Shiloh Crossroads Cemetary is all that is left of one of the first and largest early settlements of Cleburne County. Today most of old Shiloh is under Greers Ferry Lake. The first settlers of Shiloh consisted of Brady, Blevins, Chance, Chapman, Freeman, Jackson, Marr, Mitchell, Powell, Verser, Welch, Stark, Majors, Brewer, Smith, Morton, Magee, Bittle, Birdsong, Wood, Harmon, Phelps, Murphree, Taylor, Hooten, Spence, and Hodges namesakes. Most of them came from Kentucky and Tennessee.
At first Shiloh was actually in then Van Buren County. In 1840 the town of Shiloh was part of the Giles Township, which consisted of a population of 304. In 1871, the first post office was organized and Mr. James B. Stark became postmaster. By 1880; Shiloh boasted a population of 600+, a church, a two room schoolhouse, five general stores, a drug store, two cotton gins, two blacksmith shops, a grist mill, and a sorghum mill. The main street through town was paved with flat stones.The chapel that stands here today is not the original. That little one room church burned down around 2010. Though it isn't the original structure, it is pretty close to how it used to be back when.
By 1883, Cleburne County was being established. Shiloh, along with Quitman and Heber Springs, was being considered for the new county seat. After much debate in the Arkansas Legislature, Heber Springs edged out Shiloh by a slim marginal vote.
The storytellers of old used to regale of how Shiloh was no meek quiet little town, The " calaboose" (jail) was never empty.Travelers getting their corn milled and horses shod on Saturday nights would imbibe on local moonshine. This was said to be the biggest culprit for the four murders, multiple stabbings, shootings, and clubbings. Though,one shooting was over nothing more than one man's cow tresspassing on another man's field. Shiloh was almost as big as Heber Springs, but twice as rowdy it seems. A storyteller told about one incident in particular, "In the heat of the night, after several rounds of moonshine, an argument arose between friends. One shot the other, and he staggered to the road. His wife, in a buggy, picked him up and held him till he died, Her pretty dress soaking up her husband's blood. She screamed repeatedly all night long, and the sound eched throughout the hills. Even the animals could not be quieted. The cattle stampeeded and lowed throughout the night. The guinea fowl hollered and called till daybreak. Not a single resident slept that horrible night."
In early days, to become a licensed doctor one only had to aquire a doctor's book and pass an examination by the county medical board. Once licensed it took grit, determination, and unlimited energy to take care of your patients. A strong disposition was essential as well. One Mrs Chloe Brewer Casey told of the family story, "When my father was twelve years old, he got his right hand crushed in the sorghum mill. My grandparents thought he would die from blood poisioning if he didn't see a doctor. Some men travelled to another community to summon one. After the doctor examined my father, he knew the hand had to come off. The doctor had no saw for such an operation, so he took his Case knife and fashioned one. Without medication or any type of anesthetic, the doctor removed my father's arm above the elbow." Shiloh had several practicing doctors including, Dr. Snelson, Dr. Pitts, Dr. Steel, Dr. Hodges, Dr. Majors, Dr. Wood, Dr. Stark, and Dr. Tom Birdsong who practice for over 50 years.
When the U.S. Corp of Engineers were preparing the creation of Greers Ferry Dam in the 1950's, they began buying up land. Several property owners were outraged at the measley sum of $75.00 offered to them for their prime farm land. Some farmers held out, but in the end lost their land through a maneuver of Imminent Domain by the government. All is now resting at the bottom of Greers Ferry Lake.
You are looking for a small plastic container with a log and some swag. As you search, take a notice of the gravestones. They bear the names of founding members of this once thriving community. Just off the road, Greers Ferry Lake can be seen. Reminding us of what once was is now only a fleeting memory of a by gone era.
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