On Jan. 15, 1923, after a bitter 2-year strike on the Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad, an angry mob assembled in Harrison, the railway s headquarters. The vigilantes hanged one striker, publicly stripped and whipped others and ran the remaining strikers out of Arkansas. One of the longest railroad strikes in American history, it was the only one ended by a mob action.
I pull into the parking lot of the Skylark Cafe at Leslie. The flowers in bloom around the business tell you immediately that this is a good place for lunch. The well-tended gardens show it has owners who care.
Bob King s pride is evident as we walk through the Buffalo River Historic Jail & Museum at Marshall. King is the museum s director and curator, lovingly overseeing a building that served as the Searcy County jail from 1902-76.