Institution

Constructed in 1960, the Morrison Tavern Inn was an interpretation of a roadside tavern as seen on the Southwest Trail, such as the original Williams' Tavern located north of town (the building that would later be moved to Washington and renovated in the 1980s). Taverns served as "rest stops" and could sell provisions, host post offices and stage stations, and even provide lodging and meals. This was interpreted with a tap room, detached kitchen, and rooms with beds and lodging furniture inside. The Tavern Inn also featured exhibits, such as a printer's room detailing the history of the Washington Telegraph with a working press (now located in the Print Museum).The original tavern sat on the other side of the block, facing the Southwest Trail (modern-day Arkansas 195); the small brick foundation marks the spot. The 1960 reconstruction was built facing the current main route through town (modern-day U.S. 278), by B.W. Edward's construction company and with funds donated from William and Lucille Hart King. Today it mostly hosts park office space, except for the Tap Room in front and Kitchen in rear, which are occasionally on tour.

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Historic Washington State Park - Encyclopedia of Arkansas 

Library Of Congress - Old Tavern, Military Road, Washington, Hempstead County, AR

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A 1960s reconstruction of a pioneer-era roadside tavern inn, the Morrison Tavern Inn was constructed by the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation near the location of a similar structure that faced Franklin Street (Arkansas Highway 195). The current structure was built facing the new main road through town, US Highway 278.

Morrison Tavern (Reconstructed 1960)

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This Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Washington State Park lets you explore Washington, Arkansas and its history at your own pace.

Following the Civil War, Hempstead County’s Reconstruction officials voted to replace the frontier-era 1836 Courthouse. The Italianate design is believed to have been influenced by the Alamance County Courthouse in North Carolina. Contractor Ezekiel Treadway, following the architectural plans of Green and Son of Little Rock, completed construction in January 1875. The circuit court and the county clerk’s offices were located downstairs, with most of the other rooms rented out to county officers and attorneys. Most of the second floor was taken up by the county courtroom, with jury rooms in back. Citizens climbed one of two staircases in the center hallway to go upstairs, and oil lamps mounted to the doorways lit the hallways until the building was electrified in 1918. Two upstairs platforms, one at either end, allowed officials to walk out and address large crowds. A cupola, designed to hold a clock, was centered on the roof, but a clock was never installed. In 1946, a tornado damaged the copula, so badly, it was removed. By 1925, a lack of space caused the county to build an annex onto the rear, which has visible differences in the walls, floorboards, and exterior brick.The courtyard was surrounded by a fence intended to keep roaming animals and livestock out, but gates were impractical for a public building, so local handyman William Moses was paid $6 to install six staircase-type stiles in the fence. Moses also electrified the building and installed a well in the courtyard. Wrought-iron benches were spread throughout the yard, and cedar trees lined the sidewalks to the front door while catalpa trees sat on either side of the building. The courtyard served host to numerous social gatherings for the town of Washington. A small brick building in the rear served as holding cells for the court.Shortly after its founding in 1875, Hope’s rapid rise in both population and stature as a railroad town led to campaigns to move the county seat there. The battle was fought over five contentious election campaigns until Hope finally won in 1939. After county business moved out of the building, the Washington School District took over in 1941.The Washington School District would use the building until they moved to a modern structure in 1976. In the 1980s, the building became the Visitor Information Center for Historic Washington State Park, and housed the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives. A 1997 renovation restored the courthouse to its nineteenth century look, including the restoration of risers in the courtroom, and the copula on the roof.

The 1874 Courthouse replaced the 1836 Courthouse as the home of Hempstead County’s government, serving in that capacity until the county seat moved to Hope in 1939. This Italianate brick building housed the county court upstairs, with the offices of the county officials downstairs. This building is the Visitor Center for Historic Washington State Park and free admission to all visitors when open Tuesday--Sunday from 8am--5pm. Exhibits, park information, gift shop, and restrooms are located at this building.

