The Mena weekly star., 1916-10-19
Fine Polk County Farm.

ne WTltcf ftdu the pleasure q few weeks ago of spending a Sunday at the pleasant farm home of N. O.
 Allen, who lives on Buffalo creek,
 one and a half miles southeast of Cove, and IS was certainly a visit long to be remembered by this scribe, not altogether on account of
 the generous hospitality extended including magnificent dinner, an
 inspection of one of the best kept farms i'll Polk county, but more especially on account of the enter
 taning manner and accuracy in which Mir Allen related the history and incidents of the early settle ment of this county.
 After travelling by steamboat along the Ohio, Wabash. Mississippi, Arkansas and Red rivers, even going up the Arkansas as far as Et. Gib- son at one time Peter B. Allen, fath-
 CT of Mr, Allen, finally settled on Buffalo creek. near where the AL len home now stands in iS41, and there is a gum tree still standing near where the old log cabin stood.
 with the date iSil showing on it. In this cabin, H. c. Alien was born. tfNt ciiRiAiN OAtNt W dl QH tlit ClQFI lAi- len went up the creek a short dis
 tance, and built another cabin. He also dug a well and there wasn't a pick or shovel in Polk county He had tO dig it on a square. and had only an old ax and a fire shovel with which to work. The well is 22 feet deep and is furnishing good cold water for the Allen family. In this cabin. which was really a large double log house, the Allen family lived until 1851. when Mr. Allen bought a claim farther up the creek
 and moved into a small log house
 that stood on the Old Line road. In
 1860 the senior Allen built a large
 house which became famous as a
 stopping place for travellers and which was also the Cove post0iiiee
 for several years. Before Mr. Allen
 was appointed postmaster in 1860,
 the office was kept in a house on
 Six-Mile. where the Liner home
 now stands. and a man by the name
 of Johnson Mcdaniel was postmas-
 ter. Upon the recommendation of
 Peter B. Allen. the office was named
 Cove, the name being suggested by the nature of the surrounding
 country, and it has been called Cove
 ever since. althO it was moved from
 Mr, Aliens home to Old Cove. and then to it's present location.
 Mf. Allen was Union man and
 during the war passed thru trying
 experiences at the hands of the
 buShwhaekers and marauders that infested the country In fact he
 had narrow escape from being hanged at one time. Several men were killed near the Allen home and one man was hanged.
 Peter B. Allen served one term iii the legislature at Little Rock in
 1860, and in many respects was a re- markahle man, He came from Re- Nolunonary stock and entertained the highest ideals of integrity and
 was the soui of honor in every re- Speet. He passed away in 1901. at
 the age of 90, after writing his own will, and setting all his worldly af- fairs to rights.
 Coming back to the Allen farm. it may be said that Mir. Allen is one lef the farmers in Polk county who
 has not only made a financial sue cess out of agriculture. but he has
 ever been ready to earn good wages
 as a brick mason. paper hanger. carpenter or painter. In fact. he is i the best equipped farmer for doing all kinds Of useful work that has
 ever made history for Polk county.
 He IS mechanical genius. and the large and roomy mansion he built several years ago upon the site of
 the log cabin in which he was born. | bears ample testimony to his skill ful handicraft One of the princi- | pal factors in Mir. Aliens success
 lies in the fact that he has always produced the necessaries of life on his own farm. He has never had to depend upon the grocery for his living. As an instance. one of the most interesting sights witnessed by
 the scribe while on his visit were three or four acres of second crop
 potatoes maturing nicely in the
 warm October sun. Iii fact. along with the fried chicken and other good things on the dinner table. was a heaping dish of new potatoes Folks in town are paying S200 per bushel for Colorado irrigated po- tatoes, but Mir. Allen will have po- tatoes to sell
 T. P. Fulton. Cove. Ark. October. 1916.