Keetsville 1850?–1868 Located along the historic
Trail of Tears and on the
Old Wire Road, and was a
Butterfield Overland Mail Route Flag Stop. Keetsville traced its official settlement to Georgia native John Cureton (1795-1853), who had served as a judge in
Washington County, Arkansas before settling on the Washburn Prairie about two miles north of current day Washburn in 1840 and then procured the location of the town. In 1853, Cureton died and ownership of the land transferred to the Englishman James T. Keet (1818-1863), who then laid out the town of Keetsville. The 1850s saw the first real establishment of the town with Keet establishing a store at the site. The growth of the town would be interrupted by the
Civil War, as a February 1862 skirmish, a predecessor to the much larger
Battle of Pea Ridge the next month in
Pea Ridge, Arkansas, would result in the destruction of the fledgling town. and in 1868 it was renamed Washburn in honor of an early pioneer to the area Samuel Washburn, This line ran about a half mile west of what was then Keetsville, but soon to be renamed Washburn. Instead of incorporating the Keetsville or Washburn name into the railroad stop at this location, the stop and the community that blossomed next to it was instead named O’Day, after the Irish-born John O’Day (1843-1901), a Springfield-based attorney for the railroad. In the years that followed O’Day grew, adding two hotels, shops, a newspaper, dwellings and in either 1887 or 1888 a
post office, while also remaining codependent of neighboring Washburn concerning educational, religious and social life.
Washburn 1868–Present The community of Washburn, formerly Keetsville, was officially incorporated as a town on August 4, 1880, though it is unclear if O’Day ever incorporated as a separate town. The two communities continued as separate entities through the 1880s and into the 1890s, when in 1892 the O’Day post office was disestablished and the Washburn post office took over for a newly consolidated community, a consolidation that was likely prompted by the building of a public school between the two communities.
Commerce history Following the establishment of the railroad and the growth of the former O’Day community, many businesses were established in what is now Washburn. Among these were the O’Day House Hotel, Felker & Johnson's mercantile, the Pratt or Cunningham grocery store, J. M. Holton's mercantile, Denbo's grocery, the Brookshire & Chandler drug store, and W. B. Adcock's drug store. Many of these businesses had previously been located in the old Keetsville site, but moved to take advantage of the railroad. The
O’Day Globe newspaper was founded in 1887. That same year, Irishman Timothy Patrick Mooney (1833-1912) moved his store and warehouse there from Washburn. In 1887 Reece Brothers built a large store and Postmaster James Buchanan Hurst (1859-1934) a post-office building. In the original Keetsville location, Postmaster John O. Burton (1798-1852), John Cureton and Garrett Moore (1804-1870) had all established businesses before the war. J. W. Elliott was a silversmith in the 1870s and Blennerhassett & Co. was a hardware store. By 1872, Washburn had 200 to 300 inhabitants, six general stores, three drug stores, a stove and tin store, three hotels, a boot shop, a jewelry store, and a school. In 1880, the same year as the establishment of O’Day, the population was 575. Among the businesses at that time were a nursery, multiple general stores and drug stores. Hotels operated by Mrs. A. Foster and T. P. Mooney. Flour and saw mills and multiple saloons were also in operation at this time. J. C. Thomas was the constable, William Keene Bayless (1850-1930) was the justice of the peace, William Rhoda Felker (1855-1929) was a real estate agent and J. W. Eggleston (1821-?), James Henry McDonald (1831-1917) and James T. Means (1824-1884) were physicians. In addition to the
O’Day Globe, several other newspapers were published in the Washburn area through the years, including
Winger’s Journal in 1869, Professor White's
Gazette was published briefly and in 1911
The Washburn Review was printed for a short time.
Washburn today Through much of the early 20th century Washburn prospered, but the increase in automobile ownership and the elimination of passenger rail service to the town in the 1950s eventually led to a major decrease in businesses and residents. The commercial district along Main Street, which was the heart of the former O’Day community, decayed through the second half of the 20th century, resulting in the destruction of much of the town's historic core, including the razing of the original Atlantic and Pacific Railway train station in the 1960s. Today the local school district is the town's main employer. There is a bank, a farming supply business, a couple convenient/ gas stations and some smaller businesses that continue to operate in the town. These businesses are largely concentrated in the area of the original Keetsville plat and away from the area that had anchored the town for most of the last century. A handful of historic buildings do remain in downtown Washburn, including the lodge building and the W.B. Adcock's drug store building, which at one time was used as the town's community center and currently and now houses the town's post office. ==Geography==