Robinson became a "rodman" in surveying the route of the
Erie Railroad. Following the
American Civil War, he accompanied a cavalry expedition from the banks of the
Missouri River to the city of
Denver, Colorado. Robinson then journeyed to
Kansas where he worked for the
Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. In 1869 Robinson came to
Arkansas to construct the first of the
St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. He then became the chief railroad engineer for the
Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad. In connection with his work on the Little Rock & Fort Smith Robinson received one square mile of land south of the Cadron Ridge in
Faulkner County, extending south roughly from what is today Prince Street to Dave Ward Drive. He reserved the northeast corner of his property for the establishment of a town site, and the southern half as private hunting lands and as a plantation for raising shorthorn cattle, hogs, and sheep. Robinson drove a stake in the ground at the place where Conway Station was to be constructed. A post office was built at Cadron Gap, but later transferred to Conway Station in 1872. The station became the county seat of Faulkner County in 1873. One year later Robinson married his second wife, Mary Louise De St. Louis of
Montreal,
Canada. Conway, Arkansas, was incorporated in 1875, and Robinson was elected the town's mayor in 1887. He also became president of the local school board. He personally pledged land for the courthouse square, and several local churches. He was actively engaged in
Republican politics. In 1884, Robinson laid out the federal
Hot Springs Reservation. ==Death and legacy==