Solgohachia

Some people claim the name Solgohachia comes from an Indian name meaning, "a hole in the mountain". Others claim the town was named for a warrior named "Sol", who was of the Cherokee tribe that settled at Solgohachia. That story goes something like this:

When the Indians were removed from east of the Mississippi River, the village was a stopping place for the Cherokee on the famous "Trail of Tears". According to the treaty which brought the Indians into Arkansas, they were to remain west of a line from the mouth of Point Remove to Batesville. The Indian chief, Ponti, established his capital on the high mound to the west and placed the camps of his followers on the smaller mounds around the village now known as Solgohachia.

Sometime after the Indians were established there, Chief Ponti gave his beautiful daughter, Gowafa, in marriage to his favorite brave, Sol. The wedding ceremony was held under the shade of the great oak trees, at the well which never ran dry.

In later years the Indians moved on west to the Oklahoma Territory. It is said that in later years some of the Indians would come back to visit their old camp grounds and dig in the hill and valleys in search of treasure supposedly buried there by their old chiefs. No treasure has ever been found. The great oaks are gone now, but the well is still there, and the legend still remains. The hills around Solgohachia still contain arrowheads which are occasionally found during plowing.

The actual town of Solgohachia began about 1870. It was about that time that William Smith homesteaded the eighty acres that became the original lots and tracts of Solgohachia. William Smith build his home at Solgohachia. The first business, a blacksmith shop, was soon established. It was owned and operated by a Mr. Clopton. Then a Mr. Willis and a Mr. McClure built small stores.

Dr. M. Crowell settled on the Fryer farm near the present Fryer Bridge on Point Remove Creek. He established a post office at his residence, named "Point Remove", and became postmaster. In 1873, he moved to a farm nearer to the village of Solgohachia and operated the Point Remove Post Office from that location, where it remained until the late 1870's.

During the 1870's, several homes were built in the village, among them were the Smith, Willis and McClure houses. Others, including the Gordon, Adams and Minyard houses, were built soon afterward.

About 1876, Dr. Crowell and his sons bought the McClure store and engaged in a mercantile business until about 1907. In the late 1870's, the post office was moved from the Crowell farm to the village store. The name was changed, as there were several offices in the state with the word "Point", and mail was often missent.

It is said that Dr. Crowell was asked to suggest a new name for the post office, and that he chose the name "Solgohachee", which was the name of a creek in his old home section of Alabama. The Post Office department changed the ending to "ie" instead of "ee". In later years the ending was changed by the department to "ia".

 

Sources for this article include a newspaper article appearing in the Morrilton Democrat in August, 1930, written by Mrs. Harrison who was a daughter of Dr. M. Crowell, a leading merchant, doctor and first postmaster of Solgohachia, and being reprinted in the book "Conway County -- Our Land, Our Home, Our People" compiled by the Conway County Historical Society, and also from the book "Legend of the Well, Trail of Tears Station" which was compiled in celebration of "Solgohachia Day" April 30, 1994.