A woman infamous for using a hatchet to smash up saloons
nationwide visited Arkansas in 1904, then temporarily settled in Eureka
Springs.
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| Carrie Nation and students stand outside "Hatchet Hall," 1910. |
Carry Moore, later Carrie Nation, was born Nov. 25, 1846, in
Kentucky. She married Charles Gloyd, an abusive alcoholic in 1867. The pair
divorced after about a year, and she married David Nation in 1874. Her new
husband also seemed fond of alcohol.
Nation became a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance
Union, an organization partially devoted to ending the consumption of alcohol
in America. Nation and her husband often
quarreled.
In 1901, he divorced her by citing “neglect of duty.” It
seemed her temperance work kept her on the lecture circuit too much. Nation
decided lecturing alone was not enough, and after a time of prayer, she said
she had a vision from God to adopt a more militant tactic. Nation began going
into saloons and smashing furniture, beer kegs and whiskey bottles with a
hatchet while singing hymns and declaring God’s judgment against alcohol. She
became a nationally recognized temperance figure.
After a couple of years, and a few stays in jail for
disturbing the peace, Nation’s saloon smashing days were largely over. She
traveled throughout the Midwest lecturing audiences about temperance and
encouraging them to take action against the sale and consumption of alcohol. She
hoped her lectures inspired others to take part in her crusade. She carried a
trunk of souvenir hatchets to sell to her audiences.
Her lecture tours brought her to Arkansas in 1904. When she
arrived in Mena, a growing mob greeted her with alternating jeers and cheers.
As she traveled, Nation often stopped in front of saloons to lecture to bar
patrons. During an Arkansas tour in 1906, Nation stopped in Little Rock and
made a point to stand in front of the Hamel Saloon. She shook her fist and shouted,
“Get out of there, you are all going to the devil!” She demanded Little Rock’s
officials shut down the saloons. “I don’t want to find this same condition when
I come back,” Nation said.
Nation went to Hot Springs where she started a fight with a
pool-hall owner, which led to her being jailed for assaulting a police officer.
Years later, Nation decided she liked Arkansas. She took the
large sum of money she made from selling souvenir hatchets and bought a farm in
Eureka Springs in 1909. She seemed content to settle down and raise pigs,
chickens and apples. Nation started the National College of Eureka Springs in
1910 to train temperance workers and speakers.
But, her time in Eureka Springs was short. She collapsed
Jan. 13, 1911 in Eureka Springs, and her friends took her to a hospital in
Kansas City, Missouri. After a short stay in Kansas City, Nation settled in
Leavenworth, Kansas, where she died June 9, 1911.
Her home on 35 Steele St. in
Eureka Springs still stands. Locals refer to the house as “Hatchet Hall”
because of its connection to Nation. A
spring named after Nation is located nearby.
Information about Nation and other important historical
figures connected to Arkansas is available at the Arkansas State Archives at 1
Capitol Mall, suite 215, or online at http://archives.arkansas.gov.
