Timeline
1854 Fire
On February 21, one of the most destructive fires in Little Rock history ravaged several of the best structures in the business section. Among the losses were the William B. Wait Building, housing several firms and the newspaper offices of both the True Democrat and the Gazette and Democrat. This disaster persuaded Little Rock citizens to organize the Defiance Hook and Ladder Company, a volunteer group of firefighters who served the community for many years.
Railroads continued to spark public interest with surveys, meetings and some actual construction. As work on a road bed began at Hopefield, opposite Memphis, citizens of Helena argued that their community, not Memphis, should be chosen as the eastern terminus of the main line through the state. Governor Conway continued his refusal to call a special session to deal with the federal railroad grants, claiming that the regular session would be too expensive.
In the congressional elections, the Democratic nominees, Alfred Greenwood and Albert Rust, won seats in the House. When the General Assembly met, Senator Bob Johnson was elected to complete the last few months of Solon Borland's unexpired term and to the following full six-year term.
With the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in May, Congress reopened the issue of the extension of slavery. The new territories were allowed "popular sovereignty" regarding slavery, meaning that pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers would soon rush into the area to try to achieve a majority.
Trouble followed Solon Borland to Central America. After negotiating a treaty with Nicaragua, Borland was slightly wounded by a crowd of natives angry over a killing by an American steamboat captain. President Pierce, concerned over both Borland's treatment and a damage claim by Cornelius Vanderbilt's Accessory Transit Company, sent a warship to the coastal village of Greytown (San Juan). When the natives ignored the American demands, the captain gave 24-hour notice and then destroyed the town by bombardment. Borland again received publicity in the United States as the issue was debated. By the time the controversy died down, he was back in Little Rock, a partner in Dr. J.J. McAlmont's Drug Store.
< 1853 Woodruff Retires from Public Life | 1855 Victory over the Bank >
