Completed in 1876 and home to Jacob Shinn's mercantile business, the Shinn Building is the oldest building in Russellville and its first brick building.

Jacob Lawson Shinn (October 2, 1826—August 17, 1899) was a prosperous and influential mid to late-nineteenth-century leader in Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas. A successful merchant who established his first store in about 1852, Shinn was instrumental in bringing the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad (LR&FS) through town and moving the county seat from Dover to Russellville. At one time the wealthiest man and largest property owner in Pope County, he donated land for a railway station and right-of-way through Russellville for the LR&FS railroad as well as property for the new courthouse, the Russellville school system, and the church that he and his wife attended. After financial setbacks that reduced his wealth drastically, Shinn continued his service to the community until he died in office months after being elected mayor of Russellville.

Migration

In 1837, Shinn's family, along with the families of relatives and friends, traveled from Montgomery County, North Carolina by covered wagon when he was 10 years, settling near the area that would become Russellville. His father, Benjamin Daniel Ransom "B.D.R." Shinn, established a farm and, in 1840, one of the first circular sawmills in Pope County, working as a farmer and lumber dealer until his death.[1]

Mexican War

Following the outbreak of war with Mexico, Jacob Shinn enlisted as a corporal in a company of mounted infantry volunteers from Pope County organized under Captain James S. "Symp" Moffit,[2] in Archibald Yell's Arkansas Mounted Rifles, the unit mustering into federal service on July 1, 1846, as Company A.[3][4] The regiment participated in the occupation of several locations in Mexico and in the Battle of Buena Vista. The commander of the invading American Army, General John E. Wool, derisively called Yell's regiment the "Arkansas Mounted Devils" over issues such as military order and basic sanitation as most of the regiment did not regularly drill and military discipline was extremely lax.[5] At the expiration of his year's enlistment, Jacob, by then a sergeant, was discharged at Camargo, on the Rio Grande, and made his way home.[6]

Russellville

Local tradition holds that the naming of the community came down to a choice between Shinnsville, after merchant Jacob Shinn, and Russellville, after Thomas Russell.[7] However, Russellville was actually named in the early 1840s when Jacob was a teen.[8] Russellville is listed on mail routes in requests for proposals for carrying the mail in 1842,[9] when Shinn was 15, and in 1846, when he was 19,[10] so naming the community after Jacob would have been quite unlikely. In the 1840s, his uncle, James Madison Shinn, and father, B. D. R. Shinn, operated a store in the small frontier community. Any truth in the naming tradition may apply to them.[6]

Jacob went to work in his uncle's and father's store in Russellville in 1848 after returning home from the war in Mexico.[6]

Early in 1850, Shinn's father went to California, not returning until the summer of 1851. While he was gone, Jacob managed the family farm,[6] where he is recorded living with his mother and eight siblings in 1850's census, owning real estate valued at $200.[11]

Merchant, entrepreneur, and local philanthropist

In 1852, with a cash capital of $500,[12] Jacob Shinn established one of the first general stores [13] in an area known as Chactas Prairie,[14] just down the road from the log home of Thomas Russell, the area's first doctor.

On July 4, 1855, Shinn married Martha Battenfield. They had four sons.[6]

Shinn was appointed Russellville postmaster on August 4, 1857, and, after the war, was re-established as postmaster on August 6, 1866.[15] By 1858, Shinn's inventory was valued at $2,000, more than twice the average inventory of the eighteen stores taxed in Pope County that year.[16] In 1860, Shinn was documented as a merchant with $3000 in real estate and $25,000 in personal property.[17]

Civil War and Reconstruction

Shinn took no active part in the civil war and, like many merchants in the South, suffered significant reverses. Like many, he was opposed to the secession of Arkansas.[18] Shinn and his family may have relocated during the war. The youngest son, Charles, was born "in Youngstown, Ohio, in June 1864."[19]

Shinn was a passenger on the steamer American when it struck a snag on the port bow at about 10 P.M. on January 27, 1870. The snag was a known navigational hazard about 24 miles above Little Rock and the boat was running at a slow bell to pass it. However, high flow and level in the river had shifted the position of the snag somewhat. The collision staved in the steamer's port side. She sank almost immediately into fifteen feet of water. Within three minutes of striking, the water was waist-deep in the cabin. Shinn finished his journey home by stage.[20]

