07/25/2024
Today's Remembering Rogers column in the Our Town section of the NW Arkansas Democrat Gazette is about the historic Osage Springs, the first post office in Benton County, the largest Union Civil War encampment west of the Mississippi River, and the Tale of the Trout:
Historic Osage Springs, Camp Halleck, and the Tale of the Trout
By James F. Hales
The tremendous development at the sight of Osage Springs in Rogers at New Hope Road and S. Promenade Blvd. inspired me to review some of the past events on this historic site. The land around the once beautiful Osage Spring and Creek has been restructured until it is no longer recognizable, and I am afraid that the historical significance will be lost forever. It is interesting to review the story of the historic spring and how it influenced Rogers’ history. The following is a compilation of its history by Monte Harris of the Rogers Historical Museum:
Present-day Northwest Arkansas was home to indigenous people for generations. Twentieth-century archeologists labeled communities of prehistoric hunter-gatherers as “Bluff Dwellers,” though recent research indicates these dynamic groups migrated beyond the high grounds of the Ozarks for resources and socialization. Archaeological surveys indicate that Osage Springs (present-day West New Hope) was an important hunting and migration route for early peoples in the area.
The area later became part of the Osage Nation’s hunting territory. For many years, Osage people lived in villages along the Missouri River while controlling large hunting areas in northern Arkansas. The tribe maintained economic and political relationships throughout the region until the forced removal of native peoples under the Federal Indian Removal Act of 1830.
According to the 1834 survey map filed in 1839 (Township 19N; Range 30W; Section 16), Osage Springs was the site of John Smith’s store, the first retail business in Benton County. Smith’s store also served as the first post office in Benton County until the postal service was relocated to Bentonville in 1843. Local historian, Alvin Seamster, once owned the Smith’s store business ledger inventory which included groceries, candies, coats, caps and coffins and indicated Smith’s store was in operation until about 1857. The 1834 survey map also marked an “old Indian trace,” or trail which likely pre-dated Smith’s store and led early travelers and hunters directly to Osage Springs. (Monte Harris, Rogers Historical Museum, 2024)
The significance of Camp Halleck prompted Monte Harris, Director John Burroughs, the staff of the Rogers Historical Museum, and others to produce an historical marker at Osage Springs beside New Hope Road for the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial on July 10, 2013. The bronze marker proclaimed: During the Civil War, Osage Springs served as a military camp for both the Union and Confederate armies. Notably, three divisions (30,000-45,000 soldiers) of the Union Army moved to Osage Springs in a bid to trap Confederate troops in their winter quarters. The trap failed, but the soldiers established Camp Halleck stretching five miles and monitored Confederate activity. Increasing skirmishing led Union Gen. Samuel Curtis to request reinforcements, which was declined. On March 1, 1862, in response to Confederate movements, Curtis moved the men from Camp Halleck to build fortifications on high ground at Pea Ridge.
Camp Halleck, believed to have been the largest Union encampment site west of the Mississippi River, stretched from Osage Spring down the valley through the area now occupied by Rogers High School and through Cross Hollows almost to Monte Ne.
The new Rogers High School on South Dixieland was built in a pasture that was part of the site of Camp Halleck during the Civil War. Before the land was excavated for the school, Civil War enthusiasts scoured the private land with metal detectors and recovered hundreds of bullets, cannon shot, belt buckles, buttons and other artifacts. Since this site was a camp and not a battlefield, the bullets were not damaged by hitting humans or other objects, but were dropped, lost, or discarded. However many of the soft lead bullets were chewed or carved with a knife. The recovered artifacts were very interesting and informative about the camp, and for a time a small portion was put on display at the Rogers Public Library.
In the 1940s, Osage Springs transitioned into a commercial trout farm. At that time, Osage Springs water covered 75 acres and produced six-million gallons of water every 24-hours. In 1944 Hugh Stalcup bought the property around the large Osage Spring. Hugh built his home on the hill overlooking the beautiful spring and valley. He eventually owned all of the farm land that is now occupied by Pinnacle Hills Promenade and Village on the Creeks Shopping centers. Stalcup died in 1948 and his daughter, Jeanne Stalcup Bloomfied and husband, Clyde O. Bloomfield, moved into the family home. Together with their son, Bud Bloomfield, they started a trout farm in the cold clear water of Osage Spring.
Osage Spring produced one of the largest flows in Northwest Arkansas and provided plenty of cold clean water, perfect for raising Rainbow Trout. They hatched trout from eggs, raised them to eating size, sold them locally, and even shipped smoked trout all over the country.