1874 Hempstead County Courthouse (Visitor Information Center)

Born in Georgia around 1820, Augustus M. Crouch settled in Washington around 1842. He later served as a bugler in Captain Albert Pike's Arkansas Mounted Volunteers during the Mexican-American War, fighting in the Battle of Buena Vista where former Arkansas governor Archibald Yell was killed. After marrying Sophia Holt in 1850, Crouch purchased his first store property in Washington’s business district. In 1856, he purchased from Dr. Charles B. Mitchel 12½ acres “on the Fulton road” where he would build this house.Crouch was a member of Mt. Horeb Lodge #4 and designed the lodge’s coin-silver jewels. Besides his experience with a bugle, Crouch was also “an expert piccolo player” for the town’s brass band. Augustus and Sophia Crouch had two sons and two daughters: Elizabeth, William, Augustus, and Nellie. Elizabeth married Canadian-born handyman W.F. Phelps, and in 1874 purchased the house and two surrounding acres from her father. Augustus Crouch passed away in 1896 at the age of 75 and is buried just outside Hope, Arkansas. In 1910, the house passed from the family to Ode and Gertrude Johnson. In 1917, their son Glenn was born; after serving in World War II, he earned a masters degree from John Marshall Law School. After serving as a public attorney and circuit judge, Glenn T. Johnson served on the First Appellate Court of Illinois for two decades starting in 1973.After being moved to its present location in the 1980s, the building exterior was restored, with the main hallway fully restored to a nineteenth century style. The rest of the building is a dedicated exhibit of 19th century construction methods, with one room halfway left as it was to demonstrate the restoration process. If you get a chance, look above at the ceiling of the porch and you can see the wooden beams that are put together with wooden pegs.

This Greek Revival House, originally located less than 1 mile southwest of town on Arkansas Highway 195, was the home of local jeweler, musician, and freemason Augustus Crouch. Crouch bought the land in 1856 and had a home built on it by 1857. In 1874, he sold the home to his daughter, Elizabeth, and the house was later sold to the family of future judge Glenn T. Johnson. It was moved to Washington in the 1980s, on the same site as James Conway’s house that burned in 1903. It was restored with a focus on nineteenth century building construction and architecture. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

Crouch House (c.1856)

Dr. James A. L. Purdom was born in Jonesborough, Tennessee, in 1819. James Alexander Lafayette Purdom grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. In 1845, Purdom moved to Washington, five years after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. He became member of the local Episcopal Church and Mt. Horeb Masonic Lodge. During the Civil War, Purdom enlisted in the Confederate Army as a surgeon with the First Arkansas Cavalry before illness cut his service short in 1863. He passed away in 1866.He started his practice of medicine in Washington in 1845 and continued until his death. His mother, Susannah Sevier, was the daughter of James Sevier, whose father was the first governor of Tennessee. His grandmother, Nancy Conway, was cousins to Arkansas's first governor James Sevier Conway, its fifth governor Elias Sevier, and territorial delegate Ambrose Hundley Sevier.The Purdom home, built around 1850, was restored by the state park in 1978. It includes exhibits on the practice of medicine in the nineteenth century in southwest Arkansas and an herb garden with common medicinal plants.

This Greek Revival house belonged to a local physician, Dr. James A. L. Purdom, and is an exhibit of nineteenth century medicine. Located behind the house is an herb garden that includes various herbs used for medicinal purposes. The building was restored in 1978 by Historic Washington State Park. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

Purdom House (c.1850)

Grandison Delaney Royston was born in Carter County, Tennessee on December 14, 1809. He was a cousin to U.S. President Zachary Taylor. By 1830, Royston had established his law practice in Washington, Arkansas. In 1835, he married Clarissa Bates of Little Rock, Arkansas. He was elected to represent Hempstead County at the Constitutional Convention that established the state of Arkansas in 1836 and was then elected to be the first state representative of the county in Arkansas House of Representatives. At the session, he was present at the knife stabbing between Rep. J.J. Anthony and the Speaker of the House, John Wilson. Royston tried to put a chair in between the two gentleman but was unsuccessful in stopping the conflict. After the event, Royston was elected as Speaker of the House to replace John Wilson.The house was also “L”-shaped: the left-back room was a porch, but in the 1840s Royston had the space enclosed and turned into a home office/guest room with an exterior entrance. As hallways served as social spaces then, the main center hallway is wide enough for large gatherings, with doorways at either end which could be opened to allow a breeze through. As was the practice in the early 1800s, the bedrooms were located at the front of the building. A bed and army chest belonging to Royston himself sit in the master bedroom. The dining room is in the right back, closest to the separate kitchen, which sat in the corner of the present-day fencing. The no-longer existent Alexander Street ran closer to the back of the house, which meant visitors could make it easier to Royston’s home office. In this office is one of Royston’s desks, which is also full of books belonging to his practice.

