Edward A. Tabor

Edward A. Tabor is credited with helping to lure Hendrix College to Conway, Arkansas. He also improved pedestrian traffic in the town by pushing for the first sidewalks, and helped close down all bars and saloons within a three-mile radius of the schoolhouse.

Tabor came to Conway in 1887 as the pastor of the local Methodist Church. Tabor was assisted in his temperance campaign by Captain William W. Martin, later a progressive Conway mayor. The saloons closed after a heated petition campaign on December 31, 1888. His interest in cleaning up Conway helped lead to a successful bid for Hendrix College, then called Central Collegiate Institute and located in Altus.

Tabor has been the superintendent of the Arkansas chapter of the Anti-Saloon League, but in 1909 he was caught with a satchel of whiskey, which challenged the groups efforts to enact further legislation towards prohibition of alcohol in the state.

References

• Robert W. Meriwether, "Hendrix College and Its Relationship to Conway and Faulkner County," Faulkner Facts and Fiddlings 26.2 (Summer 1984): 1-45.