During a portion of the Pope County militia troubles in 1872, Shinn took refuge in Little Rock as did his brother-in-law, Joseph H. Battenfield, whose newspaper office, including press, had been burned by the sheriff's militia.[21]

After Pope County Clerk Wallace H. Hickox was killed in Dover on August 31, 1872, Shinn traveled with an eyewitness of the killing, Rev. J. M. P. Hickerson, to Little Rock where Shinn met with Governor O. A. Hadley on September 4 and arranged a meeting between Hadley and Hickerson. Reports said that Frank Hickox, a brother of the slain clerk and another man waylaid the stage between Russellville and Perry Station, at that time the furthest west terminus of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, thinking to find Hickerson, remove him from the stage and prevent him from seeing the Governor. Shinn and Hickerson bypassed Perry Station, traveling on horseback to Lewisburg, where they took the train.[22]

The new store

Shinn opened a larger store in a new two-story brick building on Main Street in 1876, with other businesses occupying offices on the second floor,[23] The older, smaller store stayed open during construction after being "rolled back" on the property to make room for the new building on the original location.[24] The building was the first brick building built in town[25] and, currently, is the oldest surviving building in Russellville.

Property owner and developer

For a time, Shinn was the largest land owner in Pope County, with holdings of several thousand acres. He was also a property developer in Russellville, with the J. L. Shinn Addition in eastern Russellville bearing his name to this day.[26]

The Russellville Democrat

In the 1870s, a group of affluent Russellville leaders, including Shinn, organized as the Russellville Printing and Publishing Association and established The Russellville Democrat, a weekly newspaper that assured its readers in its January 28, 1875, inaugural issue that "it is placed on a firm basis and will be a permanent thing." Initially a weekly four-page newspaper, through consolidations and name changes, it evolved into a daily paper that today is The Courier.[27]

Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad

One of the earliest promoters and, in 1867, one of the directors, and vice-president in 1868,[6][28] of the LR&FS Railroad, Shinn donated land for a railway station and right-of-way through Russellville.[29] Much of the growth of Russellville can be attributed to the railroad with many of the business people of Norristown and Dover moving to Russellville.

1877 colored, hand-drawn 11"x17" map showing the 1830 ferry crossing from Norristown to the base of Dardanelle Rock and the 1870s ferry crossing at Dardanelle. Also shown is the old military road between Little Rock and Fort Smith and the freight road to the LR&FS depot in Russellville.

Ferry at Dardanelle

One of the businesses that Jacob Shinn owned was a ferry at the crossing at Dardanelle. Progress, competition, and the nature of steamboats and the river made this one of his more challenging endeavors. One boat was lost on August 16, 1875, when a steam boiler exploded.[30] Another burned on April 1, 1881.[31] Eventually, the construction of a floating bridge rendered his ferry obsolete.

In 1877, a temporary injunction was granted in Shinn's favor restraining another business from Dardanelle from operating a competing ferry.[32] Jacob Shinn bought out the entire interest of the other company the next year, eliminating the competition,[33] The steam ferryboat Oasis, built in Little Rock,[34] went into service between Dardanelle and Norristown in August 1878.[35][36]

A notice in The Russellville Democrat of September 30, 1880, announced that Shinn would "soon start the steam ferry again between Dardanelle and Norristown."[37]

A month after the ferry burned in 1881, a contract had been let for it to be rebuilt according to the Russellville newspaper.[38] That same issue of the paper reported that a license granted by Pope County had reduced the ferry rates to

  • $1—six-horse wagon
  • 75¢—four-horse wagon
  • 50¢—two-horse wagon
  • 25¢—buggy, or one-horse cart
  • 15¢—man and horse
  • 5¢—foot-man
  • 5¢—per head for led or loose stock

Shinn also invested in a railroad venture that would have run between Russellville and North Dardanelle. On June 22, 1880, articles of association and incorporation were filed with a capital stock of $35,000.[39] One of five directors, he was the majority shareholder with fifty shares. Each of the other directors held ten shares.[40] However, the venture was never pursued and others invested in what became the short line Dardanelle and Russellville Railroad (D&RR).[41] Shinn did grant D&RR the right to run across lands that he owned in Pope County.[42] A 4.8-mile (7.7 km) shortline that still exists, D&RR runs from Russellville to the north bank of the Arkansas River at North Dardanelle, across from Dardanelle, Arkansas. D&RR train operations began on August 15, 1883.[43] as did a ten-year contract between DR&R and Shinn for transportation of their freight and passengers over the river via the ferry.

