Conway Area Chamber of Commerce

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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 mile square, 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. Conway's economy was firmly established upon agriculture and educational institutions until World War II.

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

There are currently a number of major industries located in Conway. Some of those include:

American Transportation
Acxiom
Frigidaire
Virco Manufacturing
Kimberly Clark

Conway has also become the central gateway to the Ozarks. Many tourists stop off in Conway on their way to such places as Branson, Eureka Springs, Mountain View, Murfreesboro and Hot Springs.

FAULKNER COUNTY A division of Conway and Pulaski 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"

CADRON Approximately five miles west of Conway, on the Arkansas River near the mouth of Cadron Creek, is the site of an early French trading post, which flourished in the late 18th century. The Cadron settlement grew up around the site of this trading post. The settlement dates back to about 1808 and was one of the first settlements in central Arkansas. Around 1815, the first post office was established at Cadron. The settlement narrowly missed being chosen by the legislature as the capitol of the Arkansas territory. During the 1830's, while relocating west to the Indian Territory, a large group of Indians, traveling by boat on the Arkansas River, were put ashore at Cadron. They camped there while combating a cholera epidemic. Many died and were buried on nearby hills.

Cadron was a station on the Butterfield Overland mail route from Memphis to San Francisco in 1858. Cadron flourished until the Little Rock - Fort Smith Railroad, which bypassed the town was built in 1871.