Photo Gallery
 |
Concord Theater, Springdale, May 28, 1943. Howard Clark, photographer. Carolyn Price Clark Collection (S-2002-72-1172) The fire at the theater had been smoldering for several hours when smoke was finally noticed. When the door was opened the fire burst into flames, quickly jumping to the curtains. It took firefighters from Springdale and Fayetteville three hours to battle the blaze and keep it from spreading to nearby businesses on Emma Avenue. At one point the theater owner’s son climbed through the building’s offices to take a crowbar to the ceiling, so water from the fire hoses on the roof could reach the flames. |
 |
R.C. Henry Hardware Company, Siloam Springs, June 1901. Siloam Springs Historical Museum Collection (S-83-302-90:1) Not much is known about this fire, which took place around what were then Elm and North Main Streets and damaged and destroyed several buildings. It’s possible that it started in a nearby blacksmith shop |
 |
 |
Arkansas Ice & Cold Storage Plant, Fayetteville, March 3, 1975. Charles Bickford, photographer. Springdale News Collection (SN 3/1975 #3 and SN 3/10/1975) Shortly after midnight a major fire broke out at the abandoned ice plant at the corner of Dickson Street and West Avenue. Four firefighting companies were called to the scene. A snorkel unit was used to fight the fire on the building’s upper stories. A big fire in its day, this fire is still remembered by longtime Fayetteville firefighters. |
 |
Cooperative Furniture Factory, Berryville, 1930s. Carroll County Heritage Center Collection (S-84-211-179) |
 |
Butler Creek, Sulphur Springs, late 1800s or early 1900s. Hazel Stotler Collection (S-86-192-22) Not much is known about this particular flood, but Butler Creek has flooded many times. Spring-fed creeks often overflow their banks during heavy rains.
|
 |
South 71 Auto Sales mailbox, Greenland, November 1973. Northwest Arkansas Times Collection (NWAT 11-1973) A weekend of heavy rain, including 1.54 inches in a 24-hour period, led to area-wide flooding. Roads were washed out in Benton, Madison, and Washington Counties, a bridge on Brush Creek collapsed at one end, and electricity in southwest Washington County was lost for a time. |
 |
Frisco Railroad engine and train, possibly the Brentwood or Fayette Junction depot, late 1800s or early1900s. Washington County Historical Society Collection (P-4232) An improper switch alignment probably caused the engine on the right to sideswipe the train on the left, which was parked along the siding next to the depot. Switches were mechanical structures used to divert a train from one set of tracks to another, such as onto a siding away from the main line. |
 |
Frisco Railroad train, Pettigrew, 1900. Mabel Shinn Collection (S-84-164-45A) This train was said to have hit a split switch (the switch wasn’t fully engaged) and derailed. As a result, the engine rammed its nose into the ground while the slat-sided stock cars, used for transporting cattle, twisted around. |
 |
Frisco Railroad train, Greenland, December 1897. Robert G. Winn Collection (S-84-2-120) Fortunately, nobody died as a result of this head-on collision. But a number of cattle escaped the train’s stock cars and wandered around town for a while.
|
 |
Frisco Railroad train, north of Springdale, October 1897. Tommy Kendrick Collection (S-2006-11-14) This terrible accident could have been avoided had the northbound train crew waited for proper clearance before leaving the siding at the Springdale depot. The station agent was also at fault for not passing along new orders. Thus, two trains unknowingly sped towards a head-on collision. When the mistake was realized, the Springdale telegraph operator tried to warn the southbound train from Rogers, but to no avail. Finally, the Lowell operator sent a message: “They have come together: just heard the crash.” A brakeman and a man described as a tramp were killed. The rest of the crew was seriously injured, some as they leapt from their train to escape the oncoming crash. The crew suffered broken bones, fractures, burned legs (from the engine boilers), and lacerations. The loss to the railroad was estimated at $50,000. |
 |
 |
Highway 71, Greenland, late 1930s. Washington County Historical Society Collection (P-2459A&B) What happens when a car collides with a truck full of produce? Dents, broken glass, and peaches everywhere! |
 |
Members of the Nott and Maddox families, Winslow, about 1935. Mary Ann Roscopf Collection (S-92-120-4) Although this plane crashed on top of a mountain during a heavy fog, the pilot was uninjured. Folks living in the area traveled to the crash site to check out―and pose with―the destruction. |
 |
Jackson Long Plumbing Supply, Berryville, October 1942. Sarah K. Sine Collection (S-96-100-2) The worst tornado in Carroll County history struck at 10:30 p.m. As the Wyrick family hid under a mattress, they felt no motion as the storm picked up their house and moved it several feet. At the railroad station, the tornado knocked over 50-ton railroad cars and wrenched a baby out of its mother’s arms, badly hurting the mother and killing the child. In all, 29 people were killed, with 68 seriously injured. |
 |
Odd Fellows members holding their 61st lodge anniversary at their former hall, Fayetteville, April 26, 1880. J.W. Hansard, photographer. Washington County Historical Society Collection (P-3157) The tornado moved from southwest Fayetteville to the downtown square before heading out east of town. It killed one woman, damaged 68 buildings, and caused over $100,000 in damage.Cane Hill sent 925 pounds of flour, 218 pounds of bacon, and money in aid to the city of Fayetteville, while Colonel Lake of Viney Grove contributed 200 pounds of bacon and two loads of corn. |
 |
William Henry Holcomb II family, Elm Springs, May 1898. Susan Chadick Collection (S-2006-175-14) When the tornado came roaring through, the Holcomb family of Elm Springs took refuge in the cellar. Their home was destroyed and the barn damaged. The destruction was widespread. A Springdale News reporter noted, “Wheat fields…were barren. Shreds of clothing, furniture, etc., would be found in almost every conceivable place.” |
 |
Green Forest School, Green Forest, March 1927. Carroll County Heritage Center Collection (S-85-18-31) The tornado started south of Berryville before hitting Green Forest and moving on to cause further destruction. Around 20 people were killed with many more injured. Over 700 houses and stores were reported damaged or destroyed. An Associated Press reporter wrote, “Women, some hysterical, some scantily clad, crying children clinging to them, roamed the streets. Men were doing their bit toward recovering bodies.” |
 |
Elmdale Manor Apartments, Springdale, June 12, 1970. Springdale News Collection (SN 6/12/1970) The tornado that tore through northwest Springdale cut a path one mile long and one quarter of a mile wide. One man lost his life and several others were admitted to the hospital with such injuries as a broken neck and a punctured lung. The storm damaged 138 houses and businesses, including 11 chicken houses, and overturned 54 vehicles. |
 |
Broken branch on a power line, Hylton home, Springdale, January 2009. Courtesy Vera Hylton When a mixture of sleet and rain coated Northwest Arkansas with as much as two inches of ice it caused toppled trees, collapsed roofs, snapped utility poles, and sagging power lines. At the storm’s peak, about 100,000 area residences and businesses were without power. Unattended candles led to a fire that caused two deaths. Others died while cleaning up storm debris. |