Updated: Oct 23, 2019
"The Temple on Crescent Hill"
By Michelle Lane
One of my favorite places as a child is what I always called, "the temple"! I loved greek and roman mythology and was absolutely certain this must be where some God or Goddess were resting.
So, as an adult I know this isn't a "temple".. But, it's a prime example of Classical Revival Architecture. Classical Revival is actually the most common type of cemetery architecture however, The Fitzhugh monument is the only one of it's kind in our park.
Though maybe not "Gods" or "Goddesses", Rufus King Fitzhugh, Jr. and Laura ”Lollie” Davis Fitzhugh were definitely highly influential in Woodruff County and their namesake community of Fitzhugh, AR.
In 1859, Rufus King Fitzhugh, Jr's father (Sr.) brought his family and a large number of slaves from Greene County, Virginia to now Fitzhugh - 6 miles northeast of Augusta. The community developed around his 800-acre plantation and was later named in honor of Rufus King Jr.
After the Civil War, Fitzhugh's economy was dominated by cotton. Together with J.Harrison Snapp and John G. Harralson, Fitzhugh formed a cotton-cooperative that owned 4000 acres of land.
Mr. Snapp and Fitzhugh also built Fitzhugh Snapp Company that served the area for at least 85 years. The original structure was replaced in 1935 with a new brick building.
Fitzhugh served as the towns first postmaster and incorporated the Fitzhugh Gin Company along with Snapp, Haralson, and B.F. Spradlin.
Laura "Lollie" Davis Fitzhugh donated the land for the Fitzhugh School. It had four rooms and served grades 1-12. She was a founder and president of one of the first Equal Suffrage Clubs in Arkansas, an organizer and President of the Arkansas Democratic Women's Club, and the first female vice-chairman of the Democratic State Committee. In 1914 after Rufus's death she was elected president of Fitzhugh-Snapp Mercantile and Fitzhugh Gin Company.
Personally, I think that kind of work deserved a temple!