Earle

History

The city of Earle originally started as two neighboring communities started in the 1860s, Earle and Norvell. Norvell was originally settled in July 1872 by local doctor James Throgmorton. Earle was a train stop established in the late 1880s on land owned by Josiah Francis Earle, a former Confederate soldier and Klansman. The train stop was established after his death in 1884. In 1888, a branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, & Southern Railway was built south of Earle. The line still exists as a part of the Union Pacific Railroad. The town had two lumber company-owned railroads connect to it in the early 1900s, the Crittenden Railroad and the Tyronza Lumber Company Railroad. Originally, the Earle post office was located within Norvell. The move caused some controversy in the two communities, and in 1904 an altercation took place between the former and then current men who owned the land the post office sat on. John Watt, who formally controlled the post office, shot the current owner, W.M. Brown. Watt was later acquitted of the Brown's murder. From its formal incorporation in 1905 to the 1940s, Earle was one of the largest towns in Crittenden County. Referred to by locals as the "Pearl of the St. Francis," for many years the town was a center of industry and an important transportation hub for the Arkansas Delta. One of the more notable residents of Earle was George Berry Washington. Born into slavery in 1864, Washington established a thriving business as a landlord, and through this enterprise provided a means of income for hundreds of Black Arkansans. In 1928, the widow and family of local figure George Berry Washington had a monument, known as "the Angel in the Field", built to honor Washington's life. In 1918, an African-American man named Elton Mitchell was…

Largest nearby schools

• EARLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · EARLE · 231 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• EARLE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · EARLE · 204 students · 4.4:1 ratio