Cooks General Store
by Ben Prepelka
Title
Cooks General Store
Artist
Ben Prepelka
Medium
Photograph
Description
It was common during the 16th and 17th centuries for small American communities to grow up around the area's grist mill. It was not much different in rural Arkansas. Along the banks of the War Eagle Creek, Sylvanus and Catherine Blackburn settled near today's Rogers, Arkansas. Seeing the need for a grist mill, the couple built the first mill in the War Eagle Valley during the 1830s. Even though the mill was destroyed by Confederate troops, the couple returned after the Civil War and saw their son rebuild the mill. One of the largest mills in the state, the mill produced lumber to help aid the reconstruction efforts in nearby Fayetteville, which was destroyed by the retreating Confederate army.
As the community grew, two general stores supported the valley's population. While the Blackburn's store was lost to a fire during the mid 20th century , the Cook's General Store building survives to this day. Well over 100 years old, the vintage mercantile, last operated by Port Stafford, closed its doors during the late 1950s. Today, the War Eagle mill's store and restaurant supports the rural population.
Uploaded
December 18th, 2021
Embed
Share
Similar Images
Comments (16)
Tibby Steedly
Wonderful image and it was interesting reading about its history. Congratulations on your features.
Jennifer White
Congratulations your beautiful photo has been featured in the Ozarks Photo and Art Collection Group. You are invited to post your featured image in the featured image discussion thread as a permanent place to continue to get exposure even after the image is no longer on the Home Page.
Toni Hopper
I knew this photo looked familiar! I photographed my sons when they were little on those steps. They are grown with their own children now, and my husband and I just took my teenage granddaughter and her friend to NWA about 3 weeks ago to see all this. We took the "back road" in to the mill and I meant to walk over there and photograph the place, but we got busy exploring and the kids had fun in the water. Then a storm started moving in so we headed out. War Eagle Mill is one of my most favorite places. We lived just down the road from there in Nob Hill back in the 1980s. Voted for this in the Forgotten contest.
Don Columbus
Congratulations, your work is Featured in "Photographic Camera Art" I invite you to place it in the group's "2020-2022 Featured Image Archive" Discussion! L
Recently Viewed
