Institution

Sometime around 1818, Elijah Stuart built a log tavern on this site that was located on the Southwest Trail, the major route from Little Rock to Fulton on the Red River. Built in the same vicinity as the Methodist Ebenezer Campground, the building would serve as the county courthouse of Hempstead County in 1824. The tavern replaced the first courthouse that met in the log tavern of John English in Marlbrooke (7 miles northeast of Washington). His tavern was located on Washington City Block 8.James Black served as deputy sheriff for Hempstead County in the 1820s and also served on court juries that met at the tavern for court business. He later served the county as a road overseer, deputy jailor and a member of the local civilian police patrol for Ozan Township in Hempstead County. As a  Blacksmith he was also paid by the county to repair various items owned by the county (e.g. locks, chains, etc). Today, the First Baptist Church is located on the site where the tavern was located. This property is privately owned and not affiliated with Historic Washington State Park.

Map of Washington, focused on Block 8, the location of Elijah Stuart's Tavern

Current building on Elijah Stuart's Tavern site, the First Baptist Church Of Washington

Website

Historic Washington State Park  -- Encyclopedia of Arkansas  

Washington (Hempstead County) -- Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Early settler, Elijah Stuart built a log tavern on this site that was located on the Southwest Trail. In 1824, the tavern served as Hempstead County's courthouse when the county seat moved to Washington. James Black served Hempstead County in many capacities and conducted court business at Stuart's tavern on many occasions. Today the site is the location of the First Baptist Church of Washington. This property is privately owned and not affiliated with Historic Washington State Park.

Elijah Stuart's Tavern

Director

A walking tour related to the life and legacy of James Black, the Washington blacksmith who forged Jim Bowie's famous knife

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)

After the restoration of the 1836 Hempstead County Courthouse in 1930, this marker was erected by local citizens, based on the oral tradition that James Black's Blacksmith shop was located on the edge of Washington along the main road. For them, the Southwest Trail (Franklin Street) seemed the most probable location.On May 1, 1939, Washington residents Albert G. Simms and Charlean Moss Williams had a marker built to commemorate the  location of the Blacksmith Shop of James Black. The goal was to preserve the town’s heritage and connection with the story of the Bowie Knife. The earliest publication mentioning the meeting of James Black and Jim Bowie was in the Washington Telegraph newspaper on December 8, 1841. The marker is located is located just down the hill from the Blacksmith Shop. The marker led to the reconstruction of the Blacksmith Shop in 1960.The dedication plaque reads: "On this site, in 1831, James Black, a silversmith, made for Col. James Bowie the original of the famous Bowie Knife. Black is said to have carried to his grave a secret formula for tempering steel which produced a product equal to the ancient Damascus blade. Erected May 1, 1939, by Charlean Moss Williams and Albert G. Simms."

On May 1, 1939, a monument commemorating James Black and the location of his Blacksmith shop was erected. The marked is located in the vicinity where it was believed the original shop was located. While the actual location is not certain, it stands today down the hill from the 1960 reconstructed Blacksmith Shop.

1939 James Black Monument

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.

Black-Bowie Black Walnut Tree

Black married Anne Shaw, the daughter of his first business partner, against her father's wishes. William Shaw saw his now-rival Blacksmith become more successful and popular as the legend of the Bowie Knife spread.In 1836, a new county courthouse building was completed in Washington on the city block that was allotted as the Public Square for county use. The courthouse was a two story structure built in the Federalist style of architecture. It was on this site, that William Shaw went to the circuit court and was declared the guardian of James Black in 1836. According to Shaw, Black had times of insanity and could not take care of his personal affairs.Later James Black became seriously ill . According to Black, Shaw went to Black's house and beat him so severely that he was nearly blinded. Black left Washington looking for a procedure that could restore his sight, traveling as far as Ohio. In 1840, in this building, the court gave Shaw the right to auction James Black’s estate. On October 25, 1841, James Black’s children were made apprentices to their grandfather William Shaw. Three years later, Shaw sold his property and took the children with him to Texas. James Black never saw his children again.Black was left behind with no money, no family, almost no sight, and was starting to show signs of dementia. In 1844, the Hempstead County Court declared Black a pauper of the county and placed him under the care of Dr. Isaac Newton Jones.

James Black had been successful serving in different posts for the county as deputy jailor, road overseer, juror, and was elected in 1834 as 1 of 5 trustees for the community of Washington. Not long after the birth of his fifth child, Black’s life began a series of hardships starting with the death of his wife, Anne, on September 12, 1835. Many of the events that followed in his life took place at the 1836 Hempstead County Courthouse. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

The Tragedy Of James Black

Dr. Isaac Newton Jones was born in North Carolina on June 16, 1797. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1818. After marrying Elizabeth Littlejohn in 1828, Jones moved to the Red River region, settling first in Bowie County, Texas. By the 1840s, he moved his family to Washington, Arkansas.In 1844, the court of Hempstead County asked County Clerk Simon T. Sanders to seek out applicants to care for James Black. By this time, James Black was blind and a pauper. Dr. Isaac Newton Jones took James Black into his home and cared for him and was paid $10 a month by the county. Jones hoped he might be able to help Black with his blindness but finally came to the conclusion that nothing could be done. Local teenagers of town, such as Augustus Garland, remembered visiting with James Black while visiting the children of the Jones family. According to family histories, James Black was especially close to the oldest son of the family, Isaac Jones, who died in 1849 at fourteen years of age.Dr. Jones suddenly died on February 11,1858 from a boiler accident. Jones had a reputation for being stubborn and would not listen to the enslaved persons on his farm who told him the boiler to the cotton gin needed to be shut down due to a crack. He disagreed and ordered the fire to be stoked causing the boiler to explode, killing him instantly.

