Hazen in Prairie County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)

Kocourek and Son Hardware Store

Photographed by Ashley Sides, February 18, 2026

1. Kocourek and Son Hardware Store Marker

Inscription. John Kocourek was born in 1862 in Bohemia. He immigrated to Chicago in 1881, where he married and had three children. Around 1890, the family moved to Hazen, Arkansas, where Kocourek established himself as a land agent. Through his promotional efforts, scores of Czech and Slovak families settled in Hazen and the nearby region. He supported the local rice boom in its infancy by advertising land for its cultivation. He also owned thousands of acres that he rented to farmers. Kocourek served as president of the Bank of Grand Prairie, and he donated land for the Czech National Cemetery south of the city.

Kocourek also operated a hardware store in Hazen. In 1906, he replaced his old wooden store with a larger brick building. In addition to hardware, Kocourek and Son Hardware sold furniture and farm equipment and was a leading mercantile establishment in Hazen for decades. After John Kocourek’s death in 1936, his son Frank J. and then his grandson Frank H. (“Dink”) carried on the family business. In 1980, it was sold to Conley and June House, who continued to operate the store under the name Kocourek and Son until its closure

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in 2002. For a few years after that, an antique store was housed in the building. The Kocourek and Son Hardware store was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

Erected 2025 by Hazen Historical Society; Arkansas Heritage. (Marker Number 46.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Immigration • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Arkansas Heritage, and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1906.

Location. 34° 46.843′ N, 91° 34.83′ W. Marker is in Hazen, Arkansas, in Prairie County. It is on East Front 0 miles east of North Hazen Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 110 E Front, Hazen AR 72064, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mississippi Delta.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically,

Photographed by Ashley Sides, February 18, 2026

2. Kocourek and Son Hardware Store Marker

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 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Dr. William Cogswell Hazen (here, next to this marker); Hazen Rock Island Railroad Depot (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Central Arkansas & Eastern RR and the Cotton Belt Route (approx. 0.2 miles away); DeValls Bluff: A Key Union Base (approx. 6.9 miles away); Common Ground for Many Soldiers (approx. 6.9 miles away); War on the White River (approx. 6.9 miles away); Why DeValls Bluff (approx. 6.9 miles away); DeValls Bluff in the Civil War (approx. 6.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hazen.

Photographed by Ashley Sides, February 18, 2026

3. Kocourek and Son Hardware Store Marker

Kocourek and Son Hardware Store Marker next to Dr. William Cogswell Hazen Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ashley Sides, February 18, 2026

4. Kocourek and Son Hardware Store Marker next to Dr. William Cogswell Hazen Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on March 12, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 10, 2026, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. This page has been viewed 32 times since then. Photos: 1. submitted on March 10, 2026, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. 2. submitted on March 10, 2026. 3, 4. submitted on March 10, 2026, by Ashley Sides of Little Rock, Arkansas. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.