El Dorado in Union County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)

Oil in Arkansas — Chaos

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 1, 2018

1. Oil in Arkansas — Chaos Marker

Inscription. Within a few short months El Dorado's population doubled, and, before the year was out, it doubled again before peaking two years later at over 40,000. With the population explosion came oilmen from Louisiana and Texas, but along with them on the trains that arrived daily, were thousands of bums, promoters, and crooks. Within weeks of the discovery barrelhouses with prostitutes, gambling, and whisky sprouted up across from the railroad station on South Washington Street, which became known as Hamburger Row because of the hamburger stands on the streets. During the first two years of the oil boom Hamburger Row reverted to the lawlessness of the old West as El Dorado's small police force was unable to handle the chaos. On street corners young boys sold moonshine in six-ounce Coca Cola bottles for $1.25; prostitutes walked the streets, and dope peddlers like Smiling Jack and Weasel tugged at people's sleeves. Hamburger Row was filled with characters like Barrelhouse Sue, who had come up from Homer, Louisiana following the boom and sang, danced, and solicited in places like Dago Red's, Pistol Hill and

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Shotgun Valley. Two Shot Blondie, another madam, imported prostitutes and made moonshine deliveries and was well known on Hamburger Row and Jake's Place, the biggest and most notorious of the barrelhouses, the one that boasted the prettiest girls in town. Big Ed, a giant of a man, was a gang enforcer for the infamous Silvertop, one of the most feared men in South Arkansas, and Oscar and Joe were two moonshiners who made door-to-door deliveries. Teams of oxen and mules, some as long as 20 pairs, pulled oil field equipment through the streets, and after heavy rain, the iron-wheeled wagons turned most of the streets in town into quagmires so dangerous some mules actually drowned.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Places • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 33° 12.678′ N, 92° 39.785′ W. Marker is in El Dorado, Arkansas, in Union County. It is at the intersection of South Jefferson Avenue and East Cedar Street, on the right when traveling south on South Jefferson Avenue. Located in Oil Heritage Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal

Oil in Arkansas — Chaos Marker (second from front). image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 1, 2018

2. Oil in Arkansas — Chaos Marker (second from front).

address: 117 East Cedar Street, El Dorado AR 71730, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Arkansas’ Gulf Coastal Plain

and in Timberlands.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once 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 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Oil in Arkansas — The Smackover Field (here, next to this marker); Oil in Arkansas — The Discovery (here, next to this marker); Oil in Arkansas — The Wildcatters (here, next to this marker); For Service in Iraq and Afghanistan (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Gunfight on the Square (about 300 feet away); The Gunfight on El Dorado's Courthouse Square, Oct. 9, 1902 (about 300 feet away); El Dorado Masonic Temple (about 400 feet away); Union County Second Courthouse

12-foot Band Wheel with the marker to the right. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 1, 2018

3. 12-foot Band Wheel with the marker to the right.

The big wheels on old pump jacks are "band wheels", which connect the pump jack to an engine of one sort or another - steam in the old days, and oil or electric these days. A giant belt, in other words the "band", enables the engine to rotate the axis of the band wheel.

(about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in El Dorado.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 8, 2018. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,097 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 8, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.