This site is where Dr. Isaac Newton Jones had his town residence. in 1844, a blind James Black was taken into the care of the Jones family. The Jones home was located next to the large magnolia tree across from the original downtown business district of Washington. The house is no longer standing.

Dr. Isaac Newton Jones Homesite

After the sudden death of Dr. Isaac Newton Jones in 1858, his wife and son, Daniel Webster Jones, continued to care for James Black in their home. When the Civil War broke out, the 21-year-old Jones stopped studying law to join the effort. He saw action at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Missouri. He was captured in the Battle of Corinth (then released in a prisoner exchange), and at the Battle of Vicksburg. He rose to the rank of Colonel.After the Civil War, Jones built a home on the south side of Washington on Bois D’Arc Street. Jones practiced law in Washington and soon entered politics, serving as prosecuting attorney for the Ninth District, Arkansas Attorney General in the 1880s, and to the General Assembly in 1890. He was elected the Governor of Arkansas from 1897-1901,during which he won approval for the construction of a new state legislature building. Jones passed away in his Little Rock home due to complications from pneumonia on Christmas Day, 1917, and was buried in a Confederate uniform with an American flag pinned to it.In 1870, James Black tried to tell Jones the secret of how he made the “Bowie Knife”, but was unable to remember the formula for the steel. Black died on June 21, 1872. Jones recorded Black’s life story and it was later published in the book “The Old Town Speaks” by Charlean Moss Williams.The house had its second story removed in the 1930s and was fully demolished by the 1980s.Today, a reconstruction of the home is located on the original site and is a private residence.

This was the homesite of Daniel W. Jones, son of Dr. Isaac Newton Jones and nineteenth Governor of Arkansas. The home was a two story structure that Jones built after the Civil War. James Black lived in the home with the Jones family. It was here, on his 70th birthday, that Black attempted to tell Daniel W. Jones the secret of Damascus steel and the story of his life. However, after failing to remember the process, he rubbed his head with enough ferocity to cause bleeding while crying "My God! My God! It has all gone from me." He would later pass away at this house on June 21, 1872. This property is privately owned and not affiliated with Historic Washington State Park.

Daniel W. Jones Homesite

Grandison Delaney Royston was born in Carter County, Tennessee on December 14, 1809. He was a cousin to U.S. President Zachary Taylor. By 1832, 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.Around 1845 he built the house that is located on top of the hill on the southside of Washington as his primary residence. During the Civil War, Royston would serve one term in the Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia representing Arkansas. Later in 1874, he was elected President of the Arkansas Constitutional Convention which adopted a new constitution that is still the current constitution today for the state. On August 14, 1889, Royston died at the age of 79. He is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery located on the north side of Washington.Residents like James Black, respected him enough to name their children in his honor. James and Anne Black named their second child, Grandison DeRoyston Black. Grandison Black moved to Texas with his grandfather, William Shaw in 1844. He served in the Mexican-American War. After the war, he married and had six children. In 1864, he died after being accidentally shot near his home in Liberty, County, Texas.

The large Greek Revival house at the top of the hill was the town residence of Grandison Delaney Royston, a well-respected lawyer who also owned a plantation several miles northeast of town on the Southwest Trail. In 1832, James Black and his wife, Anne, chose to name their second child after him: Grandison DeRoyston Black. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

Grandison DeRoyston Black (Royston Town House)

The Pioneer Cemetery was established around the same time as the town's founding in 1824. The town of Washington was named after George Washington, first president of the United States of America. Some of the graves in the cemetery are veterans of the American Revolution. Plots were added to the grounds until 1860, when a newer cemetery was dedicated on the north end of town on what is now the main highway to Nashville.One of the first grave plots at the entrance is that of Dr. Isaac Newton Jones and some of his family members. Daniel Webster Jones, the last caretaker of James Black, wrote that Black was buried in the Pioneer Cemetery. It is very likely he is buried next to the graves of the Jones family in an unmarked grave.Over the years, many of the markers, some made of wood, fell into disrepair and even disappeared. Historic Washington State Park maintains the grounds and continues to preserve both marked and unmarked graves.

Established at the founding of Washington in 1824, the Pioneer Cemetery is where most of the town's earliest settlers are buried, including the unmarked grave of James Black, the man who forged Jim Bowie's famous knife. Around circa 1860, a new cemetery was established named the Presbyterian Cemetery, located just north of town on present-day U.S. Hwy 278.

James Black: Life And Legacy Heritage Trail

Elijah Stuart's Tavern

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information