Back When from SW Arkansas

Mrs. Rosemary Arnold of Little Rock recently donated a large collection to the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives at Washington. 
Included in the collection are numerous photos, plats, letters, clippings, newspapers and legal documents related to some of the oldest Washington families and covering a period from before the Civil War until well into the 20th century.
The Monroe House still stands in Washington and is part of Historic Washington State Park.  James C. Monroe, a native of South Carolina, was in Washington in the 1830s.  On May 9, 1839, he married Malinda Swindle, a native of Tennessee who was only about fourteen or fifteen years old. 
By 1850, they had two sons—Henry and Albert Dalton---and two daughters.  Both parents were dead by 1860, and their children were living with the John Smith family.  The Monroes included Henry and Albert—then young men, their sisters Mary and Sarah, and two younger brothers James and Charles.  Henry died in the Civil War.  Albert also served, survived and came back to Washington to marry Alice Foster Dugger in 1868.Alice was the oldest daughter of Richmond and Martha Foster Dugger.  Natives of Virginia, the Duggers had come to Washington in the 1850s.  Their home, which is privately owned and has been partially renovated, is still standing on a small hill on the west side of Highway 195 South just opposite the Southwest Archives.  Jonquils blanket the hillside in the early spring at this site of long occupation.
Albert Dalton and Alice Dugger Monroe had nine children with eight surviving to adulthood.  Their oldest son James Stuart Monroe has his photo in the collection.  He married Elizabeth Thompson of Washington on Dec. 9, 1896, and was involved in courthouse work most of his life serving as circuit clerk, deputy clerk and deputy collector over the years.