In 1882, a new ferryboat had been built in Little Rock.[44]

Another new steam ferryboat, Martha, at that time one of the largest in Arkansas and captained by Shinn's son, Edgar, was built in Murraysville, Ohio,[45] and arrived at Dardanelle on September 26, 1883.[46] Shinn's youngest son, Charles, also worked on the boat, which cost $20,000 to build.[47] She was capable of operating during high flows, "riding the mad waters in spite of the swift current and heavy driftwood," though her trips were less often than at low water. The crossing at Dardanelle was considered to be one of the hardest places to ferry from its source to its mouth.[48]

Together, the ferry and the shortline railroad provided a transportation link for the crops south of the river—at that time, largely cotton—to the railroad freight depot in Russellville.

In 1885, a dispute arose between D&RR and Shinn over payment for the conveyance of baggage, mail, and empty wagons over the ferry.[49] Shinn won the case in circuit court and the ruling was affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1889.[50]

The opening of the Dardanelle pontoon bridge in early 1891 rendered Shinn's ferry service obsolete.[51] However, in April, the bridge washed away during high flows and flooding on the river.[52] For a time, the ferry steamer Martha returned to service.[53]

First Christian Church

Russellville's First Christian Church sits on land that was once owned by Shinn where the congregation had enjoyed picnics in a grove of trees. Shinn was a charter member and was selected, by lot, as one of the first deacons when the church was formally organized on January 29, 1882. The following September, the membership resolved to "erect the very best edifice they can for the worship of God."[54] The unassuming church building that exists to this day began as a single-story wooden structure built in 1885 after the congregation had met in the Masonic Hall for three years. After the construction loan was paid off, Jacob and Martha Shinn turned the deed to the property over to the congregation on February 28, 1889. One of the fourteen large Gothic stained glass windows has "Mr. & Mrs. J. L. Shinn" inscribed on the lower portion of the window.[55][56]

County seat move from Dover to Russellville

After the LR&FS railroad was completed through Russellville, Shinn was very involved in the effort to move the county seat from Dover to Russellville, which succeeded, after several attempts, in 1887. On March 19, 1887, an election was held on whether to move the county seat to Russellville or to Atkins. Russellville was selected by a margin of 128 votes out of 2,670 total votes cast.[57]

As an incentive for the move of the county seat to Russellville, Shinn and 15 other men provided a $50,000 bond for the construction of a new courthouse and jail within 12 months at no cost to the county or taxpayers on city center lots donated by Shinn.[58] A similar bond was also offered by leaders in Atkins.

Public school system

Along with his other civic accomplishments, Shinn was a sponsor of the city's first public school system, donating sixteen lots and building a school. He was a member of the school board for many years up until his death.[59]

Melrose Cotton Mill

Shinn was the president of the Melrose Manufacturing Company, established in 1882, which owned and operated a cotton mill one-quarter mile east of downtown Russellville[60][61] that manufactured rope, twine, and yarn.[62] While the mill operated for several years, interest accumulating on a large debt incurred by construction and equipment purchases consumed the plant's profits and sapped its financial strength. Shortages of fuel for the steam boiler[63] and barrels for shipping its products of rope and twine[64] halted operation several times. A fire in December 1888 destroyed machinery and products, completely halting production, though the mill was subsequently rebuilt and equipment replaced. In January 1891, a sale of the mortgage transferred ownership of the mill to parties outside of Arkansas, with the mill equipment eventually shipped to New Hampshire[65] and many local citizens losing their investment.[66]

With the failure of the Melrose Cotton Milling Company, Jacob Shinn suffered a financial loss of nearly $60,000, with a continuing decline in his wealth in subsequent years.[67]

Dispute over Dardanelle pontoon bridge

In 1890, Jacob and Ed Shinn filed for an injunction to prevent the Dardanelle Pontoon Bridge Company from building a bridge across the Arkansas River at Dardanelle.[68] The subsequent construction of the Dardanelle pontoon bridge rendered Shinns' ferry obsolete. Shinn later sued for damages and, in winning, was awarded $5,612—equivalent to about $186,500 in 2023 dollars—enough to bankrupt the pontoon company.[69] The pontoon company was subsequently sold to raise enough money pay Shinn.[70] Even with the court award, the loss of the ferry business was a financial setback.

