ROGERS — James Hales has spent most of his waking hours for the past two years researching and compiling his new book, "Rogers, Arkansas, 1881-2006."
Moving here from Greenville, Miss., in 1984, Hales spent most of his career as a builder. Now retired and with an interest in local history, Hales is determined to ensure the preservation of the history of downtown Rogers and its buildings, as well as the stories of the people who lived and worked in those structures over the years.
"I have interviewed a lot of people while working on this book and every person would have some information that no body else had. Even if they lived at the same exact time, they would tell a story that has different views and different experiences," he said.
He narrowed the sites to 100 buildings, including seven area churches. In his research, Hales felt a significant part of the story of Rogers revolved around the churches in the community. These started with the Oakley Chapel United Methodist Church, which was built in 1869 and today sits at the corner of a busy intersection as a historical reminder of the city’s past. Other churches included First Christian Church, 1880; First United Methodist Church, 1881; First Presbyterian Church, 1881; First Baptist Church, 1883; St Vincent de Paul Church, 1910; and Church of Christ, 1913.
As a member of St Vincent de Paul Church, Hales also had a personal interest in learning more about its history and how the earlier parishioners laid the groundwork for the parish today.
One of the resources Hales uncovered in his research of the parish was compiled by C. Jimmie Carter, a founding member of the church. His "History of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 1915-1965" provided both historical knowledge and personal anecdotes about the parish.
Rogers, like many other towns of that time period, came into existence because of the railroads’ westward movements. It was along these same routes that immigrants, Protestant and Catholic alike, settled. Often railroad companies would encourage settlements by extending land grants to religious institutions to establish churches and schools. German and Irish Catholics in Arkansas benefited from these land grants as Catholic churches and schools began to dot the map.
The first Catholic services in Rogers were held in the Gem Theater in 1910. A variety of locations were used for the services, including homes, theaters, funeral home chapels, and even for a time in the Wonderland Cave at Bella Vista.
By 1914 a permanent location was found when the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Rogers sold its existing church to the mission for services. The number of families attending services grew to nine in the 1930s in the church known at first as St. Mary Mission — later renamed St. Vincent de Paul Church in 1941.
From these nine founding families the church has grown today to 3,000 families. Over time this included four different locations and a school that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this fall.
For Hales, St. Vincent de Paul Church is only one example of the urgency of saving the historical accounts of the 100 sites in Rogers.
"Progress is happening so quickly that you cannot drive down the street without noticing that buildings that were here yesterday are gone and new buildings are in their place. It is my responsibility, and all of Rogers’ citizens, to preserve our history and stories of the human drama that is our heritage," he said.
