SEBASTIAN COUNTY:  Bordering Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), Sebastian County, located in the West Central part of Arkansas, was established by a legislative act on January 6, 1851. It was created from territory which previously comprised Crawford, Scott, and Polk Counties and was named after William K. Sebastian who served as a U.S. Senator and judge of the first circuit court for a number of years after the state was admitted to the Union.

 

STEEP HILL CEMETERY ESTABLISHMENT:  Steep Hill Cemetery dates to the same time period as the establishment of the county, the mid-nineteenth century.  John B. McAlester/McAllister, infant son of William Jackson McAlester/McAllister and Elizabeth Holcomb McAlester/McAllister, was the first recorded burial. According to his gravestone, he was born August 25, 1848, and died May 29, 1850.  John’s gravestone dates as the oldest in the cemetery.  The second oldest is that of his infant sister, Frances McAlester/McAllister, age 1 month.   She died just four months later, September 24, 1850.  Both graves are in the original, McAlester/McAllister, family plot along with those of their parents, and two other siblings.

 

Eleven years lapsed before the next was buried at Steep Hill. Annis Tucker Bugg, mother-in-law of Martha “Mattie” Temperance McAlester, died July 13, 1861.  She was the first adult buried in the cemetery.  For historical perspective, Annis died the same year Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States.  Annis and her husband, Benjamin Nicholas Bugg, moved from Tennessee to Little Piney, Johnson County, Arkansas (1850 census) where they received a land grant in 1860.  Around that same time they migrated to Sebastian County (1860 census).   Although Annis Tucker Bugg was the first adult buried, she is not the oldest person buried in the cemetery.  A complete census of gravestone inscriptions revealed that William Rogers, born 1792, and Hugh Sehorn, born 1793, are the oldest individuals (by age) according to their dates of birth.

 

 

*Note:  William Jackson used the spelling McAllister throughout his entire life. His sons James Jackson and Nathaniel changed the spelling to McAlester and documents indicate they likely placed the gravestone markers for their parents and siblings with the spelling McAlester.  The name is therefore interchanged or duplicated though out this document. 

 

THE MCALLISTER/MCALESTER, BUGG, AND RUTHERFORD FAMILIES:  William Jackson McAllister was born in Kentucky, in 1814, to James Garland McAllister and Temperance Jackson McAllister, his father and mother being originally from Virginia.  After his father’s death, William migrated, first, to Missouri, then onward to Arkansas.  He received land grants in both states.  The grants were signed by three different Presidents: Van Buren, Tyler, and Buchannan.   His homestead, in Sebastian County, Arkansas was established by a land grant signed by President Buchanan.   The cemetery was established on his original acreage.

 

Noted among the earliest settlers of the county, William Jackson McAllister was a farmer, stockman, and an elected official. He served two terms as Sebastian County's first coroner (1851-1852) and was elected and served as the county’s fifth county and probate judge (1860-1864). Politically, he was an engaged member of the Democratic Party.  January 1, 1851, he served as Vice-President for a historical "Union Meeting" in Van Buren, the purpose for which was to debate/determine succession from the union with the states.  Active in the community, William Jackson McAllister was also a founding member and elected officer of the Greenwood Masonic Lodge. The first meeting of the lodge was held April 20th, 1858.

 

William Jackson McAllister and his wife, Elizabeth Holcomb McAllister, had seven children: James Jackson (founder of McAlester, Oklahoma), Martha "Mattie" Temperance (wife of William Thomas Bugg), Frances (infant), Nathaniel Holcombe, John B. (infant), Louisa E. (wife of James William Rutherford whose family migrated from the same county in Kentucky as the McAllisters), and Mary (wife of William F. Keith). His son, James Jackson McAllister, and son-in-laws, William Thomas Bugg and James William Rutherford, served the Confederacy during the Civil War during the era of President Abraham Lincoln.  All of William Jackson McAllister and Elizabeth Holcomb McAlester’s/McAllister’s children, with the exception of James Jackson and Nathaniel, are buried at Steep Hill Cemetery.

 

William Jackson McAllister died February 12, 1875.  His wife, Elizabeth, died one day later, February 13, 1875.  Their graves are next to their son John and two daughters in the McAlester family plot in the oldest NW section of the cemetery.  The family land was divided between heirs which included their son, Nathaniel, and son-in-laws, William Thomas Bugg (husband of their daughter Martha “Mattie”) and James William Rutherford (husband of their daughter Louisa).  By then, their oldest son James Jackson McAlester had become wealthy and well-established in McAlester Oklahoma with mercantile, coal mining, and railroad business.  He was later elected Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma (1911). 

