Elias Nelson Conway
Elias Nelson Conway (17 May 1812 – 28 February 1892) was a Democratic Governor of Arkansas.
In 1833 Conway moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied surveying and served as the state auditor from 1835 to 1849. In 1844 Conway was offered, but declined, the nomination for Governor in 1844. In 1853 the nomination was offered again and Conway accepted. His election campaign was successful and became Governor of Arkansas.
The Conway administration focused on physical improvement of the state. He formed the Chancery Courts and eased the state's financial problems. When Conway left office in 1860 and the state treasury held a surplus.
Conway retired from public life, becoming a bit of a recluse. Conway is buried at the historic Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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Several global companies are headquartered in the northwest corner of Arkansas, including Wal-Mart (the world's largest public corporation by revenue in 2007), J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods. This area of the state has experienced an economic boom since the 1970s as a result.
In recent years, automobile parts manufacturers have opened factories in eastern Arkansas to support auto plants in other states. Additionally, the city of Conway is the site of a school bus factory.
Tourism is also very important to the Arkansas economy; the official state nickname "The Natural State" was originally created (as "Arkansas Is A Natural") for state tourism advertising in the 1970s, and is still regularly used to this day.
Solon Borland had also just resigned as U. S. Senator to become Minister to Central America. Conway had appointed his cousin Robert Ward Johnson to fill the seat. Senators were elected by legislatures in those days, however, and Johnson could be ousted by a special session. By resisting a special session, Conway gave Johnson a year-and-a-half to establish himself.
Despite the state's feeble finances, Conway proved an able governor. One of his most noteworthy accomplishments was the liquidation of the Real Estate Bank. Though it was backed by state bonds, the Real Estate Bank was a quasi-private institution that had successfully fought for decades to block the liquidation of its assets to relieve the state's indebtedness. The money-savvy Conway achieved this in 1855 and was able to pay down $2,341,996.17 of the state's debt. More than $3 million dollars in debt remained, however.
Other accomplishments of Conway's administration included hiring geologist David Dale Owen to conduct a statewide geological survey. He also administered federal funds that led to reclaiming thousands of acres of swamp land and he presided over creation of a school for the blind. Conway served the then constitutional limit of two four-year terms, making his the longest gubernatorial administration until that of Orval Faubus.
Source: Old State House
The cemetery is the burial place for 10 former Governors of Arkansas, 6 United States Senators, 14 Arkansas Supreme Court Justices, 21 Little Rock Mayors, numerous Arkansas literary figures, Confederate Generals, and other worthies.
Every year in October several drama students from Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School each select a person buried in the cemetery to research. They then prepare short monologues or dialogues, complete with period costumes, to be performed in front of the researched person's grave. Audiences are led through the cemetery from grave to grave by guides with candles. The event is called "Tales from the Crypt". Although it takes place around the same time as the American holiday Halloween, the event is meant to be historic rather than spooky.
