Maguire Town
The first Maguires to settle in Washington County were Owen and Mary from Kentucky in the 1820s. They and their sons Hosea and Green built a substantial log house on property northeast of present-day Elkins along what is now State Highway 74 and on the east side of White River. This log house was still standing in the 1980s. Next, the Maguires built a trading post. Soon other pioneers began settling around them, and the need for a school developed. Owen Maguire gave land and all pitched in to build a log school house around 1832. About 1866 a new frame school was built and served the area until 1913 when the school was consolidated with Elkins.
A post office called Maguire’s Store was opened in 1854 that was in operation until 1888 when mail was diverted to Hood post office, and that name changed to Elkins a few years later. At some point the name of the settlement was changed to Maguire Town.
The settlement grew with new businesses like a blacksmith shop and ferry across White River. Hosea Maguire married and built a new house for his bride called the “Big House.” He built a new three-story brick trading post with bricks made at the site. Maguire conducted a lot of trading at the new store including apples and live stock. The top floor of the building was used for a Masonic Lodge, chartered in 1873 as the Sylva Masonic Temple. The second floor was used for the store and a basement for storage was below.
During the Civil War on Oct. 28, 1862, a skirmish occurred between Union troops under General Herron and Confederates under General Marmaduke. The Confederate men were headed to Fayetteville to attempt to take control of it but were forced back by Herron’s men. Just two months later, the far larger Prairie Grove battle took place.
When the train line from Fayetteville to St. Paul was built in the 1880s along the west side of White River through Durham and Thompson, it began the downturn for Maguire Town. All that remained of Maguire Town in the 1980s were Owen Maguire’s house built in 1826 and Hosea Maguire’s “Big House” built in the 1850s. Hosea Maguire’s house is now the Bed and Breakfast pictured above. The brick store was struck by lightning and collapsed sometime before the 1980s.
Bibliography:
“Maguire Town,” by Juel Benbrook Hamblen Giles, Flashback, November 1986.
Washington County Post Offices and Postmasters 1829-1976, by Deane Carter, published by Washington County Historical Society.
Fields of Blood, by William L Shea.
