Greenland
The town of Greenland was first established with a post office named Rugby around 1882. In 1886 the name was changed to Staunton and in 1909, the name Greenland was adopted.
When the St Louis & San Francisco Railroad came to the area in the early 1880s, a stop was established at what is now Greenland with a depot. Six passenger trains and numerous freight trains a day made this railroad a busy operation. The rail operation peaked in the 1940s with a lot of military personnel and freight traffic. Such a busy operation inevitably resulted in train wrecks. One such accident occurred in Greenland (Staunton) in 1897 resulting in a number of cattle escaping but no serious injuries were reported, according to Winn.
County court records indicate a school was operating near what is now Greenland and then called Frog Pond as early as 1877. It is said to have been on the property where the Fayetteville airport now exists. Several buildings were used for schools and a brick building was built in the 1920s. Several schools have been consolidated into the Greenland District with the latest being Winslow in recent years. Some of these early consolidations, caused the school district to establish one of the first school “bus” systems with the first being horse drawn covered wagons with a stove in the middle for winter. Motorized vehicles were brought in sometime around the 1930s.
As with many areas in the county, apple orchards were a common sight on the hills and valleys around Greenland. The best apples were packed in barrels for shipment by rail and the remainder were either dried or used to make cider.
Greenland merchants have included Jacob Yoes in early years, and more recently, the Crider family.
Bibliography:
Washington County Postoffices and Postmasters 1829-1976, by Deane Carter, published 1976 by Washington County Historical Society.
School Days, School Days, a history of Washington County Schools, by Marie Rouse.
Images of America, Washington County Arkansas, by Velda Brotherton.
Railroads of Northwest Arkansas, by Robert G Winn.