The Greek Revival house at the top of the hill was the town residence of Grandison D. Royston, a well-respected lawyer who also owned a plantation several miles northwest of town on the Southwest Trail. Easily identified by its colorful “four seasons” sidelights and large center hallway, the Royston Town House is mostly decorated to represent the styles of 1840-1860. Besides an attorney, Royston was an experienced statesman, serving as the first state representative for Hempstead County and Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives. During the Civil War, he served one term as a congressman in the Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia. He also served as a delegate for two Arkansas constitutional conventions in 1836 and 1874. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

Royston Town House (c.1845)

General Grandison Royston was one of the city fathers of Washington. General Royston was a general in the Mexican War, cousin of President Zachary Taylor, a plantation owner, a prominent lawyer, served as a delegate to the First Arkansas Constitutional Convention in 1836, and served as president of the Arkansas Constitutional Convention in 1874. He was a member of the Confederate House of Representatives during the Civil War.John Brooks built this residence (off of Water Street) in the 1840s for the Royston family. General Grandison Royston planted this Southern Magnolia tree in front of his new house. This magnolia is quite large in its own right and is at the front driveway entrance to the house (the drive circles around it).

This magnolia was planted around 1845, after John Brooks finished construction of the Royston Town House for Grandison Royston. It is not on the National Historic Register but it is associated with Grandison Royston in the same way as the magnolia at the Royston Law Office site, as Royston is said to have planted both.

Royston Town House Magnolia Tree

Simon T. Sanders was born in Wake County, North Carolina in 1797. Simon T. Sanders married Zenobia Meredith in Madison County, Tennessee in June of 1830. By 1833, they moved closer to family of Zenobia in Columbus, Arkansas located around eight miles northwest of Washington. By 1838 the move to Washington and Simon T. Sanders is elected In 1838 to the office of County Clerk for Hempstead County. Her served in this position for 30 years. He also served as secretary to the board of the Washington Male and Female Academies and was heavily involved in the Mt. Horeb Masonic Lodge, No. 4 . As County Clerk, he was appointed commissioner to find a caretaker for James Black, the famous Blacksmith who made a knife for Jim Bowie. Sanders’ first wife Zenobia passed away on February 29, 1848, leaving him three daughters; Sarah, Isabella, and Zenobia. Sarah would go on to marry future governor of Arkansas and US Attorney General Augustus Garland. Sanders remarried in 1852 to Martha Williams who died not long after the birth of their son Simon T. Sanders, Jr. In his last few years, Sanders left Washington to live with Zenobia H. and her husband, John Bull, in St. Louis, where he passed away in 1882 at the age of 85 years old.Notable for having two entrances on separate streets, the “L”-shaped building is decorated to the styles of 1850-1860. The first part of the house was constructed around c. 1845. Along the far street is the kitchen, reconstructed in 1995, where slaves like Betsy Carey (who would stay on as a paid servant following emancipation) would live and work. At the front of the house is a vinyard, and near the back is a vegetable garden. Domesticated fowl such as chickens or turkeys would be housed in the chicken coop along the western fence, and smaller birds like pigeons and doves would be housed in the dovecote in the small pasture. One or two horses would live in the pasture, with the Sanders’s vehicles and other husbandry equipment housed in the large barn.Sometime before the turn of the twentieth century, an addition was added to the western side, giving the house an almost square shape. The Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation opened it to touring in the 1960s and the transferred it over to Historic Washington Park around 1980. In the 1990s, the entire block was restored to its farmstead past, with fencing, a kitchen, and animal housing based on archeological study and historic photographs.

This Greek Revival house is decorated to represent the period just before the Civil War. It was the home of Simon T. Sanders, who served as County Clerk of Hempstead County for thirty years from 1838-1868. The house is surrounded by an urban farmstead, as seen with a kitchen in back, grape vines in front, a barn, and space for horses and poultry. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

Sanders House and Farmstead (c.1845)

Basil Waldo Edwards was born July 31, 1904, in Monticello, Arkansas. Before joining the effort to restore Washington as a historic village, Edwards made his living as a building contractor and timber operator. Ironically, He was the building contractor for the current Hempstead County Courthouse that has housed the county seat since it moved from Washington to Hope in 1939. He also helped oversee many of the early reconstructions in Washington, including the Morrison Tavern and Blacksmith Shop.Edwards claimed that his weapons collection occurred by chance. One day, he walked into a second-hand store and purchased his first rifle for eight dollars. It was at that point "the bug bit me," he recalled and from then on, he managed to collect over 600 different pieces. In 1960, he donated his large collection to the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation and by 1976 it was transferred to Historic Washington State Park. Over the years, other items have been donated to the museum from other donors.Along with the Blacksmith Shop, the B.W. Edwards Museum is one of the most popular sites at Historic Washington State Park.

