along came World War II and the
next generation of young men answered the call to
serve their country, and families went west this time,
to seek work in war connected factories. Some of these
families returned to their beloved mountains, while
others did not. In the 1950’s, Highway 7 was black
topped but it by-passed Lurton, causing a decline in
traffic related business. The Sutton Factory moving
from Lurton in 1952, certainly added to the decrease in
population of the area. Finally, in 1961, the Lurton
School’s full consolidation with Deer School, had an
impact on the community. The final blow came when
the general store closed and the phasing out of the post
office.
The old Lurton School building continued to be used
for community gatherings until it was torn down in
1974. At this time, a new Community Center was
erected on the old school grounds, just south of the old
building. This new Community Center serves the
public in the same capacity as the old school house did.
When the old school house became too dilapidated for
holding church services, the local citizens banned
together and built a new church house. Their inspiration
derived from the Bible Scripture of Haggi
1: 8-"Go up to the mountains, and bring wood, and build
the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be
glorified, saith the Lord."
Walter and Mima Light donated land for the church
site, which is just west of the present Community
Center, while local people donated labor and material.
The result of the community effort was a beautiful
white Church House which opened it’s doors to
welcome one and all to worship services. This friendly
neighborhood Church House was dedicated April 17,
1954. Church services were held in the building for the
next few years, but with families moving, different
ministers coming and going, a state of apathy developed
in the community. The Church House finally closed it’s
doors for a few years. It has recently been renovated
and reopened by Vernon and Velma Awbrey
Rosamond, after returning to their native area. The
church is Pastored by Vernon Rosamond, grandson of
Nonimus and Rosa Rosamond, son of Ed and Dullie
Woodard Rosamond. Velma plays the piano for the
services and teaches Sunday School classes; she is the
daughter of Johnny and Mary G. (Gertie) Ray Awbrey.
Even though Lurton has become a small community,
many families still live in and around the area. The
beautiful mountainous region attracts retired persons,
looking for a quiet serene place to live. Some employment
is provided by the Forest Service and timber
related businesses. Some family providers drive to
Harrison or Russellville to their jobs, while some local
citizens work in the Art and Crafts vocation. Several
area farms produce livestock for sale, and almost
every family have their own vegetable gardens.
There is still one thriving business in Lurton to date.
The Gilmore Tackle Shop owned and operated by
Luney Gilmore and his son, Dennis, is widly known for
their famous lines of fishing lures. The shop began
manufacturing fishing lures in 1950 with three workers
and presently employees between 19 to 25 people.
The Tarlton Cemetery, located two miles north of
Lurton on State Highway 123, holds many of the early
and prominent settlers from Lurton and surrounding
areas. Isaac Freeman homesteaded a large area of
land about 1 1/2 miles north of Lurton. He brought a
woman slave and her daughter, when he moved his
family to the area. The story goes that the woman died
after becoming over heated while helping fight a forest
fire, near the home, and drank too much cold water
from the spring. It’s assumed she was one of the first
burials in the Tarlton Cemetery. No data can be found
on her child. Although no headstone in the cemetery
bears the name of Isaac Freeman, he could well be any
one of the many fieldstone marked graves. The SW and
SE sections of the cemetery hold the earlier settlers,
with fieldstone markers and no other data. A headstone
has the name of William Brimage, born 1802 in
Tennessee (no other data), and one has James Polk
Brimage, age 16, Civil War Veteran. These two
burials are located in the SW corner of the cemetery
along with many fieldstone marked graves. This gives
validity to the assumption the cemetery must have
started in the early 1800’s.
Other prominent names found in the Tarlton
Cemetery are: Ass C. Hamm, Brimmage, Claytons,
Claxtons, Waters, Ketcbersides, Daniels, Woodards,
Rosamonds, Hefleys (Dan Hefley preached in the area
about 60 years), Jacksons, I. C. Sutton, Sr., and wife
Cornelia, both mothers of Mr. and Mrs. Sutton and a
son and grandchildren of the Suttons. Dr. Frailey and
wife (he practiced medicine in the area during the
early years of Lurton). There are many other well
known family names, Civil War Veterans, World War I
and II Veterans, and Korean War Veterans.
All of this information was obtained by gathering
data from many different people and sources. Facts
were handed down from generation to generation and
is as accurate as can be ascertained at this time. I wish
to extend my gratitude to all for their generous
cooperation, which made this writing possible.
Thelma Awbrey Gregoire wrote the above history a few years ago, she mailed it to me and asked that I include it in the section on Lurton...Thank You for sharing Thelma!
Many things have changed since Thelma's writing...the well known landmarks for the most part, are now gone...
TOURISTS ARE WELCOME AT LURTON, ARK.
In the Ozark National Forest
LURTON GENERAL STORE
I. C. Sutton, Prop.
A tourist supply store, lunch goods,
candies, cold drinks, are our specialties.
LURTON GARAGE
E. J. Sutton, Prop.
A complete and general auto service.
High grade gasoline and oils.
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Take Care, Judy Tate