For several years, the Chamber of Commerce operated a ferry at Toad Suck, where Highway 60 crosses the Arkansas River linking Faulkner and Perry Counties. The Chamber of Commerce financed the operation of the ferry, hoping the Perry County residents would bring enough business across the Arkansas River to justify the expense of the ferry.

Dave Ward, a local blacksmith who eventually built school buses, was responsible for building the Toad Suck Ferry, which operated across the Arkansas River until the Toad Suck Bridge was built in the early 1970s.

When the construction of the Arkansas River Navigation project was begun, the Chamber of Commerce Road Committee proposed to the Arkansas Highway Commission the construction of Continue reading →

“Not even the owner of Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa in Hot Springs, one of the most iconic structures in Arkansas, could convince an order of Benedictine Sisters to halt their plans to demolish the almost 100-year-old St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith.

“A statement from the CEO of Sky Capital Group, which owns the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, regarding St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith and posted to the Arlington’s Facebook Page Friday (June 3) left many on social media speculating Continue reading →

“Little Rock-based Preserve Arkansas has received preliminary grant approval from a national trust to conduct an assessment of historic St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, which is set for demolition after June 1.

“The $10,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation requires the Benedictine Sisters who own the iconic monastery to delay demolition and agree to an architectural assessment of the large, five-story structure. Continue reading →