Historical Marker
Polk County in the Civil War
Mena, Polk County · Arkansas
Erected 2016
Polk County's war began with a delegate. Dr. Archibald Ray went to the 1861 Secession Convention owning seven enslaved people. The 1860 census counted 4,090 white residents and 172 enslaved people in the county; the Encyclopedia of Arkansas says the mountain terrain was poor for row crops, so slavery stayed limited. When Arkansas joined the Confederacy, sixty-four local volunteers formed a company called the Polk County Invincibles. Polk County had been cut from Sevier County only in 1844.
Where it stands
34.58323, -94.23573 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Rich Mountain Viewpoint on the Talimena Byway — 8.4 miThe Forest Service summit stop at 2,681 feet, about ten miles west of Mena, where the Arkansas end of the Talimena byway tops out.
- Queen Wilhelmina State Park — 10 miA mountaintop lodge on Rich Mountain, named for a Dutch queen by the railroad whose Dutch investors built the first inn in 1898.
More markers nearby
- Polk County First County Seat — 0.2 mi
- Scott County in the Civil War — 23 mi
- John F. Kennedy Memorial — 24 mi