The log cabin Democrat., 1915-04-12
FAULKNER COUNTY IS 42 YEARS OLD APRIL I2 ANNIVERSARY ACT CREATING COUNTY WAS SIGNED BY GOV. BAXTER
 APRIL 12, 1873.

Today, April 12, is the forty-sec- ond anniversary of the creation of Faulkner county. On April 12, 1873, Governor Elisha Baxter signed an act of the legislature providing that certain portions of the counties of Pulaski and Conway should be form ed into separate and distinct coun- ty to be called and known by the name of Faulkner" the name being chosen m honor of the famous Sandy Faulk- ner, the original Arkansas Travel er."
 By further provisions of the act A. D. Thomas, A. F. Livingston and J. F. Comstock were appointed commission CTS to locate the seat of justice, pro- cure title to sit thereof, to lay out a town and sell lots and to appropriate che proceeds of the sale of lots to the erection of proper public buildings. The act also provided that the tempo rary seat of justice should be estab- lished at Conway Station and the gov ,rnor should appoint the necessary county officers to hold until the next general election.
 At that time the county courts, of the state were composed of board 1f supervisors for each county. E. l.. Allen, M. R. Sevier and A. J. Horton, who were appointed as the board of commissioners, assembled at Conway on May 5, 1873, and organized their court, MT. Allen being elected president of the board The other =ounty officers appointed by Governor Baxter consisted of c. H. Lander, clerk; Benton Turner, sheriff; NJ. E. Moore, treasurer; R. T. Harrison, coroner; G. w. Johnson, surveyor, and A. B. Henry, assessor. All of the first officers of the county were Repub- licans, as was the state administra- ton.
 John Dunaway, Sr., now living in Conway, represented the county in the constitutional convention of 1874. The first member in the house of rep- resentatives from Faulkner county was s. B. Burns and the first state senator from the district which in- cludes Faulkner and White counties was J. w. House, now of Little Rock. After its organization the county court at its next meeting subdivided the county into 13 road districts, ap- pointing overseers for each. The commissioners appointed by the act to select county seat selected Con- way as the permanent site A town having already been laid out at this place, no tract of land was purchased by the commissioners from which to sell lots, but on Sept. 19, 1873, Col. Asa P. Robinson, original owner of the site of Conway, who had laid out the town, donated to the county, the large beautiful square upon which the present courthouse and jail are To- cated.
 Having no lots to sell, no means were accumulated by the county for the erection of public buildings and for number of years office rooms were rented, while the Methodist church, which also served as a public school, was used for courtroom. In 1877 a two-story frame courthouse and log jail were erected. The courthouse was burned in 1889 and the present brick building was erected about two years later
 The first census taken after its or Canization-in 1880-showed Faulk- ner county to have population of 12,7S6, of which 11,368 were white and 1,41S were colored. The popula- tion of the town of Conway in 1880 was 1,028.