Editing Brinkley, Arkansas (section)

==History==
In 1852, a land grant for the construction of rail lines was given to the Little Rock and Memphis Railroad Company, led by its president Robert Campbell Brinkley. Born in [[North Carolina]], Brinkley lived in Memphis, where he served a public career of "noble deeds and generous conduct" and for many years served as president of Planters Bank.
[[File:Rusher Hotel 001.jpg|left|thumb|[[Rusher Hotel]], the railroad hotel adjacent to the station]]
Between 1852 and 1869, the settlement was called "Lick Skillet".<ref name=gnis/> When the day's work was completed, the railroad construction crew, mostly all immigrants from neighboring towns, cooked their supper over an open fire and returned to their homes when the last "skillet was licked".

The construction of the rail lines between Little Rock and Memphis brought the city of Brinkley into being. Brinkley is situated in the northern part of Monroe County, the halfway point between the two larger cities. It was laid out in the winter of 1869 on lands belonging to the railroad.

A petition request was granted to incorporate Brinkley on August 6, 1872, at which time the town had 50 qualified voters. The original charter was filed with the Arkansas Secretary of State on August 21, 1872. The [[White and Black River Valley Railway#Cotton Plant Railroad|Cotton Plant Railroad]] (later called the [[White and Black River Valley Railway#Batesville and Brinkley Railroad|Batesville and Brinkley Railroad]] and the [[White and Black River Valley Railway]]) originated from the town in 1879, and the [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway|Texas and St. Louis Railway]] was built through Brinkley in 1883.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/brinkley.htm |title=Brinkley Car Works & Manufacturing Company|publisher=Mid-Continent|accessdate=October 6, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/brinkley-monroe-county-941/ |title=Brinkley (Monroe County)|publisher=Encyclopedia of AQrkansas|accessdate=October 6, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=  https://books.google.com/books?id=F-tDAAAAIAAJ&q=WHITE+%26+BLACK+RIVER|title=White and Black River Valley Railway|year=1929 |publisher= Interstate Commerce Commission, January–March 1929, pp. 848-851; 1062-1066|accessdate=October 6, 2022}}</ref>  The [[Arkansas Midland Railroad#Brinkley, Helena and Indian Bay Railway|Brinkley, Helena and Indian Bay Railway]] connected to town in about 1889, the line later becoming the [[Arkansas Midland Railroad]] and subsequently the [[St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway]] in 1910.<ref name=Narrow>{{cite book|last=Hilton |first=George W.|date=1990 |title= American Narrow Gauge Railroads|publisher= Stanford University Press|pages=75–80,313–314|isbn=0-8047-2369-9}}</ref><ref name=Guide>{{cite web|url= http://www.railroadcollectibles.com/brinkley-helena-and-indian-bay-railroad/ |title=Brinkley, Helena and Indian Bay Railroad Memorabilia Value Guide|publisher=RailroadCollectibles.com|accessdate=June 17, 2024}}</ref><ref name=Brinkley>{{cite web|url= https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/brinkley-monroe-county-941/  |title= Brinkley (Monroe County) |publisher= Encyclopedia of Arkansas|accessdate=June 15, 2024}}</ref>

On March 8, 1909, much of the town was destroyed by a violent [[Fujita scale|F4]] [[tornado]], which resulted in 49 deaths. Entire families were lost to the tornado, and approximately 800 buildings in the community were destroyed. The tornado was 2/3 of a mile wide.<ref>On This Date https://www.alabamawx.com/?p=224586</ref>

[[Duck hunting]] is a major source of income for the city during the months of November, December and January. With many rice fields flooded for the winter, and being located on the [[Mississippi Flyway]], ducks are very prevalent throughout the region. Men and women from around the United States come to Brinkley for guided hunts throughout the season.