Samuel M. Rutherford In 1832, when money was appropriated to
repair the military road, Governor Pope, a good friend of
Rorer’s let the contracts in segments. The segment nearest
Little Rock went to Rorer, Samson Gray, and Samuel M.
Rutherford. Instead of repairing the old road, they cut a new
one from Crittenden’s ferry along the riverbank to Rorer’s Ferry
and then northeasterly toward Samson Gray’s, intersecting the
old road near Wiley Beasly’s home. This gave Rorer a decided
advantage because the traffic from Memphis reached his ferry
first, and he offered rates at half what Crittenden had offered.
Source: Arkansas Gazette, May 21, 1967.