Mayor

Nominated mayor of Russellville on March 6, 1899—and subsequently elected—Jacob L. Shinn died at the age of 72 of typhoid fever just five months later.[71]

References

  1. ↑ Shinn, Josiah H. (1903). The History of the Shinn Family in Europe and America. Chicago, Illinois: The Genealogical and Historical Publishing Company. pp. 165–166, 374–376.
  2. ↑ "Died (Samuel W. Mason obituary)". The Russellville Democrat. No. 25, Ninth Year. The Russellville Printing Association. July 12, 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2023. Capt. (Simpson) Moffett died at San Antonio on the march to Mexico...
  3. ↑ West, D. Porter (1906). D. Porter West's Early history of Pope county; a story. Pope County, Arkansas. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 30 December 2022. Many never returned, Capt. Symp Moffit never returned. Going to Mexico at that time was harrowing to think of much less to face an infuriated foe. No railroads, no telegraphs. After a battle, it took months to get particulars..{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ Herdon, Dallas Tabor (1922). Centennial History of Arkansas. Chicago, Little Rock: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp. 635–636. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Arkansas Mounted Rifles [Mexican War]". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Speer, William S.; Brown, Hon. John Henry, eds. (1881). The Encyclopedia of the New West. Marshall, Texas: The United States Biographical Publishing Company. pp. 155–156. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "Russellville Downtown Historic District". National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved 16 February 2023. It is said that at a town picnic on July 4, 1847, it was decided that the new settlement which consisted of a general store and five houses should be given a name. They determined the name should be either Russellville, after Dr. Thomas Russell, largely because he had the first home with brick chimneys and was a doctor, or Shinnville, after Jacob L. Shinn, who established the first general store in the settlement. The results of the election to name the town were seven votes for Russellville and only five for Shinnville.
  8. ↑ "Thomas Russell, M. D." The Russellville Democrat. No. 22, 12th year. Russellville, Arkansas: The Democrat Printing Company. June 18, 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 2 March 2023. About the year 1842, when but a small hamlet, this place was named, by a majority vote of its citizens, Russellville, in honor of Doctor Thomas Russell, who was at the time one of the principal landowners.
  9. ↑ "U. S. Mail Proposals". Arkansas State Gazette. No. 15 Vol. XXIII. Little Rock, Arkansas: William E. Woodruff. March 23, 1842. p. 1. Retrieved 25 February 2023. Leave Washington every Saturday at 6 a. m., arrive at Russellville every Monday by 6 p.m.... Leave Russellville every Tuesday at 6 a.m., arrive at Washington every Thursday by 6 p.m.
  10. ↑ "Proposals for carrying the mails of the United States". Arkansas True Democrat. No. 22, Vol III. Little Rock, Arkansas: A. H. Rutherford. February 11, 1846. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2023. Leave Camden every other Friday at 6 a. m., arrive at Russellville next Sunday by 6 p.m.... Leave Russellville every other Monday at 6 a.m., arrive at Washington next Wednesday by 6 p.m.
  11. ↑ United States Federal Census; Year: 1850; Census Place: Pope, Arkansas; Roll: 29; Page: 274a
  12. ↑ Speer, William S.; Brown, Hon. John Henry, eds. (1881). The Encyclopedia of the New West. Marshall, Texas: The United States Biographical Publishing Company. pp. 155–156. Retrieved 13 July 2023. In the spring of 1852, Mr. Shinn began merchandising on his own account in Russellville, a village of not over 50 inhabitants, on a cash basis of five hundred dollars. This was the start of his present business, which he has carried on continually until the present time, the extent of which amounts to over one hundred thousand dollars, besides cotton shipments, which, alone, amount to two thousand bales or one hundred thousand dollars per year.
  13. ↑ "J. L. Shinn". The Russellville Democrat. No. 45, Vol. II. James E. Battenfield and B. F. Job. December 7, 1876. Retrieved 21 February 2023. For more than twenty years Mr. Shinn has been a merchant of our town. Commencing business here some time about the year 1854 with but a very small capital—less, perhaps, than the fast young man of now a days would require to sport a broad cloth suit, diamond ring or pin, and gold watch and chain—he has by close attention to business, by honorable dealing, and by close economy steadily built up his business until he may now properly be ranked among the most prosperous, substantial and enterprising merchants in all the state. From a small, dingy 18x24 little trading shop, his business has now become the handsome, two story, 50x90 brick store on the corner of Main and River streets, which would be a credit to the capital of our state. This building stands over the identical spot where Mr. S. sold his first dollars worth of goods and was finished only last May.
