Fairview Cemetery, also known as the Van Buren Cemetery, is a historic cemetery on the east side of
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 ...
in
Van Buren, Arkansas
Van Buren ( ) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is located directly northeast of Fort Smith at the Interst ...
. The cemetery's oldest graves date to 1816, the period of the region's settlement, and include some of Van Buren's first settlers. First established as an informal private burial ground, it was given to the city by John Drennen in 1846.
Confederate Section
In 1861 a section in the eastern portion of the cemetery was set aside for burials related to 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 ...
; this section contains 442 known graves of
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
soldiers and eight of
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
soldiers.
Also buried is Confederate Congressman
Hugh French Thomason
Hugh French Thomason (February 22, 1826 – July 30, 1893) was an American politician who served as Arkansas state representative from Crawford County from 1887 to 1889 and as Arkansas state senator from 1881 to 1885. He previously served in t ...
(1826–1893).
The Confederate portion of the cemetery was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1996 for its association with the war and commemorative organizations, and the entire cemetery was listed in 2005 for its relevance to the history of area.
[
Fairview Cemetery, Confederate Section Plaque.JPG, Plaque identifying Confederate Section
Fairview Cemetery, Confederate Section, Dedication Plaque.JPG, Dedication Plaque
Fairview Cemetery, Confederate Section, one of the identified graves.JPG, Grave Marker for Alber Wilson
Fairview monument for G. Phillips.jpg, Monument for G. Phillips
Confederate_Lot_on_the_NRHP.jpg, Monument identifying NRHP status of Confederate Lot
]
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{National Register of Historic Places
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
Buildings and structures completed in 1816
Buildings and structures in Van Buren, Arkansas
1816 establishments in Missouri Territory
National Register of Historic Places in Crawford County, Arkansas
Cemeteries established in the 1810s