A founding member of the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation, B.W. Edwards was an avid weapons collector who would donate his massive collection to the Foundation. Comprised of a wide range of muzzleloaders, rifles, handguns, revolvers, and knives, Edward’s collection of over 600 different weapons makes up most of the museum’s collection. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

B.W. Edwards Weapons Museum

William Henry Etter was born to Dutch immigrants on November 23, 1816, in York County, Pennsylvania. In 1839, William and his brother moved west to Washington, where they founded the "Washington Telegraph" newspaper. When the Confederate State Government of Arkansas fled to Washington, the "Washington Telegraph" was granted the state printing contract, and continued to print throughout the duration of the Civil War. In 1865, William Etter was on a mission to Texas and Mexico to purchase supplies when he was arrested by federal troops in the last week of the Civil War. While in prison, Etter contracted pneumonia and died at age 48. Etter’s family continued the printing business, with an Etter having a role in the Telegraph until it closed in 1947 by William H. Etter IV.This brick building was built originally for the post office of Washington at the turn of the twentieth century. By the time the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation was formed in 1957, the building had been converted into a small rental house. After purchasing it in the 1980s, Historic Washington State Park restored its original frontage so the building could be used to house the park’s growing printing equipment collection.The collection includes presses, drum presses, Linotype machines, and even various typewriters. Demonstrations occur on a drum press, using a large collection of type and graphics. The print shop equipment is also used to make several items in the park, including various documents given to the public, tickets for certain events, and the paper sacks used in the Gift Shop.

Washington was home to the "Washington Telegraph" newspaper. The first issue left the presses in February 1840. The Washington Print Museum is dedicated to printing methods and equipment from the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

Washington Print Museum 

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.

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.

"Mail Carrier Smith" Southern Catalpa Tree

The first building to hold county business was John English’s log cabin located 7 miles north in Marlbrook. When the county seat moved to Washington in 1824, it was held in Elijah Stuart’s log cabin, located just one block down from the future courthouse. By statehood in 1836, this two-story Federal-style structure was built to be the first proper courthouse for Hempstead County. The courtroom takes up the entire lower floor, with two massive pillars painted in faux marble to support the upper floor. Upstairs was mostly taken up by offices, with one room for the town’s masonic lodge, Mt. Horeb Lodge No. 4. Originally founded under the Grand Lodge of Alabama, this lodge was one of four that founded the Grand Lodge of Arkansas and featured many of the town’s most important people as its members.The courthouse served as a public space for events and special meetings, including debates as to whether to secede from the union following Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860. Although Washington initially voted to remain, Lincoln raising troops to deal with the attack at Fort Sumter forced another meeting, at which John Gratiot famously walked to the front of the room and threw down the American flag. The building served as a recruiting station for volunteer militias and Confederate Army musters. After Union forces sacked Little Rock in 1863, the Confederate state government fled south to Washington. In September 1864, a session of the legislature was held to settle state business, and the building has become known as the Confederate State Capitol Building. Following the war, the Reconstruction government decided to build a larger brick courthouse across town, and the building became a schoolhouse for the next 40 years. The previous lodge was no more, but New Mt. Horeb Lodge No. 695 started meeting upstairs.By the 1920s, the courthouse was in deteriorating condition. The United Daughters of the Confederacy successfully campaigned the state to fund the restoration of the building in 1929. When the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation began in 1957, the 1836 Courthouse was one of the featured sites. The building came into the state’s hands with the establishment of Historic Washington State Park in 1973. A restoration in the mid-1990s restored the original four rooms upstairs and a second stairwell, and removed a port-a-face the U.D.C. had added for decoration.

One of the oldest Federal-style buildings standing in Arkansas, the 1836 Courthouse was the first proper courthouse in Hempstead County. It hosted one of the founding members of the Arkansas Grand Lodge, Mt. Horeb Lodge No. 4. In 1864, the county courthouse housed a special session of the Confederate General Assembly, following the government’s flight from Little Rock. After county business moved to the new 1874 Courthouse, the structure served as a schoolhouse for the next 40 years. In 1929, an effort was made to preserve the structure as a historic site, as it is today.This building is available on guided tours.

