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3 A well-to-do Cherokee woman from Maysville in Benton County is said to have planted the first commercial orchard there. She went broke just as the orchard came into production as she had to free her slaves. The first orchard set in Benton County was planted by Joseph Dixon in 1836, but it was not considered to be of commercial size. In 1852, freighters hauled the first loads of apples, in open wagons, over the mountains to Van Buren. These were then sent by boat to Little Rock. The commercial trade had begun and apple plantings increased. The value of fruit in Benton County increased from $4,265 in 1876 to $500,000 in 1887. The erroneous belief existed that apples would flourish on poor land and that they needed no care. In all too many instances the expansion was on land exhausted from tobacco production (a leading cash crop) in Benton County and on worn-out corn land in Washington County. By 1880, there was more apple production than freighters could haul out. Large wagon trains left in all directions driven by boys 16-18 years old who sought adventure. Yet one-half of the crop went to waste. Then came the Frisco Railroad: to Fayetteville in 1881, then to Stambro Switch near Prairie Grove, later to Suttle Switch three miles east of Lincoln and finally Lincoln in 1902. The Fruitbelt Line had big red apples painted on its cars from Kansas City to Memphis. The railroad marked the end of the beginning. The railroad promoted the area with statements such as this: “We need half a million people added to those already here, to develop the wonderful resources of the Ozarks. It is a place where rich and poor alike may own pleasant homes and find profitable investment for their capital and labor.” Or: “If you are looking for a location for a commercial orchard, why not locate in the Ozarks? Why pay $300.00 per acre for fruit land when you can buy as good in the Ozarks for $10.00–$30.00 per acre?” The railroad did offer much in the way of access to markets and published bulletins on fruit-growing for growers, even to cooperating with the director of the Experiment Station in 1911 to the extent that the railroad provided a railroad car for demonstration purposes, exhibiting sprayers and their use, practices, etc. The railroads promoted optimism in those who did not know apple production. In truth, they over-promoted. The Morrill Act of 1862 spawned the development of the land grant institutions, the Agricultural and Mechanical Arts colleges. The Arkansas General Assembly passed an act in 1868 establishing an Industrial University in Arkansas, the location of which was to be open to competitive bidding. A committee finally selected Fayetteville on November 15, 1871. Little Rock had wanted it, but lost out when citizens soundly defeated a bond issue which was needed to formalize the Little Rock bid. The land selected for the University by the city officials was the 160-acre farm that William McIlroy bought about 1856 from the Frischlag family (property owners for twenty-two years) whe