 

After the death of Elizabeth and William Jackson McAllister, their daughter Martha “Mattie” and her husband, William Thomas Bugg inherited the old McAllister home place where they resided with their four children: Ollie Lee, Juliet, William Benjamin, and Lon Jackson.  They had more children, James Franklin, and an infant, but neither survived.  William "T.W." Bugg served as Sebastian County sheriff from 1892 to 1896. Their son, Lon Jackson Bugg, remained in the home of his parents.  When he married Mary Ida Elizabeth Hayes Bugg, they added to the extended household ten children.  Lon Jackson and his family lived with William Thomas Bugg and Martha “Mattie” McAllister Bugg until they passed and inherited the home.  The home provided for and endured for four generations.  The Janet Huckabee Nature Center now sits where their homeplace once stood.

 

EXPANSION OF FAMILY CEMETERY:  By 1887, land owner plats, indicate that William and Mattie had parceled some land to William’s sister Sarah Bugg Harris and her husband, James.  William Thomas Bugg and Mattie McAllister Bugg and James William Rutherford and Louisa McAllister Rutherford had also donated land to extend what has become Steep Hill Cemetery “beyond the original one acre that had been originally set aside for burying.”  The Bugg, Rutherford, and Harris land adjoined creating a family community.  As a result, many of those buried at Steep Hill during that period are related by blood or marriage, or had close community friendships.  A good number, including the Harris family migrated with the Benjamin Nicholas and Annis Tucker Bugg family from Tennessee, to “Little Piney,” Johnson County Arkansas before finally settling in Sebastian County, Arkansas (census records).    

 

EXPANSION BY RONK FAMILY:  In January of 1945, Mr. and Mrs. Moses Ronk gave to Steep Hill Cemetery a strip of land approximately 200 feet in length and 20 feet wide to be reserved for them and their heirs. After Jessie's death, Moses remarried Rachel Audrey Willett Ronk. He is buried next to Jessie and Rachel on the land donated as are many of their descendants.  The Ronk land referenced runs from the center driveway, to the Northwest corner, along the fence.

 

EXPANSION BY FORT CHAFFEE DONATION:  The McAllister’s original home accommodated four generations of the family until taken in 1940 to establish Camp Chaffee.  The groundbreaking of Camp Chaffee was held on September 20, 1941, as part of the Department of War’s preparations to double the size of the U.S. Army in the face of imminent war.  Camp Chaffee thrived for three decades before falling into disrepair after diminished need.

In the late 1900’s the federal government decided to return much of Fort Chaffee’s land to the state. The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority was established in the late 1990’s to begin redeveloping 6,000 acres.  As a part of the development efforts, acreage was deeded to Steep Hill Cemetery which expanded the cemetery on the east side of Steep Hill Road. According to Opal Harris, sextant for Steep Hill Cemetery, “it took several YEARS to get that land. Several people wrote and phoned asking for land. We asked for 10-15 acres. Finally, we got 5.” The deed was signed October 18, 2002 by Bugg descendants Lilly Bugg Wingfield, daughter of Earl Breen Bugg, and Opal Maness Harris, daughter of Lila Annis Bugg Maness, and Opal’s husband Jack Harris.   Approximately 2.5 years later (January 6, 2005) ground was broken for the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center.   The center sits on 170 acres that was previously a part of Fort Chaffee, and prior to that, a part of William Jackson McAllister’s acreage.

 

IMPROVEMENTS:  In 2012, a pavilion was erected in the new east side of the cemetery to offer covered shelter for funeral services and cemetery activities.  Row numbers were also established for all sections.  A full cemetery census was also conducted through January 2013 to document all graves with gravestones and their location by row.  Grave locations can be found at findagrave.com.

 

CEMETERY TIMELINE:

 

1817 - The first troops arrived at Belle Point to establish Fort Smith.

 

1830’s - William Jackson McAllister and Elizabeth Holcomb McAllister settled in Sebastian County Arkansas.

 

1850 – First and second burials - both children of William Jackson McAllister and Elizabeth Holcomb McAllister (John B. McAllister/McAlester – age 21 months (1st) – May 1850, then Frances McAllister/McAlester – age 2 months (2nd) – Sept. 1850.