There were few elegant restaurants in Rogers or Bentonville in the 1970s through the 1990s. In 1978, Clyde, his son, Bud, and Bud’s wife, Karen, opened the Tale of the Trout Restaurant. At that time there was nothing in the area but farms, and the restaurant was located way out west of town at the end of New Hope Road. The restaurant became one of the premier dining locations in NW Arkansas.
To get an idea about what the iconic restaurant was like, back in 2014 I asked Brook Bloomfield Cook, Bud and Karen’s daughter, who grew up in the restaurant, about her memories:
“After high school, Bud attended and graduated from the University of Arkansas, served in the U.S. Army, and played professional baseball in the minor and major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins. While playing for the Twins, Bud met Karen Adkisson and they were married. Bud was injured in 1964 during a ball game and it ended his career. Bud and Karen came back to Rogers in 1978, and with the help of his father, Clyde, Bud and Karen opened the Tale of the Trout Restaurant in the family home originally built by Clyde Bloomfield.”
The Tale of the Trout was an upscale restaurant that served great food with an elegant atmosphere and bar at a time when there were few available in Northwest Arkansas. I asked Brooke Bloomfield Cook, Bud and Karen’s daughter, about the menu. “The most popular items were Trout Parmesan, Charcoal Grilled Trout (that we deboned at the table), Smoked Trout, and our Baked Fudge. Trout were caught and brought up to the restaurant, an average of 75 to 80 per day,” said Brooke. “When you ate trout, it was fresh, no more than a few hours old. There were times when we ran out of trout and Dad would run down to the farm and net some and bring them up for waiting customers – now that was fresh!”
I asked Brooke if the Tale of the Trout had live music and a dance floor? “We had a fantastic dance floor. Daryl Price and Maxie Gundlach played there for a long time. We had other great musicians also.”
The Tale of the Trout had many celebrities who enjoyed the food and ambience. According to Brooke, notables included Coleen Dewhurst, Lloyd Bridges, Denver Pyle, Woody Harrelson, and baseball greats, Whitie Herzog, Johnny Bench, Frank White, Clint Hurdle, and Orel Hershiser. Local dignitaries – Charles Banks Wilson, Levon Helms, Nolan Richardson, J.B. Hunt, Don Tyson, Red Hudson, Sam and Helen Walton, Alice Walton, and many others were frequent guests.
It was a sad day when the Bloomfields retired and the famous restaurant, land, and Osage Springs were sold in 2001. All of the Bloomfield family and their friends hoped that the new owners would keep the restaurant open, but it was not to be. The restaurant and home of Clyde Bloomfield is long gone now, with nothing left but memories.
In 2006, the Pinnacle Hills Promenade mall and lifestyle center opened, and Rogers became a premier destination for retail and recreation. The Dec. 4, 2023 Channel 5 website released this story from Arkansas Business: ROGERS, Ark. — There doesn’t seem to be an end to the good news for Pinnacle Hills. The famed Billion Dollar Mile development area of Rogers is one of the most sought-after project sites in northwest Arkansas. That was proved again when SJC Ventures of Atlanta announced it would develop a $112 million mixed-use project called Pinnacle Springs that will be anchored by a Whole Foods Market. The site will include the 37,000 SF Whole Foods and an additional 43,500 SF of retail space at the northwest corner of New Hope Road and Promenade Boulevard. Just north of the Whole Foods project, SJC plans a 350-unit apartment complex; combined, the project will cover about 22 acres.
Today, Osage Spring and Creek is still flowing but it is surrounded by the huge construction project and it is covered with moss and algae and is just a drainage ditch. I hope that the developers, who probably have no idea of its significance, have plans to make it beautiful again. All of the projects bring progress, jobs, and money to our great city, but the beauty and memories of our countryside may be lost forever.
Photo no. 1 caption: The home built by Clyde Bloomfield eventually became the Tale of the Trout Restaurant. It was sold in 2001 and the restaurant and buildings were razed for the new developments. (Photo courtesy of Stacy Tarr and the Rogers Historical Museum)
Photo no. 2 caption: For the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial, a bronze marker was installed on July 10, 2013 between Osage Spring and New Hope Road. The marker tells the story of Camp Halleck and was produced through the efforts of Monte Harris, Director John Burroughs, the staff of the Rogers Historical Museum, and others. (Photo by James Hales)
Photo no. 3 caption: In the mid-1940s, New Hope Road ended on the farm of Hugh Stallcup, who owned Osage Springs and all of the land around it. Today, Pinnacle Hills Promenade, Home Depot, Village on the Creeks, and the new Whole Foods complex occupy the farm. (Photo courtesy of Stacy Tarr and the Rogers Historical Museum)
