Norristown, Arkansas


Norristown is an unincorporated community in Illinois Township, Pope County, Arkansas, United States. The town merged with Russellville on August 14, 1980.

History

Norristown was located south of Russellville, on a hill known to Russellville citizens as Skyline Mountain. The first resident in the Norristown vicinity is believed to be Samuel Norris, who migrated from New Jersey to Arkansas in the 1830s. The settlement steadily grew over the years until about 300 or 400 people inhabited the area. By 1834, it was a small community that served as the county seat of Pope County until it temporarily moved to Dover in 1834. It served as one of the major trading areas, considering it was by the bank of the Arkansas. The town was laid out in what looked like a capital T. Its two streets were unmarked, but residents referred to them as "River Street" and "Main Street". Norristown was still active throughout the 1800s on to the 1900s.
It lost a considerable number of people, who wanted to find work in the larger town of Russellville. Most people who lived in the township at the time were that of poor, "backwoods" families. The area was not up to date, and the only road was a small dirt trail that ran the length of the mountain, and then merged with the paved street system of Russellville. In the mid-1960s, citizens of Norristown demanded the road to be paved. They filed their complaint to the mayor of Russellville, and he declined the request. So, a group of Norristown residents went to the Capitol and registered Norristown as a township. They proclaimed that their dirt road coincided with a state highway and, by law, the road had to be paved if Norristown was recognized as an official community. Through the decade, many improvements were made to Norristown, including growing neighborhoods, a fire station, and a water tower. By the late 1970s, it was populated enough that the community officials agreed to let Norristown merge with Russellville.