 

1861 - Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as U.S. President.  The Civil War erupted.  Many buried in Steep Hill served.

 

1861 – Third burial (1st Adult) - Annis Tucker Bugg, wife of Benjamin Nicholas Bugg and mother-in-law of Martha “Mattie” Temperance McAllister/McAlester.

 

1875/1880 - Cemetery expanded by donation of land “beyond the original one acre set aside for burying” by James William Rutherford, husband of Louisa McAllister/McAlester Rutherford, and William Thomas Bugg, son-in-law of Martha “Mattie” Temperance McAllister/McAlester Bugg.

 

1941 - Camp Chaffee established.

 

1945 - Donation of land Mr. and Mrs. Moses Ronk consisting of a strip 200 feet in length and 20 feet wide to be reserved for them and their heirs that runs from the middle of the driveway along the back fence in the “Oldest NW Section.”

 

2002 - Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority donation of 5 acres expanding Steep Hill Cemetery on the east side of Steep Hill Road with deed signed October 18, 2002 by Bugg descendants, Lilly Bugg Wingfield and Opal Maness Harris, and Opal’s husband Jack Harris.

 

2012 - Pavilion erected in the new “East Section.”

 

Though impossible to unveil and note the many contributions made by those buried at Steep Hill Cemetery, the following provides a glimpse into the early historical engagement of those who settled the community and had a part in the establishment of Sebastian County.

 

RESTING PLACE OF EARLY COUNTY OFFICIALS:

 

William Jackson McAllister - 1851-1852 – Sebastian County's 1st Coroner

 

Samuel  Brooken Stephens - 1851-1852 – Sebastian County’s 1st Sheriff (no stone - grave documented by family members)

 

Judge William Jackson McAllister - 1860-1864 – Sebastian County’s 5th County and Probate Judge

 

John Howard - 1864-1868 – Sebastian County’s 6th County Judge

 

William Thomas “T.W." Bugg - 1892 – 1896 – Sebastian County’s 13th Sheriff

 

Lewis Adria Chaffin - From 1906 - Early Educator - Chaffin Junior High named In honor of his service

 

48 KNOWN VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR (Confederate and Union):

 

Daniel Alverson - Confederate - Mississippi Infantry, Company H

 

Simpson Leory Autry - Confederate - Company B of the Tennessee Infantry

 

James M. Blythe - Civil War pension paid to his wife Charity, also buried at Steep Hill

 

James Cook Bourland - Confederate – 35th Arkansas Infantry, Company B

 

James R. Bradberry - Confederate - Company C, Georgia 10th Cavalry Regiment

 

Zachariah F. Brooks - Confederate – Tennessee Calvary

 

William Thomas Bugg - Confederate - Sgt. in the King's Arkansas Regiment, Fagan's Brigade -  Lost a leg in the Battle of Helena.

 

William J. Bullington - Unknown Side – Registered for the draft in Missouri, July 1, 1863

 

Martin W. Bunch - Confederate – Private and Corporal, Gordon’s Regiment of the Arkansas Calvary & Union

 

Lorenzo “Lorenzy” K. Burrow - Confederate – Simington’s 1st Arkansas Regiment 30-Day Volunteers, Company I of the Arkansas 38th Infantry Regiment, and 15th MO Calvary

 

James D. Byrum - Union - Company E, Arkansas 1st Infantry Regiment (no stone – grave documented by newspaper obituary and family members)

 

William R. Cannada - Confederate -  Company H, Tennessee Infantry

 

William Cargile - Union - Company G, Arkansas 2nd Infantry Regiment (field stone w/ small metal funeral home marker)

 

J.L. Chappell - Confederate - 5th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (no stone – burial documented by Birnie Brothers’ Funeral Home record)

 

George W. Combs - Civil War pension paid to his wife Harriett, also buried at Steep Hill - side unknown

 

J.B. (Jessie B.) David - Confederate – Tennessee Calvary, Company E – Civil War pension paid to his wife Mary Ann David, also buried at Steep Hill

 

Ed Ethridge - Confederate - Tennessee in Cruse's Calvary in the Sebastian Regiment

 

James N. Ethridge - Confederate - Civil War pension paid to his wife Nancy

 

John N. Ferguson - Confederate - 15th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Northwest)

 

Josiah Nelson Haggard - Confederate – Company A Calvary

 

Mitchell Lafayette Hallum - Confederate – Georgia Infantry, Company C

 

James A. Harris - Confederate – Corporal for the 9th Regiment of the Arkansas Infantry, Company H – wife Sarah E. Bugg Harris.  (No stone for James A. Harris – burial is recorded by Birnie Brothers' Funeral Home records) .

