Editing Conway, Arkansas (section)

==History==
The city of Conway was founded by [[Asa P. Robinson]], who came to the area shortly after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Robinson was the chief engineer for the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad (now the [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]]). Part of his compensation was the deed to a tract of land, one square mile, located near the old settlement of Cadron. When the railroad came through, Robinson had deeded a small tract of his land back to the railroad for a depot site. He laid off a town site around the depot and named it "Conway Station" in honor of a [[Conway-Johnson family|famous Arkansas family]]. Conway Station contained two small stores, two saloons, a depot, some temporary housing, and a post office.<ref name="FCHSConway">{{cite web| url=http://www.faulknerhistory.com/conway/| title=Faulkner County Historical Society: Conway| publisher=Faulkner County Historical Society| access-date=September 22, 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425112829/http://www.faulknerhistory.com/conway/| archive-date=April 25, 2012}}</ref> Despite being founded as a [[Railway town|railroad town]], there is currently no passenger service; this is attributed to the increasing emphasis placed on cars.<ref name="railroads">{{cite encyclopedia| url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1185| title=Railroads | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas| access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref>

In 1878, Father [[Joseph Strub]], a priest in the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Holy Ghost Fathers]], arrived in Arkansas. A native of [[Alsace-Lorraine]], Strub was expelled from [[Prussia]] during the [[Kulturkampf]] in 1872. He moved to the United States, settling in [[Pittsburgh]], where he founded [[Duquesne University]] in October 1878. Difficulties with Bishop [[John Tuigg]] led Strub to leave Pittsburgh in late October 1878 to travel to Conway.<ref>[http://www.arkansas-catholic.org/news/article/2113 After 131 years, Spiritans might leave Conway]</ref> In 1879, Strub convinced the [[Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad]] to deed {{convert|200000|acre|sqkm}} along the northern side of the [[Arkansas River]] to the Holy Ghost Fathers in order to found the St. Joseph Colony.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thecabin.net/stories/070204/sty_0702040037.shtml |title=The story of the Holy Ghost Fathers and St. Joseph Church |access-date=July 24, 2014 |archive-date=April 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423084939/http://thecabin.net/stories/070204/sty_0702040037.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> This included land on which Father Strub founded and built St. Joseph Catholic Church of Conway.<ref>[http://www.sjparish.org/History History of St. Joseph Catholic Church]</ref> As part of the land deal, the railroad offered land at 20 cents per acre to every German immigrant. In order to attract [[Catholic Germans|Roman Catholic Germans]] to Conway and the surrounding areas, Father Strub wrote ''The Guiding Star for the St. Joseph Colony''. In addition to extolling the qualities of Conway and the surrounding area, Father Strub provided information on how best to travel from Europe to Conway.<ref>[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4049 St. Joseph Colony]</ref> By 1889, over 100 German families had settled in Conway, giving the town many of its distinctively German street and business names.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

On [[1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak|April 10, 1965]], an F4 tornado struck Conway, causing six deaths and 200 injuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/custom/18477183 |title=Tornado History Project: Maps and Statistics |website=www.tornadohistoryproject.com |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214003452/http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/custom/18477183 |archive-date=February 14, 2019}}</ref>