Important Arkansas historical events and significant anniversaries for August 31, with notable births and deaths of people with Arkansas connections for this date. Information is drawn from state archives, historical societies, contemporary newspapers and other media archives, and legal records. Much of this information comes from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, an online publication. ChatGPH has collected this data.
1864 — Federal expedition in the White River valley. Brig. Gen. Joseph R. West's Union cavalry reached Grand Glaise in Jackson County on August 31, 1864, while infantry aboard the steamer Kate Hart struggled through unusually low water on the White River. Union troops observed Confederate detachments under Col. Archibald Dobbins, but navigation problems prevented the planned rendezvous.
1888 — Altus incorporated. The Franklin County town of Altus was incorporated August 31, 1888. Its name, from the Latin word for "high," came from its position as the highest point on the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad. Altus later became the center of Arkansas's wine-producing region. The area's earlier history included Cherokee occupation under federal treaty arrangements before the Cherokee removal west in 1828.
1892 — Magnolia marriage became newspaper news. A dispatch datelined "Magnolia, Ark., August 31" reported that 69-year-old Arthur Dixon married 38-year-old Dodge Baker after opposition to the marriage prompted the couple to evade interference. The item appeared in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat on September 2, 1892 and survives in a transcription of Columbia County newspaper material.
1950 — Arkansas-born Medal of Honor recipient Travis E. Watkins entered his final battle. Watkins, born at Waldo, Arkansas, was serving near Yongsan, Korea, when North Korean forces broke through American lines on August 31, 1950. Cut off with about thirty soldiers, Watkins led their defense for several days despite severe wounds. His actions resulted in a posthumous Medal of Honor.
1975 — Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Lyle Brown retired. Justice Lyle Brown's retirement became effective August 31, 1975. Gov. David Pryor later appointed Elsijane Trimble Roy to complete his term; she became the first woman to serve on the Arkansas Supreme Court.
1984 — KABF began broadcasting. Little Rock community radio station KABF went on the air August 31, 1984, barely meeting an FCC deadline. The 100,000-watt station grew from the Arkansas Broadcasting Foundation and relied heavily on volunteers.
1990 — Union County's Joel Smith House entered the National Register. The Joel Smith House, near El Dorado, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 31, 1990. Built about 1840 for early Union County settler Joel N. Smith, the I-house is an important surviving example of the county's frontier-era architecture. National Register reference number is 90001220.
1995 — Arkansas executed Barry Lee Fairchild. Fairchild was executed by lethal injection on August 31, 1995, becoming the eleventh person executed under Arkansas's modern death-penalty statute. His case remained controversial because he repudiated his confession and allegations were raised concerning interrogation methods and his intellectual capacity. On the same day, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final request for a stay and petition for certiorari.
NOTABLE BIRTHDAYS
Woodrow Wilson Crockett. Crockett was born August 31, 1918, at Homan in Miller County. He became one of the celebrated Tuskegee Airmen, flew combat missions during World War II and Korea, served 28 years in the military and was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.
Eldridge Cleaver. Author and political activist Leroy Eldridge Cleaver was born August 31, 1935, at Wabbaseka in Jefferson County. He became a prominent Black Panther Party leader and wrote the influential 1968 book Soul on Ice.
NOTABLE DEATHS
William Fletcher Pace. Prominent Harrison attorney, former Boone County clerk and Confederate veteran W. F. Pace died August 31, 1912, in Eureka Springs. Pace had been involved in Arkansas legal and political life for decades and once exchanged gunfire with members of the Jesse James gang.