1836 Hempstead County Courthouse 

On January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 launched from Kennedy Space Center to be only the third mission to land on the moon, and the first since the Apollo 13 crisis. The Command Module was piloted in orbit by Stuart Roosa, a former U.S. Forestry Smokejumper, while Commander Alan Shepard, Jr., and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell traveled to the moon’s surface. Roosa’s module carried a collection of about 500 seeds from five different species of tree in an experiment to see what effect space travel would have on plant life. After the seedlings showed no difference next to their Earth-bound counterparts, they were distributed to congressional and U.S. Forestry officials to be planted across the country. Arkansas received four, and only two remain: the one by the 1836 Courthouse, and another loblolly pine outside the Sebastian County Courthouse in Fort Smith. Both trees were planted on March 15, 1976. They are part of a group of around eighty "Moon Trees" still in existence today.Besides the two trees, Apollo 14 had another Arkansas connection: Shepard, the first American in space and the only Mercury Seven astronaut to make a lunar landing, famously used a six-iron head attached to an excavation tool to hit two golf balls on the moon. The balls were made by a company owned by Rogers-based Daisy Air Rifles.

This loblolly pine tree orbited the moon aboard Apollo 14 as a seedling in 1971, and was planted next to the 1836 Courthouse in 1976. Part of an experiment to see how space travel effected plant life, it is one of eighty such "moon trees" still standing today, and one of two in the state of Arkansas.

Moon Tree (1976)

The Historic Washington Magnolia was recognized as the state champion from 1983-1996 and remains a landmark. Over the years, this magnolia has also been referred to as the "Royston Magnolia," "Crockett/Bowie Magnolia," and the "Jones Magnolia." The Jones naming came from James K. Jones who later lived on the land the tree was planted on: Jones later became a U.S. Senator for Arkansas. By the 1930s, the story of James Black led many to Washington, and the tree served as a marker for directing people to the street the original shop was located near. Black also lived next door to the tree himself during his time under Dr. Isaac Newton Jones's guardianship following the loss of his sight.

Planted in 1839 near the original location of Grandison Royston's law office, and currently shading the Royston Log Home which was relocated from his plantation, this southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is the tallest in the state of Arkansas. As a tree on park land, it is always accessible to visitors.

Washington Magnolia Tree (1839)

This saddlebag log cabin, built in 1835, was originally on the plantation of Grandison D. Royston, which was located northeast of Washington. It was originally used by an overseer/foreman of Grandison Royston’s slaves. After the Civil War, the house was used by Grandison’s son, Charles Royston, as a farm residency until 1910.It was moved to its present location in 1986 by the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation and now, as a park structure, it is used to interpret early housing and lifestyle In Hempstead County. Decorated in the pioneer style of the 1830s to 1850s, it contains rope-style beds and simple handmade furniture.

This saddlebag log cabin was built for the foreman of Grandison Royston’s plantation located up the Southwest Trail from Washington. Later lived in by Grandison's son, it was moved to town in 1986, and currently demonstrates frontier life. This house is available regularly on guided tours.

Royston Log Home (c.1835)

One of Arkansas’s earliest Jewish settlers, the Bohemia-born Block originally settled in Virginia before serving in the War of 1812. By 1825, he was establishing business connections in New Orleans in preparation for his move to Hempstead County. His wife, Fanny, and their seven children joined Block in their recently-completed Washington home in 1827. The successful mercantile store he owned, which would become Block &amp; Sons, would expand into a chain across Southwest Arkansas, including locations in Fulton and Paraclifta in Sevier County. His business ownerships also included a local sawmill.Much studying has been done on the lives of the Blocks as the first Jewish settlers in the region, and the only ones known to be in the area. The New Orleans synagogue that Abraham Block helped found, Shangrai Chesed, was considered very liberal for its day; the Blocks could only attend when Abraham traveled south on business. Contents of a refuse pit behind the house suggests the Blocks did not keep strictly kosher, at least in terms of certain hooved animals, although this may have been out of basic survival out on the frontier. With a lack of local religious leadership, many Jewish observances and holidays could’ve been handled by the family patriarch. As most of Block’s daughters married locally, they converted to Christianity. Even the Block's marriage was unique, with Abraham being of Ashkenazim descent and Fanny of Sephardic descent.After the start of the 20th century, the front porch was removed and a doorway with a tall balcony was installed in the front of the second story. The back porch was enclosed, and several lean-tos were built on to form a modern kitchen and bathroom. By the time the house was incorporated into the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation, it was owned by the Catts family, which is why it carries their name. Following the park’s acquisition in the 1980s, with the help of archaeological research, the front porch and most of the frontier-era look was restored.

