For Little Rock Public Radio, this is Dan Boice, with Naming Arkansas and personal names.
When they established new towns, settlers in Arkansas often named them for their home towns, whether in another state – like Camden or Fayetteville – or in another country – like Stuttgart or Hamburg. The city of England seems to be one of those places named by settlers for their country of origin, but the facts tell another story.
When the Cotton Belt railroad came through Lonoke County in the 1880s, it established a station that was soon a center for the shipping of locally grown cotton. Attorney John Calhoun England purchased land around the station and marked off lots for what was soon a growing community. The town leaders sought to honor England’s leadership by renaming the town, but the U.S. Post Office refused, because of its policy of not accepting the names of foreign nations. The town leaders persuaded the postal authorities, however, and in 1888 the town officially became England.
For the University of Arkansas at Monticello, this is Dan Boice.