 

James Lee Horne - Confederate - South Carolina Infantry, Company E

 

Melvin Hurd - Union - 4th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry, Company K

 

Richard Hutchinson - Listed as a Civil War veteran buried by Fentress Funeral Home

 

Lemuel Benjamin Howard - Union - Company I of the Arkansas 1st Calvary Union Regiment

 

Barton H. Johnson - Union - Company E of the 6th Kansas Calvary

 

G.L. Johnson - Confederate – Company B, Tennessee Infantry

 

James S. Jones - Confederate - Alabama Infantry, Company I.

 

John Keating (Kating) - Union – Registered at St. Louis, Missouri – July 1, 1863

 

Thomas E. Misee - Confederate - 35th Arkansas Infantry, Company D

 

Walter “Henry” Moody - Union – Private, 2nd Mounted Regiment, Arkansas Calvary

 

Enoch Newman - Civil War pension paid to his wife Eliza Jane Newman, also buried at Steep Hill

 

Jefferson “Jeff” Odum - Confederate – Arkansas Calvary, Newman Company, Cardwell Regiment

 

Enoch B. Petty - Listed as a Civil War veteran buried by Fentress Funeral Home

 

George Washington “G.W.” Pryor - Confederate -  51st Regiment of the Arkansas Militia

 

Lewis Philip Rogers - Union – Enlisted in Kentucky

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John S. Robison - Confederate – Private, 27th Regiment of the Arkansas Infantry

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Lewis Philip Rogers - Union – Enlisted in Kentucky

 

James William Rutherford - Confederate – Private, 15th Arkansas Regiment, Company B

 

Nicholas Sehorn - Confederate – Dawson’s/Hardy’s Regiment, Arkansas Infantry, Company D

 

John J. Taylor - Confederate – Private, Company G of the Arkansas 2nd Infantry Regiment

 

John H. Weir - Confederate - 7th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry

 

James D. Williams - Confederate - Company B of the Arkansas Infantry - husband of Eliza Jane Bugg

 

Andrew W. Wyman - Union – Lieutenant, Company C, Iowa 1st Calvary Regiment & Commissioned Officer, Company L, Arkansas 2nd Calvary Regiment

 

3 Unknown Soldiers - stones simply inscribed “Confederate Soldier” are located in the old NW Section of the cemetery

 

OTHER MILITARY VETERANS: Though not included in the research conducted to establish the early history of Steep Hill Cemetery, the number of foreign and domestic veterans buried to present date is more than extensive.   The important contribution of our service men and women buried within is hereby esteemed and acknowledged with deepest respect and gratitude.

 

STEEP HILL BOARD:  The Steep Hill Cemetery board members continue to be descendants of the McAllister and Bugg families.

 

DECORATION:  For decades, decoration has been held the first weekend in May with an official service and gathering time on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm.  Friends and loved ones of those interred are invited to participate.

 

PRESERVATION:  The preservation and upkeep of the cemetery's beautiful grounds relies on the generosity of the community in making gifts and donations and volunteering time for special projects.  Our thanks is extended to all past, present, and future donors and volunteers.

 

ACCESS/LOCATING GRAVES:  The entrances to Steep Hill Cemetery remain open at all times for the convenience of visitors.  The original cemetery is comprised of five sections.  A sixth section lies east of Steep Hill Road.  To locate a grave, visit findagrave.com and locate Steep Hill Cemetery.  You will be able to enter the first and last name.  Grave locations are listed on the individual FAG memorial pages.  You can also click on the Find A Grave image below.



PLOTS/DIRECTIONS:  Information on plots can be provided by cemetery sextant, Opal Harris, at 479-646-1941 or local funeral homes.  Steep Hill is located in Sebastian County, Arkansas.  From Fort Smith, go South on U.S. Highway 71, turn left (East) on Highway 45, then left on Steep Hill Road.  The cemetery is between the communities of Rye Hill and Mazzard off Chad Colley Boulevard where both Steep Hill Road and Rye Hill Road intersect.

 

COORDINATES:   35°17'10"N   94°20'52"W

 

GEOCODE FOR CEMETERY: Latitude: 35.2864817 - Longitude: -94.3482689

 

 

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