Washington in Hempstead County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)

James Black's Shop

Where the first Bowie Knife was made

Photographed by Jason Armstrong, April 22, 2023

1. James Black's Shop Marker

Inscription.

In 1831 James Black, a silversmith, made for Col. James Bowie the original Bowie Knife. Black made the knife, but it was Bowie who made it famous. This shop was reconstructed in 1960 by the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation Inc. with funds donated by Albert G. Simms of Albuquerque N.M. in honor of his father, Thomas Hamilton Simms, who came to Washington in 1857, served in the Confederate Army and died after a long and honorable life at Texarkana, Arkansas, in 1918.

Erected by Pioneer Washington Foundation.

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

Location. 33° 46.646′ N, 93° 40.789′ W. Marker is in Washington, Arkansas, in Hempstead County. It is on Conway Street east of Jay Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 613 Conway St, Washington AR 71862, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Arkansas’ Gulf Coastal Plain

and in Caddo Territory.

It is also in the American South,

specifically

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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 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 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Homesite of Dr. Isaac Newton Jones and Elizabeth Littlejohn Jones (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Masonic Civil War Memorial (about 600 feet away); Confederate Capital (about 600 feet away); The Washington Post Office (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hempstead County In The Civil War (approx. 0.6 miles away); Confederate Dead 1861-1865 (approx. 0.7 miles away); Battle of Prairie De Ann (approx. 0.7 miles away); The First Courthouse for the County of Hempstead (approx. 6.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Washington.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 24, 2024, by Jason Armstrong of Talihina, Oklahoma. This page has been viewed 213 times since then and 24 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on April 24, 2024, by Jason Armstrong of Talihina, Oklahoma. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide view photo of the marker and the surrounding area together in context. • Can you help?