Big Creek and Cave Creek offered a perfect habitat to numerous species
of fish. The Bass thrived in Cave Creek, thus the name of the town. The
watercourse of Cave Creek extends above the town of Cave Creek and down
below Bass toward Tarlton. A post office was established at Bass in 1902;
the first post master was Alfred R. Dickey, born 1856 in Newton County,
the son of Hamilton Crockett Dickey and Alabama Payne.
Cave Creek
As the crow flies, Cave Creek is less than five miles from Mt. Judea, very
close to the Newton and Searcy County line. Persons enumerated on
census records as living at Cave Creek, Polk Township, Newton County in one
census year, were sometimes enumerated in Searcy County in other census years...
when searching for ancestors, it is a good idea to check census records of
both counties. Residents named their community Cave Creek because of the many caves
found in the bluffs. Early settlers made their homes in cave rooms and
caverns along the creek. Hunting parties and trappers used the various
shelters for lodging and storing of pelts and meat. During the
Civil War, scouting parties and bush whackers took advantage of the
accomidations provided by nature. A post office was established at Cave
Creek in 1855; the first post master of Cave Creek was Isaiah Dodson, born
April of 1806 in Giles County, Tennessee.
Mount Judea
Ephraim B. Greenhaw lived in the area and choose the name for Mt. Judea.
A post office was established at Mount Judea in 1856; the first post master
was Jesse Brewer who came to Newton County from Wayne County, Tennessee.
He later left Newton County and was in Logan County by 1895 when he
appointed attorney Alexander Brewer of Wayne County, Tennessee
to oversee and collect his share of the estate of J. C. Taylor of Wayne County.
