"Mail Carrier Smith" Southern Catalpa Tree

In 1831, fourteen-year-old John H. Smith carried the mail 180 miles from Washington, Arkansas, to Natchitoches, Louisiana. On his route, he passed a catalpa tree growing along the Red River and one day he filled his pocket with the fluffy seed. The seeds were scattered in the old court house yard in Washington, introducing the southern catalpa in Hempstead County.

John H. Smith came to Hempstead County in 1824 when he was seven years old. In 1831, Smith carried the mail 180 miles on horseback from Washington, Arkansas, to Natchitoches, Louisiana, a ten day round-trip he made twice each month. According to an interview he gave to the Southwest Press in 1883, he stopped one day on his route at a catalpa tree hedge growing along the Red River Of The South. He filled his pocket with the winged seed from this tree, and when he returned to Washington, he scattered them over the land around the 1836 Courthouse, introducing the species to the town. It's estimated this particular tree was planted around 1831.

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