Campbell Station (Jackson County, AR)

Campbell Station has a park called Keeter Park and the building that is the city hall building setting on the property of the park that are both connected to the very first mayor of Campbell Station W.O. Keeter. Campbell Station is considered a part of the Tuckerman, AR community but to residents who live in the area its still their own little town even though not much is left anymore. Campbell Station's history is based off the railroad that ran through the area and that was what made it into the little town that it was. Beginning at first with the name for the town as Campbell it would later be changed to Campbell Station. Campbell Station like Newport would have a role to play in World War II in supporting the soldiers that were sent to Jackson County for training. Campbell Station is pretty much in the twenty-first century a housing district of Tuckerman, AR, but it still a community nonetheless because of the rich history that makes it a part of Jackson County and Arkansas history.

Campbell Station or what it was originally called Campbell, is located along the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and U.S. Highway 367 in Jackson County. It sets between Newport, Diaz, and Tuckerman, and is apart of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Highway 67. The flat land of Jackson County was a promising area for railroad companies such as Cairo and Fulton Railroad to lay tracks north of Newport leading to what is currently called Campbell Station, but due to financial situations and the Civil War construction was delayed for many years. After Cairo and Fulton became part of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad and completed construction on the railroad Campbell Station was on the stops for the steam engines to be resupplied with water and with wood for fuel.

The real origins for the name of township are unknown but some speculate that it was named after a railroad worker since there were settlers that had identified with the first or last name of Campbell. Campbell was officially recognized by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway in 1889. Even though Campbell made it into the officially records there were no businesses or post office associated with the stop. Sometime in the nineteenth century Jackson County School District No. 27 was established but it didn’t last long eventually being absorbed into the Tuckerman district during consolidations. During World War II when the Newport Air Field was in operation from 1942 to 1946, Campbell would build ten cabins to house the fliers. While the Marines were stationed in the area, they would often haunt the local night club called the Beverly Gardens later named The Belvedere.

During the 1950s Campbell Station was officially incorporated as a second-class city in Jackson County, and W.O. Keeter the city’s first mayor donated land to construct their city hall. Even a Baptist church was established in Keeter Park, park named after the mayor. Water purchased through Diaz established a water system through Campbell Station in 1970, and eventually like Newport and Diaz, Campbell Station was also bypassed with the four-lane U.S. Highway 67, but the old road Highway 367 is still used by many residents. Also, the community of Diaz in 1983 tried annexing Campbell Station, but citizens of Campbell Station voted down the proposal.

The legacy of Campbell Station is small with one well known native being the famous local woodwork named Harry Gamble. Gamble a carpenter and cabinetmaker built the pews for the local Baptist Church, and his company Campbell Station Cabinet Shop was in the area. Eventually Wayne Inc., maker of ambulances had purchased the property but after it closed in 1980, the Campbell Station division was bought by Taylor Made Ambulance. The company would stay here for several years until it bought a car lot in Newport and moved their operations to that location. The other legacy was that out of those ten cabins that remained from the soldiers bunking in Campbell Station only one is still standing in the twenty-first century

Teske, Steven. Campbell Station (Jackson County), Encyclopedia of Arkansas. September 1st, 2022. Accessed April 27th, 2023. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/campbell-station-jackson-county-6102/.

Arkansas Register of Historic Places, Arkansas Hertiage. Campbell Station Cabin #2, Arkansas Hertiage. August 1st, 2012. Accessed May 1st, 2023. https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-register/campbell-station-cabin-2.