18-642: Norristown may mean: Norristown, Arkansas , an unincorporated community Norristown, Georgia , an unincorporated community Norristown, Indiana , an unincorporated community Norristown, Pennsylvania , a borough Norristown Transportation Center , a train station in Norristown Other train stations in Norristown: Main Street station (SEPTA) Elm Street station Norristown, California , an ephemeral California Gold Rush settlement on
36-979: A missionary to the Cherokee Indians at Brainerd Mission , Tennessee, for a short while. He migrated with them westward, arriving in Arkansas in 1819. This was a group that removed relatively early from the Southeast, rather than waiting for forced removal after the US Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Most Cherokee were removed across the Mississippi River to a designated part of Indian Territory (present Eastern Oklahoma)in 1838. The party that traveled to Arkansas included not only Cephas Washburn and his wife, but also his brother in law, Reverend Alfred Finney, as well as several others who would support
54-661: A capital T. Its two streets were unmarked, but residents referred to them as "River Street" and "Main Street". Its post office, established in 1839 with Samual Norris as postmaster, closed in 1882. During the 1830s and 40s removal period of eastern Native Americans to the Indian Territory, thousands passed through Norristown, many crossing the river on the ferry located there. In 1855, Cephas Washburn , founder of Dwight Presbyterian Mission on Illinois Bayou west of present-day Russellville, moved to Norristown where he worked as
72-590: A minister and was instrumental in the establishment of Presbyterian churches at Dardanelle and Galley (Galla) Rock . Norristown was active throughout the mid-1800s but by the end of the century, little remained. With the erratic nature of the Arkansas River and the construction of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad through nearby Russellville, riverboat shipping declined and disappeared as did small riverside shipping and market centers like Norristown. Part of
90-521: A regional trade and shipping center; its main tavern was one of the important stops between Little Rock and Fort Smith. Thousands of bales of cotton were loaded on steamboats at Norristown to transport to Little Rock and New Orleans. During the Civil War, heavy equipment for mining and processing niter from a mine in Newton County came by river to Norristown. The town was laid out in what looked like
108-429: Is buried at the historic Mount Holly Cemetery in downtown Little Rock. Washburn's son Edward Payson Washburn was the artist who painted the well-known Arkansas Traveller painting. It received wide distribution and recognition when printed as a Currier & Ives lithograph . The painting was inspired by the humorous song " Arkansas Traveller " by Sandford C. Faulkner . His granddaughter Mabel Washbourne Anderson
126-471: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Norristown, Arkansas Norristown was a 19th-century town and trading center on the Arkansas River and, later, an incorporated town on Norristown Mountain in Illinois Township , Pope County , Arkansas , United States. The town merged with Russellville on August 14, 1980. Founded in 1829,
144-715: The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to serve as a missionary to the Eastern Cherokee Indians, who then lived primarily lived in the U.S. State of Georgia. He was assigned to the Cherokee. He remained in Georgia for about one year. Then the ABCFM sent him to Arkansas as the missionary to Cherokees who had already begun moving west. These people would thereafter be called "Western Cherokees". He served as
162-824: The University of Vermont , and the Andover Theological Seminary . After graduating from the University of Vermont, he was ordained as a Congregational minister. The Royalton Congregational Association in Randolph, Vermont, licensed Washburn to preach in January 1818. On October 6, 1818, he married Abigail F. Woodward of Randolph, Vermont . After the Washburns were married, Cephas was ordained in 1818 in Waitsfield, Vermont , by
180-543: The American River [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Norristown&oldid=839905343 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
198-669: The educational facility. Washburn founded Dwight Presbyterian Mission near present-day Russellville in 1820 to serve the newly arrived Cherokee . Dwight was the first American mission to the Indians west of the Mississippi River . It was named for Rev. Timothy Dwight , president of Yale College and a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Dwight Mission (later called "Old Dwight Mission") in Arkansas
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#1732837638993216-416: The first postal route in this part of Arkansas, which ran through Norristown. An 1830 ferry crossed the river from the present-day location of the park's boat ramp. In the 20th century, an unincorporated community , also called Norristown, developed on and around Norristown Mountain, a 4.5-mile-long ridge between Russellville and the Arkansas River. Subsequently, incorporated as the town of Norristown, it
234-462: The settlement of Norristown was located south of Russellville , on the Arkansas River, upstream and across the river from Dardanelle . Samuel and Susan H. Norris, originally from New Jersey , having settled at Dwight Mission on the Illinois Bayou, subsequently moved to a point on the Arkansas River opposite Dardanelle Rock, giving the place the name of Norristown. The settlement steadily grew over
252-462: The town caved into the river in an 1898 flood while the rest was converted into farmland. The Norristown Cemetery, utilized from 1852 to 1934 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the town's last remnant. The site of the original settlement of Norristown is now the location of Old Post Road Park, a US Corps of Engineers recreational area. The park's name is derived from
270-411: The years until about 300 or 400 people inhabited the area. By 1834, it was a small community that served as the county seat of Pope County until the seat was moved to Dover in 1841 after Yell County was created out of Pope County and Norristown was no longer centrally located in the county. On the bank of the seasonally navigable Arkansas River and on an established mail post road, the town served as
288-528: Was a farmer, and Cephas seemed destined to follow in that occupation. However, he suffered a broken leg while working and decided to take up teaching as a career. While raising enough money to pursue higher education, he taught school in Groton, Massachusetts, in 1814 and 1815. While teaching, he became a member of the Congregationalist church and decided to become a missionary to the Indians. He graduated from
306-550: Was consolidated into Russellville on August 14, 1980. Cephas Washburn Cephas Washburn (July 25, 1793 â March 17, 1860) was a Christian missionary and educator who worked with the Cherokee of northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma . He later worked to establish churches in Arkansas. Cephas Washburn was born on July 25, 1793, in Rutland, Vermont . His parents were Josiah W. and Phebe ( nÊe Cushman) Washburn. His father
324-642: Was supplanted by another mission with the same name in Indian Territory, near what is now Sallisaw, Oklahoma . The latter became known as "New Dwight Mission". Washburn served as the primary Indian missionary in the Arkansas region until he resigned in 1850. From 1850 to 1856 he served as minister for the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas . Cephas Washburn died at Little Rock, Arkansas , on March 17, 1860, of pneumonia , while traveling to Helena, Arkansas , for an evangelical meeting. He
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