One of the most fascinating men in Arkansas history was Louis Altheimer, a businessman and leader who, along with other family members, built an integrated financial empire stretching from cotton farming to merchandising. The most visible legacy of this family is the town of Altheimer in Jefferson County. And a foundation established upon the death of Louis' nephew Ben J. Altheimer in 1946 contributes to Arkansas to this day.
When Louis Altheimer died in May 1922, the Arkansas Democrat ran a front-page article summarizing how as a mere lad of 14, Louis and two cousins arrived in New York from their native Germany in 1863. His family was descended from Spanish Jews named Alvers, who fled to Germany after the great expulsion under Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492, settling in Altheim, and ultimately taking the name of that Germany city. Louis was born in Eberstadt, Germany, in 1850.
Arriving in New York during the depths of the Civil War, young Louis worked for a while as a farm laborer in Indiana. Later he and other family members traveled as far west as Cheyenne, Wyoming, setting up grocery stores at several locations. In 1869, Louis moved to Little Rock then quickly relocated to Pine Bluff, where he and his brother Joseph built a large mercantile store and began investing in land.
Land in Jefferson County was fertile, but it was covered in dense forests and many areas were waterlogged. Louis and Joseph invested heavily in clearing their land and digging drainage ditches. More than 1,200 acres had been brought into cotton production by 1904.
Louis and Joseph brought numerous relatives from Germany to America, many of them settling in Arkansas. The late Carolyn LeMaster in her history of Judaism in Arkansas says that "... at one time some 60 members of the Altheimer family lived in the Pine Bluff Area."
Over time a community developed on the family lands, which was appropriately named Altheimer. Located about 10 miles northeast of Pine Bluff, Altheimer's success was assured when Louis convinced the Cotton Belt Railroad to extend a line from Pine Bluff to his plantation. Louis paid for the depot.
The town of Altheimer was prospering at the time it was incorporated in 1919, with a population of 450 in the 1920 census. Though the town had only one paved street during much of its history, it was home to several stores, including a Chinese grocery. The Altheimer family had a large store, Altheimer Supply Co., and owned one of the several cotton gins located on site--not to mention most of the surrounding farmland.
The late Bill Bowen, a prominent businessman, lawyer, and best-known native of Altheimer, recalled late in his life that he grew up in a busy little town, with numerous commercial establishments and quite a diverse population. Abraham Jabra Mercantile was owned by a Lebanese immigrant. Another grocer in Altheimer was James S. McDonnell Sr., whose son, James Jr., became an aerospace industrialist and the leader of McDonnell-Douglas Corp.
Louis and his wife, German-born Inlia Sussholz Altheimer, raised their large family in Pine Bluff and later in Little Rock. Louis and his son, Maurice, opened a large dry goods store in Little Rock, and Maurice also served as president of Twin City Bank in North Little Rock. A 1916 feature article in the Arkansas Democrat referred to Louis Altheimer as "the Merchant Prince."
Louis Altheimer made time for politics. He was a Republican in a Democratic state, but that did not seem to diminish his public standing. In a strange case of political bedfellows, Altheimer became a close political ally of Democratic governor and later U.S. Senator Jeff Davis--an association which would bring him into one of the hottest confrontations in Arkansas politics.
Jeff Davis, a Russellville lawyer, was loud and obnoxious and probably the biggest racist to sit in the governor's chair. But "the wool hat boys," as Davis described the loyal but poor farmers who comprised his core supporters, celebrated the governor's fight against entrenched economic and political power. Davis had his share of enemies, including Attorney General George W. Murphy. The attorney general, a principled man and former Confederate officer who was always referred to as Col. Murphy, accused the governor of a number of illegal and unethical actions, one of which involved Louis Altheimer.
In 1901, Gov. Davis urged the Legislature to purchase a 6,000-acre farm in Jefferson County from Altheimer to serve as a state prison farm. Attorney General Murphy immediately condemned Davis' proposal, charging that the price of $87,000 was too expensive. He also came to suspect that Davis had been promised a kickback of $10,000 to support the Altheimer proposal. Eventually the controversy resulted in long-running hearings before the Legislature--and these were not pretty.
On the first day of hearings, with Altheimer in the witness chair, the attorney general caused a great stir by charging that Altheimer had even tried to "buy" his support during an inspection of the farm. Here's how the Pine Bluff Daily Graphic reported the encounter: "Col. Murphy bent far out of his chair and pointed a menacing finger close to Mr. Altheimer. There was a strained silence and not a sound was heard save Col. Murphy's voice: 'Don't you know that you lie like a dog?'"
At that insulting question, Altheimer jumped to his feet and yelled,"But I tell you that such a statement is not true." At this, Col. Murphy rose from his chair, only to be restrained by nearby legislators. "The people near the doors cleared out of the room in an instant ... The whole room was in confusion ..." The Pine Bluff Daily Graphic reported that "for a while the committee room was a scene of wild confusion, and serious trouble was narrowly averted by the prompt action of the chairman, Deputy Sheriff Barney Stiel, and others."
Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. Email him at Arktopia.td@gmail.com.
Editorial on 05/27/2018