In the early days De Queen, Ark. was a typical frontier town with the usual number of saloons. The town council employed a marshal named Dycus, and he was so efficient and fearless in discharging his duties that the littl town soon enjoyed the reputation of being an unusually peaceful place to live.
The old calaboose, 10by10 in size and built of 2x8's laid on top of one another, stood just west of the courthouse (which of course was built much later). Saloons were banished in 1908. The above is from the De Queen Bee in De Queen Arkansas, October of 1936. This summary is hardly adequate for the towns first marshal, for Old Dyke as he was affectionately known, was just as colorful as any lawman of the old west, though not volatile as they. This peg-legged lawman did his duties with dispatch and was never known to refuse to go where needed or to dodge a fight.In the early days De Queen, Ark. was a typical frontier town with the usual number of saloons. The town council employed a marshal named Dycus, and he was so efficient and fearless in discharging his duties that the little town soon enjoyed the reputation of being an unusually peaceful place to live.
The old calaboose, 10by10 in size and built of 2x8's laid on top of one another, stood just west of the courthouse (which of course was built much later). Saloons were banished in 1908. This summary is hardly adequate for the towns first marshal, for Old Dyke as he was affectionately known, was just as colorful as any lawman of the old west, though not volatile as they. This peg-legged lawman did his duties with dispatch and was never known to refuse to go where needed or to dodge a fight. Indeed he was sometime accused of using his gun butt too freely - that being the end he preferred to use, on the premise that it inflicted less permanent damage. While many of the hotter heads felt this caress of his authority, the cooler were much appreciative of his services for by 1899 the population had climbed to 2069. (It once boasted seven saloons.) Being at the crossroads of The Fort Towson Trail and a road to Texas and only a step to the Indian Territory it could have easily festered into a very undesirable place without the tight reins of this frontier marshal. The fact that this didn't happen is a tribute to "Old Dyke" for his reputation ranged far and wide.In the early days De Queen, Ark. was a typical frontier town with the usual number of saloons. The town council employed a marshal named Dycus, and he was so efficient and fearless in discharging his duties that the little town soon enjoyed the reputation of being an unusually peaceful place to live.
The old calaboose, 10by10 in size and built of 2x8's laid on top of one another, stood just west of the courthouse (which of course was built much later). Saloons were banished in 1908. This summary is hardly adequate for the towns first marshal, for Old Dyke as he was affectionately known, was just as colorful as any lawman of the old west, though not volatile as they. This peg-legged lawman did his duties with dispatch and was never known to refuse to go where needed or to dodge a fight. Indeed he was sometime accused of using his gun butt too freely - that being the end he preferred to use, on the premise that it inflicted less permanent damage. While many of the hotter heads felt this caress of his authority, the cooler were much appreciative of his services for by the 1899 the population had climbed to 2069. (It once boasted seven saloons.) Being at the crossroads of The Fort Towson Trail and a road to Texas and only a step to the Indian Territory it could have easily have festered into a very undesirable place without the tight reins of this frontier marshal. The fact that this didn't happen is a tribute to "Old Dyke" for his reputation ranged far and wide. The above is from the De Queen Bee in De Queen Arkansas, October of 1936. However some of them good ole boys would get to sipping a little to heavy and their stay in town lasted a little longer than they had planned. At that time De Queen had a city jail. It was located were the present day Fire Station is. It was at sidewalk level and the door was only about three feet from the sidewalk. You could just go to the door and talk to the prisoners any time. Best I recall it didn't have a window. Usually had 3 inches of dirt on the floor. If you stayed in the jail more than a day they would feed you. The menu was one hamburger a day. Water and no coffee. Really wasn�t a good place to spend a Sunday. The city Marshal in the 1940�s and 50�s was Bill Dyer. At that time De Queen had a town Marshal and one officer that received part of his salary from the merchants. His major job was walking around town after closing time and shaking the doors to make sure the merchants had locked them. There wasn�t a highway patrol because about 75% of the people didn�t own a car. The first sheriff I remember was Jim Sutton. When I first remember wildcat whiskey was the most abused law. Many people depended on it to feed their family.