Last updated: March 28, 2024
Place
Cross Hollow
Photo/John McLarty/Trail of Tears Association
Quick Facts
Location:
Cross Hollow is located at the intersection of the Old Wire Road and Cross Hollow Road just north of the town of Lowell, Arkansas.
Significance:
Cross Hollow was a well-known destination on the old Springfield to Fayetteville Road, now known as the Old Wire Road. Many detachments of Cherokee passed through this location.
Designation:
National Register - Historic Road Segment
MANAGED BY:
This is a County Road managed and maintained by Benton County
The main feature here for the Trail of Tears is the unpaved old road – is is the same road used by the Cherokee and which still has some of the aspects of the 1830s road. Alongside the road is a long berm, a narrow hill or ledge along the edge of the road created when during the building process. Erosion from weather and use has made the berm very high in some places and can be easily seen today.
The Cross Hollow site is a landmark on the old Springfield, Missouri to Fayetteville, Arkansas Road created in the 1830’s. This road is now known as the Old Wire Road due to it being the route for the first telegraph wire in the region. The Cross Hollow area was well known to early travelers and is noted in some journal entries as X Hollow. All of the Cherokee detachments that did not turn to the west in the vicinity of Little Sugar Creek in Benton County would have traveled the old road through Cross Hollow.
The Taylor Detachment came through Cross Hollow March 20, 1839. William Isaac Irvins Morrow, a physician traveling with the Taylor detachment, mentions in his journal: “March 20, 1839 Wednesday 20th Cloudy & cool – traveled 15 miles to the X Hollows, eat dinner at Homeslys & came on 5 miles to Fitzgerald’s...” An earlier treaty party detachment, a group of Cherokee who moved west in 1837 before the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation in 1838-1839, led by B.B Cannon came through the area in December of 1837 camped here at Cross Hollow.
Cross Hollow is a special site on the Old Wire Road. It connects the fairly well-preserved historic road that served the Trail of Tears detachments, and later the Butterfield Overland Mail, and then major Civil War troop movements.
Site Information
Location (Cross Hollow is located at the intersection of the Old Wire Road and Cross Hollow Road just north of the town of Lowell, Arkansas.)
Amenities
There are no amenities at this site. It is a county road with a limited area to pull off the road on the southeast side of the intersection.
Safety Considerations
More Site Information
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Trail of Tears: Northwest Arkansas Itinerary
This site is on the Old Wire Road Itinerary which helps the public explore Trail of Tears sites in northwest Arkansas. Each site features one aspect or story about the Cherokee experience traveling the Trail of Tears in this area as they approach the end of their journey and arrive in Indian Territory (today’s Oklahoma).