Dutch Mills is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Dutch Mills Township, Washington County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, United States. Dutch Mills is on a small tributary of the

Baron Fork of the Illinois River The Baron Fork of the Illinois River is a tributary of the Illinois River in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The stream is sometimes called Baron Fork River, Barren Fork Creek or simply Barren Fork. Etymology Official Oklahoma Department ...

Arkansas Highway 59 Arkansas Highway 59 is a north–south state highway in Northwest Arkansas. The route runs from Arkansas Highway 22 in Barling north to the Missouri state line through Van Buren, the county seat of Crawford County. Highway 59 parallels US 59 ...

, approximately south of

U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Can ...

and east of the

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

border. Since Dutch Mills is a small rural community, it receives mail delivery from

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

( ZIP code 72744). The population of the Lincoln ZCTA was 4,571 at the 2000 census. It is part of the

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, the surrounding towns of Benton an ...

region.

History

Dutch Mills was originally called Hermannsburg, named after its first documented settler, Johann H. Hermann, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

immigrant and former student at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. In the early 1850s, Johann Hermann and his brother, Karl F. Hermann acquired the property of the town, built a mill, laid out the lots, and acquired the rights to a

United States post office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

. The brothers operated the mill, a small store, and both served as Postmaster (Johann in 1856 and Karl in 1859). Multiple German families moved there, following the Hermanns.Lemke, W.J. ''The Hermanns of Old Hermannsburg''. Washington County Historical Society, 1965. Hermannsburg was located at a dangerous crossroads between The North and The South during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Bushwackers Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there were large areas of contested land and few governmental resources to control these tra ...

from both sides of the conflict regularly pillaged the town and conditions worsened after the

Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Springfield, Missou ...

. Renegade

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Governor

Claiborne Jackson Claiborne Fox Jackson (April 4, 1806 – December 6, 1862) was an American politician of the Democratic Party in Missouri. He was elected as the 15th Governor of Missouri, serving from January 3, 1861, until July 31, 1861, when he was forc ...

and his Confederate militia commandeered the Hermann home in Hermannsburg for the night while on their flight to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Because many German immigrants sided with the Union cause, Southern bushwhackers would often target them for robbery and even murder. In December 1862, the last 19 German immigrants who remained in the town, including the Hermann brothers and their families, fled Hermannsburg under the cover of night for the safety of the larger German community in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. After the Civil War, the name of Hermannsburg was changed to Dutch Mills. The name change was likely intended as subtle insult, or perhaps a statement of indifference, by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

descended residents who didn't care to differentiate between the Germans and the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Education

Dutch Mills is located within the Lincoln Consolidated School District. Lincoln High School is its sole high school.

Notes

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Washington County, Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Unincorporated communities in Arkansas Populated places established in 1853