Residents celebrate Rogers' 140th anniversary, document life during 2021

Mitch Marmel with Arkansas & Missouri Railroad welcomes passengers aboard a train Saturday during the Founder's Day celebration, honoring the 140th birthday of the city of Rogers. The city was founded along the Frisco Railroad line in 1881. Go to nwaonline.com/210606Daily/ to see more photos.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Mitch Marmel with Arkansas & Missouri Railroad welcomes passengers aboard a train Saturday during the Founder's Day celebration, honoring the 140th birthday of the city of Rogers. The city was founded along the Frisco Railroad line in 1881. Go to nwaonline.com/210606Daily/ to see more photos. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)

ROGERS -- Residents celebrated the city's 140th anniversary Saturday in a downtown that once saw trains roll in from all over the country and that acted as a prominent shipping center.

The first train rolled into what is now Rogers on May 10, 1881. A depot was built shortly after to accommodate passenger and freight trains. Trains brought in most supplies for the area during the time, and the city grew to become a shipping center for the fruit industry, according to the Rogers Historical Museum website.

The Arkansas Missouri Railroad sponsored train rides through downtown Saturday. Go Downtown Rogers Merchants provided horse-drawn wagon rides. Local bands Honeyjack and Rochelle Bradshaw & Hypnotion played the debut concert at Butterfield Stage, an outdoor venue seating about 1,500 people at Railyard Park.

Other events included historic craft demonstrations, a quilt show and a time capsule ceremony.

The Rogers Historical Museum staff partnered with the city to create a time capsule to be opened in 2081 during the bicentennial celebration. It includes newspaper articles and a book of written reflections from residents detailing their experiences this year.

Museum Director Serena Barnett said preserving people's stories provides details about their everyday lives within a broader sense of history, such as worshipping or grocery shopping during a pandemic.

Many people have been isolated over the past year because of quarantining or working from home, Barnett said. Recognizing the city's 140th anniversary as a milestone gives the community a purpose to come out and celebrate, she said.

Other items in the time capsule include a covid-19 face mask and the winning photograph of the Rogers Life in 2021 Digital Photo Contest. The museum invited the public to submit photographs depicting their experiences during 2021.

The winning photograph, submitted by Gabrielle Campbell, shows Campbell standing alone in the Rogers Towne Cinema lobby wearing a face mask surrounded by social distancing stickers. The picture's caption describes the reality of going to movie theaters. The cinema limited movie screenings and rented out screens for video game nights.

"The past few years have definitely been historic in so many ways, so it's such an honor to have this picture chosen as a way for future members of the community to see what life was like living in Rogers during the crazy times of 2021," Campbell wrote in an email.

Campbell's photograph will also be a part of an exhibit called Rogers Through the Eye of the Lens, which opened May 10 and is on permanent display in the Kathleen Dickerson classroom of the museum. The exhibit consists of 44 photographs depicting significant people, places or events in the city's history over the last 140 years, Barnett said.

Barnett said museum staff picked iconic photographs revealing different times in the city's history that community members may not know about. Pictures include a World War I troop train leaving the city in 1917, the opening of the Victory Theater in 1927 and the construction of Lake Atalanta in 1936.

The Rogers Founding Families exhibit opened the same day and is on display in the museum's Trammel Gallery until Nov. 6. The exhibit details some of the first families who settled in Rogers, which was founded on June 6, 1881. The families raised money for land that became the train station and lobbied the St. Louis-San-Francisco Railway to bring the train to the area, Barnett said.

Mayor Greg Hines wrote in an email he thinks residents should be inspired by the city's rich history. In 60 years, the time capsule will show the resolve residents displayed in a time of crisis.

"Our community has rallied to support one another throughout the pandemic, regardless of any differences," Hines said. "This is what this time will be remembered for."

People stroll through Railyard park on Saturday June 5 2021 during the Founder's Day celebration, honoring the 140th birthday of the city of Rogers. Rogers was founded along the Frisco Railroad line in 1881. Go to nwaonline.com/210606Daily/ to see more photos.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
People stroll through Railyard park on Saturday June 5 2021 during the Founder's Day celebration, honoring the 140th birthday of the city of Rogers. Rogers was founded along the Frisco Railroad line in 1881. Go to nwaonline.com/210606Daily/ to see more photos. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Ashtyn Barbaree sings on Saturday at Railyard Park during the Founder's Day celebration honoring the 140th birthday of the city of Rogers. Rogers was founded along the Frisco Railroad line in 1881. Go to nwaonline.com/210606Daily/ to see more photos.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Ashtyn Barbaree sings on Saturday at Railyard Park during the Founder's Day celebration honoring the 140th birthday of the city of Rogers. Rogers was founded along the Frisco Railroad line in 1881. Go to nwaonline.com/210606Daily/ to see more photos. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)

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Birthdays

Fayetteville was incorporated Nov. 3, 1836

Fort Smith was incorporated Dec. 24, 1842

Bentonville was incorporated April 3, 1873

Springdale was incorporated April 1, 1878

Rogers was incorporated June 6, 1881

Source: Cities’ websites, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

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