Jacob L. Shinn

Jacob Lawson Shinn (October 2, 1826—August 17, 1899) was a prosperous and influential mid to late-nineteenth-century leader in Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas, instrumental in bringing the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad (LR&FS) through town and moving the county seat from Dover, Arkansas to Russellville.
==Migration==
In 1837, Shinn's family, along with the families of relatives and friends, traveled from Montgomery County, North Carolina, North Carolina by covered wagon when he was 10 years, settling near the area that would become Russellville. His father, Benjamin Daniel Ransom "B.D.R." Shinn, established a farm and, in 1840, one of the first circular sawmills in Pope County, working as a farmer and lumber dealer until his death.
==Mexican War==
Following the outbreak of Mexican–American War, Jacob Shinn served as a corporal in a company of mounted infantry volunteers from Pope County organized under Captain James S. "Symp" Moffit, in Archibald Yell|Archibald Yell's Arkansas Militia and the Mexican–American War#The Arkansas Regiment of Mounted Volunteers|Arkansas Mounted Rifles, the unit mustering into federal service on July 1, 1846, as Company A. The regiment participated in the occupation of several locations and in the Battle of Buena Vista. The commander of the invading American Army, General John E. Wool, derisively called Yell's regiment the "Arkansas Mounted Devils" over issues such as military order and basic sanitation as most of the regiment did not regularly drill and military discipline was extremely lax.
==Commercial and Public Life==
In the early 1850s, Jacob Shinn established one of the first general stores in an area known as Chactas Prairie, just down the road from the log home of Thomas Russell, the area's first doctor. While tradition holds that the naming of the community came down to a choice between Shinnsville, after Jacob Shinn, and Russellville, after Thomas Russell, Russellville was actually named in the early 1840s when Jacob was a teen. Russellville is listed on mail routes in requests for proposals for carrying the mail in 1842, when Shinn was 15, and in 1846, when he was 19, so naming the community after Jacob would have been quite unlikely. There was, however, a merchant listed in the 1840s in Russellville as J. M. Shinn—likely James Madison Shinn, Jacob's uncle—in advertising for "Dr. Spencer's Vegetable Pills" so any truth in the naming tradition may apply to another Shinn.
In 1855, Shinn married Martha Battenfield. They had four sons.
Shinn was appointed Russellville postmaster on August 4, 1857, and, after the war, was re-established as postmaster on August 6, 1866.Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Record of Appointment of Postmasters; 1832-Sept. 30,1971; Record Group: Records of the Post Office Department; Record Group Number:28 Series: M841; Roll Number: 8 By 1858, Shinn's inventory was valued at $2,000, more than twice the average inventory of the eighteen stores taxed in Pope County that year. In November 1850, Shinn was recorded as a farmer living on the family farm with his mother and 8 siblings and owning real estate valued at $200.United States Federal Census; Year: 1850; Census Place: Pope, Arkansas; Roll: 29; Page: 274a Ten years later, he was documented as a merchant with $3000 in real estate and $25,000 in personal property.United States Federal Census; Year: 1860; Census Place: Illinois, Pope, Arkansas; Roll M653_48; Page:711; Family History Library Film: 803048
Shinn opened a larger store in a new two-story brick building on Main Street in 1876, with other businesses occupying offices on the second floor, The older, smaller store stayed open during construction after being "rolled back" on the property to make room for the new building on the original location. The building was the first brick building built in town.
During a portion of the Pope County, Pope County militia troubles in 1872, Shinn took refuge in Little Rock.
For a time, Shinn was the largest land owner in Pope County, with holdings of several thousand acres. He was also a property developer in Russellville, with the J. L. Shinn Addition in eastern Russellville bearing his name to this day.
One of the earliest promoters and, for a time, one of the directors of the LR&FS Railroad, Shinn donated land for a railway station and right-of-way through Russellville. Much of the growth of Russellville can be attributed to the railroad with many of the business people of Norristown, Arkansas|Norristown and Dover, Arkansas|Dover moving to Russellville.
