In June, 1870, County Clerk A. C. Phillips addressed the Newton County Teacher's Institute, saying "Jasper is a prosperous town with four stores, two attorneys, a physician, a clergyman, and a school. But yet there is one dark cloud that seems to give this picture [of Jasper] a little different color — the worm of the still" (Morning Republican 30 Jun 1870).
What Mr. Phillips was referring to was the illegal distilling of alcohol. At first, this product was called "crooked whiskey" and the distillers "crooked whiskey makers."
Aug. 26, 1876, the Arkansas Gazette reported that Deputy Marshal Kline and his posse had arrested 18 "crooked whiskey makers" in Newton County and had destroyed six stills. The Independent Arkansan (11 Aug. 1876) reported Marshal Kline "passed down on the steamer Ella Hughes with seven prisoners that they had captured in the Boston Mountains in Newton County. The prisoners were a rough looking lot."
The paper went on to report that there was quite a number of men making "crooked whiskey" and that authorities believed there could be up to 30 stills in operation. In the latest raid, the Marshal and his posse had captured three stills, a barrel and several kegs of whiskey, a wagon, and fifteen head of horses.
The gang had been exposed when one member tried to pay "old Doc Morgan" for his professional services using the whiskey. When the doctor refused, the gang beat him, hung him, then flung him in a creek, thinking him dead. He was rescued and revived and rode to Little Rock to alert authorities.
In the Aug. 13, 1876, edition of the Daily Arkansas Gazette, the term for these illicit distillers was changed. The paper said "Several parties in Newton County were arrested for making crooked whiskey by moonshine."
Barbara LeRoy is the author of “Which Side Were They On?,” a new 302 page book listing biographical sketches of the Newton Countians who were involved in the Civil War, available for sale either in the Bradley House Museum or by purchasing online at www.newtoncountyar.com. The book sells for $33.