Alpena Historical Society
Courtesy of and credit to the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Alpena, Arkansas — Boone and Carroll Counties
Latitude & Longitude: 36°17’41″N, 093°17’32″W
Elevation: 1,142 feet
Area: 1.33 square miles (2020 Census)
Population: 374 (2020 Census)
Incorporation Date: May 31, 1913
Early Settlement
Alpena is located primarily in Boone County, though since the 2000 Census, a portion of its population has also been recorded across the county line in Carroll County. Created by the railroad early in the twentieth century, Alpena is located along U.S. Highway 62 and is home to a variety of small businesses.
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The area was originally part of Carroll County when white settlers began claiming land in the Ozark Mountains. The fertile land along Long Creek attracted John Boyd, who received a land grant in 1849. He was joined by William J. Estes in 1860 and Bailey Stone in 1861.
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As Carrollton, then the county seat, was only a few miles away, residents could not escape the upheaval caused by the Civil War. In 1862, some 3,000 Union troops camped in the area. After the Battle of Prairie Grove in December of that year, more than 20,000 Union soldiers were stationed at Carrollton.
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Skirmishes were fought in the area in 1863 and 1864, and guerrilla fighters controlled the area until the end of the war. The only structures surviving in Carrollton at the end of the war were two stables. Violence continued even after the war, and the new county courthouse was burned to the ground in 1866.
The Railroad & Founding of Alpena
Construction of the Missouri and North Arkansas (M&NA) Railroad in the opening years of the twentieth century spelled the end of Carrollton and the beginning of Alpena.
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Alpena was originally a railroad workers’ camp, but when the railroad route missed Carrollton by three miles, businesses began relocating to the camp. In some cases, buildings in Carrollton were disassembled and reconstructed at the new location.
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A post office was approved in 1901. It was briefly known as Estes before being renamed Alpena Pass. When the town was incorporated in 1913, the name was shortened to Alpena. The town’s website states that the name came from one of the railroad cooks.
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Local farmers cut timber to sell railroad ties, and the town was officially platted in November 1900.
A Growing Community
A Methodist church was established in 1902. At first, members met in the building of Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, which had been established in 1893. The Methodists later built a church of their own in 1921.
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Soon after its founding, Alpena had three general stores, two hotels, a drugstore, a poultry house, a livery stable, a school with fifty pupils, a lumber yard, two churches, three real estate agents, a restaurant, a barber shop, two blacksmith shops, a physician, and a printing office. Its population was estimated at 450.
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By 1908, the community had six general stores, a millinery shop, a bank organized in 1907, and a flour mill, while retaining most of its earlier businesses and services. A tomato-canning factory opened in 1910.
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By 1920, Alpena had become a timber and lumber shipping point and a trade center for the surrounding area. Farm products from Boone and Carroll counties were loaded onto trains in Alpena. Along with its bank, churches, and school, the town had a sawmill, a hub and spoke factory, and several woodworking mills.
Alpena Schools
William Halbrook became county examiner for Boone County schools in 1925 and spent the next eight years consolidating the county’s many schools into eight school districts.
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The Alpena School District was one of the eight districts that remained. During the 2013–14 school year, the district served approximately 500 students in grades K–12.
Floods, Highways & Changing Times
The Flood of 1927 caused Long Creek to overflow, threatening many homes and businesses. The Great Depression further devastated local businesses following the flood, and Alpena’s bank closed in 1931.
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U.S. Highway 62 was extended to Alpena in 1933, providing some stability to local businesses.
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Flooding around the middle of the century contributed to the decline of the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad, which went out of business in 1961. Alpena continued to thrive, however, increasingly depending on traffic and commerce generated by the highway.
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Several thousand vehicles pass through Alpena each day. Over the years, the community has supported a variety of locally owned businesses, restaurants, shops, service providers, churches, and other organizations.
Additional Information & Sources
Cecil, Earnest H. “Alpena High School 1927, A Backward Look.” Boone County Historian 13 (1990): 246–250.
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Handley, Lawrence R. “Settlement Across Northern Arkansas as Influenced by the Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 33 (Winter 1974): 273–292.
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Logan, Roger V., Jr. History of Boone County Arkansas. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company, 1998.
Author: Steven Teske
Butler Center for Arkansas Studies