George Washington Donaghey (July 1, 1856 – December 15, 1937) was an American businessman and the
22nd Governor of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
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 ...
from 1909 to 1913.
Early life and education
Donaghey was born as the oldest of five children to Christopher Columbus and Elizabeth (''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Ingram) Donaghey, in the Oakland Community in
Union Parish
Union Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de l'Union'') is a parish located in the north central section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,107. The parish seat is Farmerville. The parish was created on Ma ...
in north
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. His father's family was from
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and his mother's from
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. His father Christopher was a farmer who moved from Alabama to northern Louisiana, purchasing land there, and later moved to Arkansas where he served in the
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 ...
.
In 1875, without letting his family know, Donaghey moved 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 ...
where he worked as a cowboy on the
Chisholm Trail
The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cheroke ...
and farmer, but later moved again to Arkansas in 1876 due to cowboy lifestyle and health issues. From 1882 to 1883, he attended the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
at
Fayetteville. He was a school teacher and carpenter, and studied both
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
and
structural engineering
Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...
. In 1883, Donaghey established his residence at
Conway, Arkansas, and adopted that city as his hometown. There, he later met his wife Louvenia Wallace; they had no children. One of the major streets there bears his name. He served one term as town marshal and was an unsuccessful prohibition candidate for mayor in 1885.
Having himself lacked a formal education, Donaghey worked diligently to bring institutions of higher learning to Conway. He served on the boards of
Philander Smith College
Philander Smith College is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Philander Smith College is accredited by ...
in
Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
,
Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled, mostly undergraduates. While affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the college offers a secular curriculum and has a stude ...
(to which he donated $75,000 in 1910), the
University of Central Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only n ...
, State Normal School (where he was the principal speaker for its 1908 dedication) and Little Rock Junior College (both now part of University of Central Arkansas) in Conway, where his service extended from 1906 until his death. Additionally, he gave generously to both institutions.
Business
Donaghey entered business as a contractor and constructed courthouses in Texas and Arkansas, including the first bank building in Conway in 1890. Shortly afterward, he detoured into the mercantile business—for his contracting business was not profitable in its early years—and suffered significant losses after building the second Faulkner County courthouse. When he returned, he reconstructed the Arkansas Insane Asylum after a tornado in 1894. He built ice plants and roads in Arkansas, and water tanks and railroad stations for the
Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad
The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (CO&G), known informally as the "Choctaw Route," was an American railroad in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The company, originally known as the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company, completed its main li ...
, and often invested in farm and timber land.
In 1899, Donaghey was appointed to the commission tasked with constructing the new state capitol. The project was not complete until a dozen years later; during much of that time
Jefferson "Jeff" Davis was state governor and firmly opposed all the new plans. This obstruction impelled Donaghey to enter politics; eventually in 1907 he sought the nomination for governor, in the teeth of opposition from Davis (who had been elected U.S. senator for Arkansas) and Davis's ally
William F. Kirby
William Fosgate Kirby (November 16, 1867July 26, 1934) was a Democratic Party politician from Arkansas who represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 1916 to 1921.
Kirby was born in Miller County, Arkansas, near Texarkana, on November 16, ...
.
As governor
In 1908, Donaghey won a three-way
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
that broke the hold of Jeff Davis on the
Arkansas Democratic Party. He then attained an easy victory in the gubernatorial
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
with 106,512 votes, over
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
John I. Worthington (42,979) and
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
J. Sam Jones (6,537).
Worthington had also run in 1906 against Davis.
[''Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections'', p. 1601] Donaghey had to wait ten months to take office. In the meantime he traveled the country, and as professor
Calvin Ledbetter, Jr. of the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock) is a public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the institution became a private four-year ...
points out in his book ''The Carpenter from Conway'', Donaghey educated himself for the political office which awaited him. In June 1909, he appointed the fourth and final state capitol commission and hired
Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas and We ...
for the architecture project.
Donaghey was reelected in 1910, defeating another Republican, Andrew L. Roland, by 101,612 votes to 38,870. Another 9,196 ballots were cast for the Socialist candidate, Dan Hogan.
[ That same year he negotiated with the ]Southern Regional Education Board
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, that works to improve education at every level in its 16 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, M ...
to bring its campaign to Arkansas, which had successful results in the state, and he also supported four agricultural high schools that later formed into Arkansas Tech University
Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is a public university in Russellville, Arkansas. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. The Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus, a two-year satellite cam ...
, Arkansas State University
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 la ...
, Southern Arkansas University
Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas.
History
Southern Arkansas University was established by an Act of the Arkansas Legislature in 1909 as a district agricultural high school for southwest Arkansas an ...
and the University of Arkansas at Monticello
The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) is a public university in Monticello, Arkansas with Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee. UAM is part of the University of Arkansas System and offers master's degrees, baccalaureate degrees ...
. His actions in 1910 also included helping to create the Booneville Tuberculosis Sanatorium, thus improving public health; he later also negotiated with the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission to eradicate hookworm
Hookworms are intestinal, blood-feeding, parasitic roundworms that cause types of infection known as helminthiases. Hookworm infection is found in many parts of the world, and is common in areas with poor access to adequate water, sanitation, an ...
. During his term, Arkansas was the first state in the country to require smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
vaccinations for all schoolchildren and school personnel, and the Crossett malaria control experiment campaigned against the mosquitos. Donaghey's achievements included establishment of a new state board of education, support for high schools, and the passage of a law making consolidation easier.
