Pioneering Legislators

Photographed by ., August 2017

1. Pioneering Legislators Marker has been stolen.

Inscription. Three African American men represented Lafayette County in the state legislature after the Civil War. Monroe Hawkins, born a slave in North Carolina around 1832, was a minister and laborer. He was a delegate in the 1868 Constitutional Convention and served in the Arkansas House in 1868-69, 1873 and 1874. Conway Barbour, born a slave in Virginia in 1818, was an insurance agent in 1870 and served in the House of Representatives in 1871. Marshall Murray, born in Alabama in 1856, was a professor who served in the House in the 1883 session.

Erected 2015 by Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, City of Stamps, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. (Marker Number 139.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Government & Politics. In addition, it is included in the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1832.

Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 33° 21.055′ N, 93° 29.566′ W. Marker was in Stamps, Arkansas, in Lafayette County. It could be reached from McKamie Road (Arkansas

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Route 53) 0.3 miles south of Magnolia Street, on the right when traveling south. Located within Maya Angelou City Park (Lake June). Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: McKamie Road, Stamps AR 71860, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Arkansas’ Gulf Coastal Plain.

It was also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 5 other markers are within 13 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: Old Lafayette County Jail (approx. 4.3 miles away); Lafayette County Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.9 miles away); In Memory of Confederate Soldiers of Lafayette County (approx. 4.9 miles away); Lafayette County Court House (approx. 4.9 miles away); Columbia County Lamartine Pioneer Settlement (approx.

Pioneering Legislators Marker is missing (stolen) - only pole is left. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 2, 2018

2. Pioneering Legislators Marker is missing (stolen) - only pole is left.

12.1 miles away).

More about this marker. The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission has been notified of the missing marker.

Also see . . . Huffington Post article - Town’s Black History Markers Stolen. (Submitted on August 6, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 6, 2018. It was originally submitted on August 6, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 643 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 6, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Photo of original marker. • Can you help?