 Many areas of Pope County were disrupted in the early 1870s by the bloody and violent events of the Pope County Military War.The town grew slowly, but during the early 1870s the railroad was built and the town exploded commercially and experienced a boom in population.It connected Russellville to other towns in the area, and ran eventually from Ft. Smith to Little Rock, connecting other river valley towns such as Morrilton, Conway, Atkins, London, and facilitating trade among them.