  14. ↑ West, D. Porter (1906). D. Porter West's Early history of Pope county; a story. Pope County, Arkansas. p. 9. Retrieved 30 December 2022. The situation is most beautiful, being a small prairie, dotted all over with nice little groves of trees.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ↑ Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Record of Appointment of Postmasters; 1832-Sept. 30,1971; Record Group: Records of the Post Office Department; Record Group Number:28 Series: M841; Roll Number: 8
  16. ↑ Boyette, Gene W. (1990). Hardscrabble Frontier: Pope County in the 1850s. Lanhan - New York - London: University Press of America. pp. 52–53, 181. ISBN 0819177083. Retrieved 21 February 2023. Pope County Collectors Book, 93-94
  17. ↑ United States Federal Census; Year: 1860; Census Place: Illinois, Pope, Arkansas; Roll M653_48; Page:711; Family History Library Film: 803048
  18. ↑ Speer, William S.; Brown, Hon. John Henry, eds. (1881). The Encyclopedia of the New West. Marshall, Texas: The United States Biographical Publishing Company. pp. 155–156. Retrieved 13 July 2023. Before the war Mr. Shinn was a Whig, and, since then, has voted with the Democratic party, but has never taken an active part in politics. He was opposed to the secession of the state, but, after she went out, he went with her.
  19. ↑ Speer, William S.; Brown, John Henry (1881). The Encyclopedia of the New West.
  20. ↑ "Loss of the Steamer American". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 58, 51st year. Little Rock, Arkansas: Woodruff & Blocher. January 29, 1870. p. 4. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  21. ↑ "Arkansas's Iliad". The New York Herald. No. 13189. James Gordon Bennett Jr. September 30, 1872. p. 7. Retrieved 22 February 2023. (Jacob L. Shinn Interview) It's a discouraging thing, I declare. Dr. Russell started our place (meaning Russellville) about 25 years ago, but I put most of the life into it within the past three years, having had the good fortune to make some money, the whole of which I planted right on the spot... the newspaper published by my brother-in-law, Battenfield... the newspaper office, press and all is burned... I am afraid to stay with my goods. We had the prettiest little place in the State... and now the militia is eating us up. The whole of these expenses must come out of the county; they take our stores and pay us in our own scrip, turn their horses and mules into our fields, and it's all because the Governor will not take the responsibility of removing that man Dodson, the Sheriff.
  22. ↑ "The Firing on Poynter Established". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 241, 53rd year. Little Rock, Arkansas. Woodruff, Blocher & Adams. September 5, 1872. p. 4. Retrieved 29 March 2023. "The statement published in yesterday's Gazette, to the effect that Poynter was fired upon by Williams and Hickox before he fired upon them is fully confirmed.
  23. ↑ "A Substantial Improvement". The Russellville Democrat. No. 2, Vol II. Russellville, Arkansas: James E. Battenfiels and B. F. Jobe. February 3, 1876. p. 4. Retrieved 21 February 2023. The handsome and commodious new store house of Mr. J. L. Shinn on the corner of Main and River is now almost ready for use, and is indeed a substantial improvement to the town. The building is constructed of brick, with tin roof, and is fifty by ninety. The proprietor will occupy the two store rooms on the ground floor, which he will fill with a tremendous stock of goods in a short time; he will also use the second floor of one room for clothing, furnishing goods, notions, etc. The second story over the corner room is divided into offices, of which there are six, as nice, well ventilated and light as can be found in the State.
  24. ↑ "Local Affairs". The Russellville Democrat. No. 15, Vol. I. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. May 6, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 21 February 2023. Mr. J. L. Shinn is having his old store house on the corner of Main and River rolled back, to make room for his new brick building, which will be more commodious to accommodate his business.
  25. ↑ "Russellville Downtown Historic District". National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved 16 February 2023. In 1875 Shinn built the first brick building... in Russellville
