Donaldson in Hot Spring County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)
Military Road / Settlement of Midway
Photographed By Courtesy: Wendy Richter, August 2, 2021
1. Military Road side of the marker
Inscription.
Military Road, also, Settlement of Midway. .
Military Road . The Military Road, following part of the route of the old Southwest Trail, passed through the heart of Hot Spring County and the Midway community. Now known as Midway Road, the primitive pathway served as a major thoroughfare in Arkansas's early days, carrying thousands of pioneers, soldiers, and people from all walks of life across Arkansas to Texas and the Southwest. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate troops used the road. Significantly, Confederates retreated down the road after Little Rock fell in September 1863 and the Union Army traveled it during the Camden Expedition.,
Settlement of Midway . Midway appears on many early maps of Arkansas as a point "midway" between Rockport and Arkadelphia on the Ouachita River and on the Military Road. This made the place a convenient stopping point for travelers in antebellum Arkansas. American explorers William Dunbar and George Hunter noted nearby Watermelon Island in 1804. The island was later named for pioneer settler Daniel Morrison who arrived in the 1830s. Morrison amassed large landholdings in the area and farmed his property, which sat along and between the Ouachita River and the Military Road. Morrison’s smokehouse still stands near here on Midway Road. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Military Road
The Military Road, following part of the route of the old Southwest Trail, passed through the heart of Hot Spring County and the Midway community. Now known as Midway Road, the primitive pathway served as a major thoroughfare in Arkansas's early days, carrying thousands of pioneers, soldiers, and people from all walks of life across Arkansas to Texas and the Southwest. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate troops used the road. Significantly, Confederates retreated down the road after Little Rock fell in September 1863 and the Union Army traveled it during the Camden Expedition.
Settlement of Midway
Midway appears on many early maps of Arkansas as a point "midway" between Rockport and Arkadelphia on the Ouachita River and on the Military Road. This made the place a convenient stopping point for travelers in antebellum Arkansas. American explorers William Dunbar and George Hunter noted nearby Watermelon Island in 1804. The island was later named for pioneer settler Daniel Morrison who arrived in the 1830s. Morrison amassed large landholdings in the area and farmed his property, which sat along and between the Ouachita River and the Military Road. Morrison’s smokehouse still stands near here on Midway Road. It is listed in the National Register of
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Historic Places.
Erected 2021 by City of Midway, Arkansas Heritage. (Marker Number 18.)
Location. 34° 15.424′ N, 92° 57.782′ W. Marker is in Donaldson, Arkansas, in Hot Spring County. Marker is on Midway Road (County Road 15) south of Jim Bray Drive (County Highway 628), on the right when traveling north. The marker stands on the front lawn of the Midway Community Center and Town Hall, near the main sign. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1500 Midway Rd, Donaldson AR 71941, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Courtesy: Wendy Richter, August 2, 2021
2. Settlement at Midway side of the marker
Photographed By Courtesy: Wendy Richter, August 2, 2021
3. Military Road / Settlement of Midway Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on March 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2021, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. This page has been viewed 349 times since then and 36 times this year. Last updated on August 3, 2021, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. Photos:1. submitted on August 2, 2021, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. 2, 3. submitted on August 3, 2021, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