Built by Abraham Block, by 1832, for his large family, this house is one of the only remaining federal style houses built in southwest Arkansas. Block was the first documented Jewish settler in Arkansas. arriving in the late 1820s, and one of the most important businessmen in early Hempstead County.

Block-Catts House (c.1832)

This tree could date back to the time of the building of Abraham Block's house (customary in the town), or could predate the house itself. Block received word from his cousin Eliezer in St. Louis about the booming trade with Mexico along the Southwest Trail, with Washington being the last major stop before entering the Mexican-controlled territory of Texas. After establishing his business in Southwest Arkansas, Block's family joined him in Washington in 1828, and they are believed to be the first permanent Jewish settlers in Arkansas. This Federal-style building is one of the oldest in the state of Arkansas, with construction started in 1823. The tree itself is a former grand champion, surpassed by another in Cotton Plant, Arkansas.

The pecan tree is possibly the most economically important food crop native to North America. Pecans, with protein and a high fat content, were a major food source for Native Americans. Today, pecans continue to be prized. The wood is almost twice as strong as oak, and is used in furniture, doors, cabinets, and flooring for gymnasiums and roller skating rinks.

Abraham Block Pecan Tree

Born in 1800 in New Jersey, James Black ran away to Philadelphia at the age of 8, where became a silver-plating apprentice. After a brief time in Louisiana, Black moved to Washington around 1822, and set up a partnership with local Blacksmith William Shaw. Their partnership deteriorated over Shaw’s disapproval of Black’s marriage to his daughter, Anne in 1828.Around 1830-1831, Jim Bowie came by the shop and asked James Black to make a knife for him. It is from this meeting, that James Black is credited for making the "Bowie Knife". Black's design included the famous "coffin-shaped" handle made from Black Walnut and silver trim. Black became very successful after this event.In 1835 tragedy hits James Black with the death of his wife. By 1836, William Shaw is declared the guardian of James Black because he suffered from insanity according to Shaw. Later, while recovering from sickness, Black was severely beaten in his home by Shaw, an attack that cost him most of his eyesight. After leaving the region to seek medical help for his blindness, Black lost custody of his five children to Shaw, who also seized and sold his property. Now officially a pauper, Black was taken in by the family of Dr. Isaac Newton Jones in 1844. Full blindness and dementia effected Black until his death in the home of Jones’s son, future Arkansas Governor Daniel Webster Jones, in 1872.As early as 1841, James Black had been attributed with forging the famous knife for Jim Bowie. James Black would entertain locals by telling stories of the early frontier in Washington. In 1870, he tried to recount the way he made the “Bowie Knife” to Daniel W. Jones. He could not remember and supposedly rubbed his forehead with such ferocity as to draw blood while screaming “My God! My God! It has all gone from me!” He went to his grave with his knife making method.

This building is a reconstruction of the Blacksmith shop belonging to James Black, the man who forged Jim Bowie’s famous knife. The original building sat closer to the Southwest Trail on the edge of town. The reconstruction was built in a more accessible location by the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation and dedicated on May 31, 1961. The exact location of the shop is still unknown pending further research. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

Blacksmith Shop (Reconstructed 1960)

This fine example of a Black walnut is affectionately called the Black-Bowie Black Walnut Tree due to its proximity to the reconstructed Blacksmith Shop and because of James Black's use of walnut in the coffin-shaped handle of his knives. Black walnuts were used for many purposes including making a dye for fabric and yarn. During the Civil War, uniforms were dyed with Black walnuts. Black Walnut trees are common in the area of Washington. It can also be found across the eastern half of the United States and Canada. Black Walnut wood is used in rifle stocks, knife handles, and furniture.The wood is hard, shock resistant, and straight grained. These qualities make the wood sought after for sporting rifles and expensive shotguns.

The James Black—Jim Bowie Black Walnut tree is located near the current Blacksmith Shop on the northeast side of the 1914 Schoolhouse.James Black primarily used Black walnut in the coffin-shaped handles of his knives. Since the tree is a Black Walnut and it is located near the reconstructed Blacksmith Shop, it was named in honor of James Black and Jim Bowie.

Historic Washington State Park - Self-Guided Walking Tour

Morrison Tavern (Reconstructed 1960)

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