  26. ↑ Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Western Arkansas. Chicago and Nashville: The Southern Publishing Company. 1891. p. 206. Retrieved 22 February 2023. J. L. Shinn's addition is the largest, and most important, embracing the most desirable territory and affording opportunities to home seekers seldom equaled. It is probable Mr. Shinn has done more than any other one man to build up Russellville's interests.
  27. ↑ "About The Russellville Democrat". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved 22 February 2023. The weekly newspaper was created by a group of affluent townsmen looking to unify the people of Pope County. These town leaders were J. L. Shinn, President; George E. Howell, Vice-President; J. F. Munday, Secretary; and M. L. Baird, Treasurer.
  28. ↑ "Stockholders Meeting". Fort Smith Weekly Herald. No. 31, Vol. II. John Wheeler. January 30, 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2023. At a meeting of stockholders of the Little Rock and Fort Smith railroad company, held on yesterday, the following named persons were elected directors:.. James L. Shinn
  29. ↑ "Russellville Downtown Historic District". National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved 16 February 2023. He was one of the early promoters of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad line... He pledged money and donated eleven acres of land for a railroad station and right-of-way through Russellville.
  30. ↑ "Local Affairs". The Russellville Democrat. No. 9 Vol II. Russellville, Arkansas: Russellville Printing Association. March 23, 1876. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2023. We understand they have not made expense for a long time (having sustained the loss of one boat..., by the explosion of a boiler)...
  31. ↑ "Local News". The Russellville Democrat. No. 10 Vol VII. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Company. April 7, 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 21 March 2023. The steam ferry boat at Dardanell was burned last Friday night. The machinery and hull are but slightly damaged, and the boat will be rebuilt.
  32. ↑ "Injunction Case". The Russellville Democrat. No. 24 Vol III. Russellville, Arkansas: J. E. Battenfield. July 12, 1877. p. 3. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  33. ↑ "Local News". The Russellville Democrat. No. 47 Vol IV. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Company. December 12, 1878. p. 3. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  34. ↑ "Arkansas Boat Building". The Russellville Democrat. No. 20 Vol IV. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. August 8, 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2023. ... probably the largest and best craft of her kind on the Arkansas river... length is one hundred feet, twenty-six feet beam, thirty-six feet overall. The boat when loaded will draw 12 inches, running in ten ihches light. Its cost is about $4000... capacity is 14 teams.
  35. ↑ "Local News". The Russellville Democrat. No. 19 Vol V. Russellville, Arkansas. The Russellville Printing Association. May 29, 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  36. ↑ "Local News". The Russellville Democrat. No. 15 Vol VIII. Russellville, Arkansas: Russellville Printing Company. May 4, 1882. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2023. The steam ferry boat has been sold to a Mr. Baird, of Fort Smith, who took possession of his property last Monday. (replacement) to be completed in the early fall.)
  37. ↑ "Local News". The Russellville Democrat. No. 36 Vol VI. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. September 30, 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  38. ↑ "Dover Dots". The Russellville Democrat. No. 16 Vol VII. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. May 19, 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 21 March 2023. Mr. J. L. Shinn, owner of the steam ferry (recently burned) has let the contract to Mr. Tom Cox of Dardanelle, to have it rebuilt.
  39. ↑ "Another Railroad for Russellville". The Russellville Democrat. No. 18, Vol VI. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Company. May 27, 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 18 March 2023. J. L. Shinn, J. H. Battenfield, James H. Shinn, J. E. Battenfield and J. H. Haney are Directors and Commissioners to open stockbooks.
  40. ↑ Pollard, William A.; Hull, Cliffton E. (1995). The Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad. Arkrail Publishing Co. p. 3. ISBN 978-0944436189.
  41. ↑ "The Ferry Muddle". The Russellville Democrat. No. 36, 12th year. Russellville, Arkansas. September 24, 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 March 2023. Why did you and your associates not go on and build the road on your charter? The distance being so short we thought it doubtful whether it would pay, so we were just resting on it.
