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

Dr. William Cogswell Hazen

Photographed by Ashley Sides, February 18, 2026

1. Dr. William Cogswell Hazen Marker

Inscription. Dr. William Cogswell Hazen, an early pioneer of what is now Prairie County, was born in 1806 in Charlottesville, Virginia. He spent his early adulthood in Covington, Tennessee as a plantation owner and physician before moving with his family and slaves in 1854 to the Arkansas Grand Prairie, where he bought several thousand acres to farm. When Union forces reached DeVall’s Bluff in August 1863 during the Civil War, Hazen fled with his wife, slaves, and some neighbors to Texas, while his sons fought for the Confederacy. His wife died while in Texas. After the war, he helped his former slaves get back to Arkansas, but he returned to Prairie County alone. Starting a new chapter in life, William C. Hazen opened a general store in Des Arc, but it ended in bankruptcy. He divided his land among his sons, who sold it to pay his debts, and he retired to his house in this vicinity. In 1871 he wrote to the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, whose route ran through here, to request a station be established on his property so he could sell wood to the railroad and produce to passengers, and so area settlers could transport crops to market.

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Dr. Hazen died in 1872, and the following year the town site of Hazen was laid out and named in honor of him.

Erected 2025 by Hazen Historical Society; Arkansas Heritage. (Marker Number 47.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Arkansas Heritage series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1872.

Location. 34° 46.843′ N, 91° 34.825′ W. Marker is in Hazen, Arkansas, in Prairie County. It is on East Front 0 miles N 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, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and

Photographed by Ashley Sides, February 18, 2026

2. Dr. William Cogswell Hazen Marker

the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Kocourek and Son Hardware Store (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.

Dr. William Cogswell Hazen Marker, Side Two image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ashley Sides, February 18, 2026

3. Dr. William Cogswell Hazen Marker, Side Two

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

Photographed by Ashley Sides, February 18, 2026

4. Dr. William Cogswell Hazen Marker adjacent to the Kocourek and Son Hardware Store 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 48 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.