Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Lloyd talks area history

Peggy Lloyd serves as archival manager of the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, housed in Old Washington. Most local residents know her because she was previously curator of the Nevada County State Park Association Dept Museum.

Just because Im not in the museum at Prescott on a daily basis doesnt mean Ive forgotten about you, Lloyd said to the Prescott Kiwanis club on June 20.

Lloyd said shes worked on several projects, including a current attempt to get the Moscow Church listed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places. Lloyd said that site is loaded with historical significance, and said she expects results of the states determination regarding the request sometime in August.

Moscow was an antebellum village, Lloyd said. That community served as the hub of activity for the local area before the city of Prescott existed as a railroad town. One of the significant points of Moscow is that it was home to a cemetery before any others were established in the area. That means that many of the very early settlers were buried at Moscow.

Those early settlers who were laid to rest at Moscow include E.A. Warren. He was a member of the Mississippi Legislature before arriving in Arkansas where he served in both state and federal offices.

He and his son came to Arkansas, probably hoping to recoup their fortune, Lloyd said.

The younger Warren served as mayor of Prescott and ran a newspaper in town.

The Moscow Church is important to church history because the church was initially a Methodist Church, but converted to become a Methodist-Protestant sometime in the 1870s, according to Lloyd. She said there are a few Methodist-Protestant churches still in existence today, including one in the southern part of the state.

Another point of historical significance related to Moscow is that some people refer to a local Civil War battle as the battle of Moscow. Lloyd said that the Union Army built large campfires and pretended to bed down for the night.

In the wee hours, they slipped away, Lloyd said. It was several hours before the Confederates discovered theyd been duped.

Lloyd said its important to preserve stories, places and documents regarding history. She said one of her own personal desires is to see more comprehensive information made available regarding the history of Arkansas, particularly along the Red River.

Toward that end, shes hoping that a section of land that was the site of the Battle of Elkins Ferry will be preserved. The property is not developed and was recently part of a large land sale, Lloyd said.

The archives in Old Washington are open to the public, and Lloyd said the documents available there include personal family histories. Some of those are in the form of scrapbooks.

The photo collection of the late Robert B. Walls is also available, with many of the pictures on display. Lloyd said that Walls, a former history professor, spent years collecting the photos and left them to the archives upon his death. Photos range from snapshots to formal photographs. Lloyd presented several to the Kiwanis club, including a formal pose of Norborn and Sara Harper Young taken around 1870.

One story is that she named Magnolia, Lloyd said. Of course there are other stories that it was named some other way.