  42. ↑ "Dunford v. Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad Company". Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of Arkansas. Little Rock: State of Arkansas. 1927. pp. 1036–1042. Retrieved 22 February 2023. The railroad offered in evidence a certain contract between itself and Shinn, which contemplated the operation of a ferry-boat across the Arkansas River near Dardanelle, and, among other considerations for this agreement, was the right granted to the railroad to run the line of the railroad across 'all such lands as the party of the first part (Shinn) now owns in the said county of Pope..,'
  43. ↑ Hull, Clifton E. and Pollard, William A. (1995), The Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad, University of Central Arkansas Press, Conway, Arkansas. ISBN 9780944436189
  44. ↑ "Local Happenings". The Russellville Democrat. No. 36, 8th year. Russellville, Arkansas: Russellville Printing Co. October 5, 1882. p. 4. Retrieved 4 March 2023. It was built by Mr. Joseph Bucher of this city... its oscillating engine and machinery complete were furnished and set in order by J. W. Bockage & Co. of Pine Bluff, and it is said to be perhaps the most thoroughly constructed and best adapted steam ferry on the river...
  45. ↑ "Additional Local Intelligence". The Russellville Democrat. No. 26, 9th year. Russellville, Arkansas. The Russellville Printing Association (J. L. Shinn, president). July 19, 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  46. ↑ "Dardanelle Drift". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 267, 64th year. Little Rock, Arkansas: Gazette Printing Company. September 29, 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2023. ...side-wheel... Length 120 feet, beam 3½ feet, depth of hold 4 feet. The hull timbers are of the best oak 3x6 inches, and the bottom planking 3 inches thick, the whole being extra bolted and caulked... Tonnage, 14781 tons. The motive power consists of two puppet-valve engines, each 12 inch cylinder and 4 feet stroke, working a wheel 15 feet in diameter with buckets 7 feet 1 inch. Steam is furnished by two steam boilers, double riveted and drill, 22 feet long, 38 inches in diameter.
  47. ↑ "Martha - the excellent steam ferry boat plying between Dardanelle and Norristown". The Russellville Democrat. No. 38, 9th year. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. October 11, 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  48. ↑ "The Dardanelle Ferry". The Russellville Democrat. No. 5, 11th year. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. February 21, 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  49. ↑ "The Ferry Muddle". The Russellville Democrat. No. 36, 12th year. Russellville, Arkansas. September 24, 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 March 2023. They have to run a baggage and mail wagon to meet the train, and besides this they cross a good number of empty wagons, all of which they refuse to pay for, and I cannot afford to cross them for nothing.
  50. ↑ "Dardanell and Russellville Railway, appellant, vs. Shinn, appellee". The Arkansas Democrat. No. 38 Vol 19. Little Rock, Arkansas: James Mitchell and James R. Bettis. October 18, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  51. ↑ "Darnanelle Items". The Russellville Democrat. No. 52, 16th year. Russellville, Arkansas: Democrat Printing Company. January 15, 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 27 February 2023. Work on the north side approach is approaching slowly, very slowly.
  52. ↑ "A $15,000 Bridge Washed Away". The Minneapolis Times. No. 568 Vol IV. Minneapolis, Minnestoa: The Mineapolis Time Company. April 24, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  53. ↑ "Washed away". The Russellville Democrat. No. 14 Vol 17. Russellville, Arkansas: Democrat Printing Co. April 30, 1891. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  54. ↑ "A New House of Worship to be Built in Russellville". The Russellville Democrat. No. 36, eighth year. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Company. October 5, 1882. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  55. ↑ Graves, Cathy (February 2020). "A Cornerstone of Faith and Community". About the River Valley. Russellville, Arkansas: One14 Productions, Inc. XV (1): 8–13. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  56. ↑ "First Christian Church" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. April 7, 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2023. The church is the oldest active church building in Russellville and an excellent example of the Late Gothic Revival style. First Christian Church's 14 narrow, pointed stained-glass windows and pointed portico arches, steep gabled roof, and cruciform sanctuary pattern are characteristics of this style.
