GRAYSONIA, Arkansas

GRAYSONIA

Clark Co., Arkansas

Located AT the JUNCTION of Graysonia/Marrlow/No Name roads, east of the railroad tracks and the Antoine River southwest of De Gray Lake, and 10 miles south of Amity, about 80 miles southwest of Little Rock. It is along the western county line due west of Arkadelphia.

This lumbering/sawmilling company town was established in 1907 by the Grayson-McLeod Lumber Company, owned by: William GRAYSON and Nelson W. McLEOD. The town was established as a support town for their operations along the Antoine River. It quickly grew to 350 folks and was located just east of a large bend in the Antoine River, in the heart of untapped forests. Within ten years Graysonia had doubled in population and the Grayson-McLeod Mill was one of the busiest in the Southeastern US. Some 500 employees produced an average of 150,000 board feet of lumber – DAILY! In 1909, the railroad arrived when the railroad arrived.

William Grayson died in 1910, and his share of the company passed to his four sons. By 1915, the company had merged with the Bemis brother’s Ozan Lumber Company into the Ozan-Graysonia Lumber Company. With additional resources and a strong knowledge of milling, the company grew and operations increased.

During the WWI era, through the 1920s, Graysonia was a major town. It was company-owned, BUT, it also had incorporated and had its own elected City-Council. Some of the amenities other than the lumber mills and company offices included: hundreds of homes, barbershop, cafes, a church, cold drink house, commissary (a large company-owned general store with separate meat market in the rear), confectionary, firehouse, guest houses, three hotels/boarding houses, an ice plant, pool room, post office, recreation building, restaurant, school (outside link) and theater. Running water and electricity was also available. As was typical of the times, white and black workers were segregated, each having their own church, school and recreational facilities.

In 1929 decline set in due to multiple factors, and in 1931, the mill closed. There were still about five million feet of lumber stockpiled, and much was run through the planning mill, but due to the economic times, mostly went unsold. Some folks remained to work in the cinnabar mines ten miles to the north in the Amity area. By the mid 1930s, they were gone. In 1937, the mill equipment was moved to some new mills at Delight.

On Nov 19, 1950, the post office closed its doors and Graysonia was completely abandoned.

A couple of historic photos of Graysonia can be seen here and here.

Rubble and ruins remain. WOULD LOVE ANY READER CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS FOR POSTING! (GBS)

· NE¼ Sec 22, T7S, R23W, Fifth Principal Meridian

· Latitude: 34.1270461 / 34° 07’ 37” N

· Longitude: -93.4399031 / 93° 26’ 24” W

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My listing has prompted some discussion, which is being presented here….

Buddy asks…

I lived on the top of a mountain in Graysonia, in front of where the train station was, overlooking the railroad. My Dad drove a log train, hauling logs to the mill. He also ran a log loader, loading logs on the train to bring to the millpond. In 1925 to 1933, I also lived at Graysonia Camps, about 6 miles to the west. I would like any information or photos about this place. I have 2 sisters born there.

(E-mail from Buddy, 5/30/2002)

RESPONSE: from Noble Roberts 12/29/2002

“I remember the house the gentleman speaks about; it sat with others on the mountain up from the train station. I do not have pictures of these houses but do have a picture of the railway station and will be pleased to share it. My uncles, Ira and Jewell Roberts, lived in houses in this neighborhood in the late 1920's. I visited houses there many times during that period. I was born in my grandmother's house six miles down the Graysonia road toward Arkadelphia in 1925. Her name was Hernando Roberts. For many years she was the rural mail carrier for Graysonia. Last year I visited the old site where the town was located, but no structures are standing.”

On Aug 20, 2005, I received this E-mail regarding Graysonia.

“My grandparents lived in Graysonia. My grandmother told me about the town when I was still in high school, I guess because I like history…. Would there be any maps still around to find the way to the town? (Also) would there be any photos of Graysonia out there some place?”

No name was on this E-mail, but if anyone can help, I’d love to add the information to this page. (GBS)

While doing research for the updating of this page, I ran across the memoir of a former Graysonia resident, William Harrison MEDDLEY (as told to his son.) His story of the logging days in the Graysonia area can be found HERE.

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FIRST POSTED: December 10, 2005

LAST UPDATED: August 10, 2014

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