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Submitted: 12/31/20 • Approved: 12/31/20 • Last Updated: 1/3/21 • R1357848-G1357848-S3
Mary Elizabeth
Nov 24, 1860 - Jan 6, 1906
Lemuel Ward
May 1, 1854 - Sept 9, 1925
Founder of Gosnell, Arkansas
wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosnell,_Arkansas
The Gosnell region was surrounded by water in its early days. It is bordered on the west by Big Lake, which in the days before the automobile and railroads was used as a boat transportation route linking the settlement to the larger cities of Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. Landowners along Big Lake took advantage of a thriving commercial hunting and fishing business. Pelts and packed fish could be shipped to market along the lake or by the two bayous to the Mississippi River.
To the east of the settlement is the Pemiscot Bayou. The road from Blytheville passed the Indian mound and store before traveling across the Pemiscot Bayou. Families with land along the Pemiscot traveled in boats into the Lumerate Bayou, which ran through Blytheville's business district. The road to Gosnell came to be called the Pole Road. When stretches of the road became bad, the community would turn out to cut logs to place across the mud of the road, making it passable again.
Because the land was sparsely settled, it was of little concern to either side during the Civil War. All of Mississippi County had fewer than 4,000 residents at this time. Men from the area joined Confederate units from other parts of Arkansas. Aside from a few Union raids from Missouri, the county did not suffer much from the war.
Much of the land between Blytheville and Big Lake was purchased in the late 1800s by Lemael Gosnell, a dentist and pioneer farmer. In time, the community came to be named for him.
Gosnell was incorporated as a first-class city on March 12, 1968. Gosnell's first mayor after incorporation was Andy Bevill. Since then, Gosnell has had only four mayors: Carl Ledbetter, Dick Reams, Don Marhsall and currently Teresa Walker.
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Annette Shaw
Contributed on 12/31/20 by hawkinsdonna48
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Record #: 1357848