  57. ↑ "Election Abstract". The Democrat. Russellville, Arkansas. 23 March 1887. p. 3. 1399 for Russellville, 1271 for Atkins
  58. ↑ "The Court-House Question". The Russellville Democrat. No. 30, 12th year. Russellville, Arkansas. September 1, 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 23 February 2023. Know all men by these presents that we J. L. Shinn. H. J. Wilton, W. J. White, J. M. White. W. A. Winn, J. M. Luker, J. E. Battenfield. G. E. Howell, J.T. Fowler, T. M. Wyatt, W. H. Hill, J. W. Welle, J. A. Erwin. A. T. Davis, T. C. Smith, L. M. Smith, acknowledge ourselves to owe and be indebted for the use of Pope county to...
  59. ↑ "Russellville Downtown Historic District". National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  60. ↑ "1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas". Library of Congress. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  61. ↑ "1919 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas". Library of Congress. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  62. ↑ Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Western Arkansas. Chicago and Nashville: The Southern Publishing Company. 1891. p. 206. Retrieved 22 February 2023. Perhaps the most important industry is that of the Melrose Manufacturing Company, of which J. L. Shinn is president; J. M. Haney, superintendent, and J. E. Battenfield, secretary and treasurer, and which gives employment to from fifty to seventy-five operatives. Incorporated in 1882, the annual business has shown a decided rise each year. The plant is situated on the line of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, and occupies a one-story brick building 52x252 feet in dimensions, with a boiler-room 24x50 feet. The officers of the company are business men of recognized ability. Rope and twine are manufactured.
  63. ↑ "From the State Press". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 239, 69th year. The Gazette Printing Co. August 25, 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 4 March 2023. ... had to shut down temporarily on account of the supply of fuel giving out.
  64. ↑ "Local Happenings". The Russellville Democrat. No. 38, 9th year. Russellville, Arkansas. October 11, 1883. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2023. The Melrose Mill, unable to secure barrels enough to ship their goods, contemplate adding a cooper shop...
  65. ↑ "Local Lines". The Russellville Democrat. No. 30 Vol 17. Russellville, Arkansas: Democrat Printing Company. August 31, 1891. p. 4. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  66. ↑ "Russellville's Opportunity". The Russellville Democrat. No. 12 Vol. 17. Russellville, Arkansas: Democrat Printing Company. April 16, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  67. ↑ "Russellville's Ticket—Nominee for Mayor Once the Wealthiest Man in the County". The Arkansas Democrat. No. 145 Vol 28. Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas Democrat Company. March 8, 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 23 February 2023. The most prominent man, Mr. J. L. Shinn, is an old residenter of this place, once the wealthiest man in the county, but now of very limited means, being subjected to a great loss by the failure of the Melrose Cotton Milling Company several years ago, when it was estimated he lost nearly $60,000. His financial decline has been steady ever since he could not overcome this great loss. He once owned large land interests in the town and has spent thousands of dollars in advertising the city. He also made it possible for this district to erect one of the finest public school buildings in the state. As a church member he is as zealous a worker as you may find, the First Christian Church, of Russellville, being built almost entirely through his donations.
  68. ↑ "Local Lines". The Russellville Democrat. No. 41, Sixteenth Year. Russellville, Arkansas. October 30, 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  69. ↑ "Happenings Round About". The Russellville Democrat. No. 5 Vol. 19. Russellville, Arkansas. February 23, 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  70. ↑ "For Sale". The Russellville Democrat. No. 7 Vol 19. Russellville, Arkansas: Democrat Printing Company. March 3, 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  71. ↑ "Mayor Shinn Dead". The Arkansas Democrat. No. 281 Vol 28. Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas Democrat Company. August 17, 1899. p. 1. Retrieved 22 February 2023. Mayor J. L. Shinn... died last night from a prolonged attack of typhoid fever... once the richest man in Pope county. Reverses came in 1890.
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