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History

Conway

The City of Conway was founded by A. P. Robinson, who came to Conway shortly after the Civil War. Robinson was the chief engineer for the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad (now the Union-Pacific). Part of his compensation was the deed to a tract of land, one square mile, located near the old settlement of Cadron. When the railroad came through, Robinson deeded a small tract of his land back to the railroad for a depot site. He laid off a town site around the depot and named it Conway Station, in honor of a famous Arkansas family.

Conway was designated the county seat of Faulkner County in 1873, the same year that the county was created by the legislature. In October, 1875, Conway was incorporated and, at that time, had a population of approximately 200.

For many years Conway flourished as a trade center for a large rural agricultural area. Hendrix College was established in Conway in 1890. Three years later, in 1893, Central College for Girls was established, and Conway was on its way to becoming an educational center. The University of Central Arkansas was founded in Conway in 1907 as the Arkansas Normal School. Its economy was firmly established upon agriculture and the educational institutions until World War II.

After the war, diversification of the economy was started by Conway businessmen, and several small industries were attracted to Conway. Subsequently, additional state institutions were located in Conway, including the headquarters for the Office of Emergency Services, the Human Development Center, and the Arkansas Educational Television Network.

Faulkner County

A division of Conway and Pulaksi counties in April 1873 led to the creation of Faulkner County, the 69th county in Arkansas. Faulkner County began as Conway Station, a hamlet owned by A. P. Robinson. Located on the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad, it contained two small stores, two saloons, a depot, some temporary housing and a post office. Faulkner County is named for Sanford C. Faulkner, the original "Arkansas Traveler."