Shinn also supported the Dardanelle and Russellville Railroad (D&R), granting it the right to run across lands that he owned in Pope County. A 4.8-mile (7.7 km) shortline that still exists, D&RR runs from Russellville to the north bank of the Arkansas River at North Dardanelle, Arkansas|North Dardanelle, across from Dardanelle, Arkansas. At some point, Shinn came to own the ferry steamer, Martha, at that time one of the largest in Arkansas, and, together, the ferry and the shortline railroad provided a transportation link for the crops south of the river—at that time, largely cotton—to the railroad freight depot in Russellville.
In the 1870s, a group of affluent Russellville leaders, including Shinn, organized as the Russellville Printing and Publishing Association and established The Russellville Democrat, a weekly newspaper that assured its readers in its January 28, 1875, inaugural issue that "it is placed on a firm basis and will be a permanent thing." Initially a weekly four-page newspaper, through consolidations and name changes, it evolved into a daily paper that today is The Courier.
Russellville's First Christian Church (Russellville, Arkansas) sits on land that was once owned by Shinn where the congregation had enjoyed picnics in a grove of trees. Shinn was a charter member and was selected, by lot, as one of the first deacons when the church was formally organized on January 29, 1882. The unassuming church building that exists to this day began as a single-story wooden structure built in 1885 after the congregation had met in the Masonic Hall for three years. After the construction loan was paid off, Jacob and Martha Shinn turned the deed to the property over to the congregation on February 28, 1889. One of the fourteen large Gotic stained glass windows has "Mr. & Mrs. J. L. Shinn" inscribed on the lower portion of the window.
After the LR&FS railroad was completed through Russellville, Shinn was very involved in the effort to move the county seat from Dover to Russellville, which succeeded, after several attempts, in 1887. On March 19, 1887, an election was held on whether to move the county seat to Russellville or to Atkins, Arkansas. Russellville was selected by a margin of 128 votes out of 2,670 total votes cast.
As an incentive for the move of the county seat to Russellville, Shinn and 15 other men provided a $50,000 bond for the construction of a new courthouse and jail within 12 months at no cost to the county or taxpayers on city center lots donated by Shinn. A similar bond was also offered by leaders in Atkins.
Along with his other civic accomplishments, Shinn was a sponsor of the city's first public school system, donating sixteen lots and building a school. He was member of the school board for many years up until his death. 
Shinn was the president of the Melrose Manufacturing Company, established in 1882, which owned and operated a cotton mill in Russellville that manufactured rope and twine. While the mill operated for several years, interest accumulating on a large debt incurred by construction and equipment purchases consumed the plant's profits and sapped its financial strength. Shortages of fuel for the steam boiler and barrels for shipping its products of rope and twine halted operation several times. A fire in December 1888 destroyed machinery and products, completely halting production, though the mill was subsequently rebuilt and equipment replaced. In January 1891, a sale of the mortgage transferred ownership of the mill to parties outside of Arkansas, with the mill equipment eventually shipped to another state and many local citizens losing their investment.
With the failure of the Melrose Cotton Milling Company, Jacob Shinn suffered a financial loss of nearly $60,000, with a continuing decline in his wealth in subsequent years.
In 1890, Jacob and Ed Shinn filed for an injunction to prevent the Dardanelle Pontoon Bridge Company from building a bridge across the Arkansas River at Dardanelle. The subsequent construction of the pontoon bridge rendered Shinns' ferry obsolete. Shinn later sued for damages and, in winning, was awarded $5,612—equivalent to about $186,500 in 2023 dollars—enough to bankrupt the pontoon company which was subsequently sold to raise enough money pay Shinn.
Nominated mayor of Russellville on March 6, 1899—and subsequently elected—Jacob L. Shinn died at the age of 72 of typhoid fever just five months later.
Category:1826 births
Category:1899 deaths