Halfway (Clark County)

Halfway was a community in Clark County located about seven miles north of Okolona (Clark County) and seven miles northeast of Antoine (Pike County) on State Highway 26. The community was located roughly halfway between Antoine and Hollywood (Clark County).

Halfway was never a large settlement, but records reflect the operation of a post office for several years. The office opened in 1884 and closed in 1886. It reopened in 1900 and remained in operation until it was permanently closed in 1916. The operations of the office were moved to Okolona.

Early settlers to the area farmed and worked in the timber industry. Samuel Dawson obtained the first land in the area with his patent filed on November 1, 1839. The nearby community of Clear Springs (Clark County) offered a school for children in Halfway. Members of the community also attended church in Clear Springs. One of the first timber companies to operate in the area was the Smithton Lumber Company, which began operations in 1883 near Gurdon (Clark County). A short-track railroad connected the mill with the nearby community of Burtsell (Clark County).

In the twenty-first century, the Halfway area looks much the same as it did when the original post office opened. The area has several houses and the Halfway Cemetery, where the earliest graves date from 1889.

For additional information:
Richter, Wendy, et al. Clark County Arkansas: Past and Present. Arkadelphia, AR: Clark County Historical Association, 1992.

David Sesser
Henderson State University