Although several of the prisoners he pardoned from the convict lease program were black, Donaghey still supported segregation. In 1910 at the state Baptist Colored Convention in Little Rock, he said "It is not for any political purpose that I come to talk to you. It is not for the purpose of getting your votes, this you know as well as I do, because your people don't vote much. This, perhaps, is best for you. The greatest man in your race ooker T. Washingtonhas said that you should keep out of politics and in this I agree with him. I think it is best that you stay out of politics and look after the condition of your people, and in this you have as much as you can do". In autumn 1911, he appeared with Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
at the National Negro Business League
The National Negro Business League (NNBL) was an American organization founded in Boston in 1900 by Booker T. Washington to promote the interests of African-American businesses. The mission and main goal of the National Negro Business League was ...
and said to an audience of one thousand black men to "not waste their time running around begging for social equality". ''The Chicago Defender
''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...
'' quoted him as saying "You must ride in the last two seats in our street cars; you must not sit in a Pullman car; you must not ride on the same deck, nor eat in the same restaurant, nor drink in the same saloon as me...You are a race of degenerates, your women are lewd and we cannot afford to have our white women and children associate with you".
Donaghey's progressive stance procured passage of the Initiative and Referendum Act by which Arkansans can take governmental matters into their own hands and bypass the state legislature. He recruited William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...
to help campaign for the amendment's adoption in 1910. Arkansas is the only state in the American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
to grant its citizens such power. The initiative, which began in South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
, is otherwise particularly known in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
.
The Donaghey administration focused on roads, public health, and railroads. Donaghey was vehemently opposed to the use of prisoners for contract-leased labor, especially for building railroads. He particularly learned about convict lease while at a Southern governors' conference in West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
in autumn 1912. Unable to get the legislature to abolish the practice, he prior to leaving office pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
ed 360 prisoners, 44 in country farms and 316 out of 850 in penitentiaries and 37 percent of the incarcerated population. This left the lease system with insufficient available prisoners for utilization in construction. In 1913, a year after Donaghey left office, the legislature finally ended the practice and a new prison board was formed.
In 1912, he was eager for a third term, hoping to take care of statewide prohibition and the much-needed tax reform, but the legislature rejected his reforms and the electorate rejected his prohibition plans. During his campaign for the third term the state capitol project ran out of money, and Donaghey's appropriation plans were not successful. What also helped bring on his defeat was that former governor Jeff Davis and his allies also campaigned for governor, along with emerging powerbroker Joseph Taylor Robinson
Joseph Taylor Robinson (August 26, 1872 – July 14, 1937), also known as Joe T. Robinson, was an American politician from Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1913 to 1937, serving ...
.
Donaghey was the first Arkansas governor who could indisputably be labeled 'progressive' but was also within the southern progressive tradition, as well as the first businessman to become governor of Arkansas.
After being governor
After his bid for a third term as governor was defeated by Joseph Taylor Robinson in 1912, Donaghey persisted in his quest to complete the Capitol. A critical year was 1913. Senator Jeff Davis died two days into the year. Robinson, by this time state governor, was named by the legislature as Davis's successor. J. M. Futtrell, president of the Arkansas Senate, became acting governor. The result was that Futtrell and the Capitol Building Commission asked Donaghey to become a commission member and take charge of completing construction, which he did. The Capitol, valued at more than $300 million today, was completed in 1917 for $2.2 million, ending an 18-year effort. As a hallmark to completion, Donaghey personally built the governor's conference table, which sets today as the centerpiece of the governor's conference room in the north wing of the Capitol.
As a former governor, Donaghey served on a number of boards and commissions responsible for a variety of tasks such as constructions, education, and charities. He penned the book ''Build a State Capitol'', which details the construction of the Arkansas capitol building.
Donaghey died from a heart attack in Little Rock in 1937, and is interred there at the Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery. His estate is managed by George W. Donaghey Foundation in Little Rock.
Former Arkansas Governor (1949-1953) Sid McMath
Sidney Sanders McMath (June 14, 1912October 4, 2003) was a U.S. marine, attorney and the 34th governor of Arkansas from 1949 to 1953. In defiance of his state's political establishment, he championed rapid rural electrification, massive highway ...
said in his memoir ''Promises Kept: a Memoir'' that Donaghey was "without a doubt, one of the great governors of Arkansas and served as an inspiration to my administration and to others, particularly in the continuing struggle for human rights, and I decided to continue what he had begun". One book called him "arguably one of the best and most influential governors and philanthropists in Arkansas history".
In 1999, the ''Log Cabin Democrat
The ''Log Cabin Democrat'' is a daily newspaper in Conway, Arkansas, United States, serving Conway and Faulkner County and some surrounding areas. It was founded in July 1879 as ''The Log Cabin''. Its publisher is David Meadows, who also serves ...
'' named him one of the ten most influential people in Faulkner County's history.
Donaghey's Monument
In 1931, Donaghey, who felt a kinship to both Arkansas and Louisiana, established a monument at the Union Parish/ Union County state line near his birthplace. The Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
-style monument contains intricate carvings; it includes references to transportation in 1831 and 1931, and mentions Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Huey P. Long, Jr., whose educational program Donaghey admired. The land was not registered with state parks offices in either state, timber companies cut trees around it, and the marker was forgotten.
In 1975, an employee of the Louisiana Department of Transportation came across the abandoned monument and informed then-State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
Louise B. Johnson of Bernice of his discovery.
The Monument was dedicated in 1933; Donaghey died four years later. At one time there were plans for a Donaghey State Park, but these were never implemented.
See also
References
External links
Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Arkansas Secretary of State
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaghey, George Washington
Democratic Party governors of Arkansas
People from Union Parish, Louisiana
People from Conway, Arkansas
Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas
1856 births
1937 deaths
University of Arkansas alumni
University of Arkansas at Little Rock people
American real estate businesspeople
Businesspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas