R. A. Pickens & Son Company

Location :

The R. A. Pickens plantation of Walnut Lake Arkansas, now known as Pickens, Arkansas was founded around 1881, that grew into an extensive large agriculture plantation consisting of saw mills to clear the timber, mercantile and commissary store, cotton gin, and thousands of acres of cultivated crops of cotton, corn, and
hay fields and such growing yearly acquiring more and more acreage as the
partnerships grew and developed into a organization known as R. A. Pickens & Son Company, a private company located in southeast Arkansas about three miles south of Dumas, Arkansas. This company is still a partnership of many individuals, including past and present descendants of R. A. Pickens, I [1852-1926], his son Burton Cecil Pickens, Sr {1878-1932] ; his son, R. A. Pickens II [1915-1991]; his son, Reuben Andrew Pickens (1941- ); his sons, Luke Pickens and Marshall "Jay" Pickens. This legendary plantation has had many good people such as the thousands of hard working sharecroppers that toiled and worked very hard during the first sixty years of this agricultural empire through the sharecropper era until modern mechanization and other factors transformed this mule powered plantation into a highly mechanized model farming operation. The late R. A. Pickens II was thrust into the leadership position after his father, B. C. Pickens, died after having a relapse following appendicitus surgery at Trinity hospital in Little Rock on March 17, 1932 when this highly respected leader and manager of one of the largest plantations in south Arkansas died. Young R. A. Pickens II, a student during this tragic time of his life, soon became the new owner/operator at the age of 17. His father, Burton Cecil, around 1930 established the B C Pickens Trust that continues to this very day providing funds for education, Children hospitals, and Methodist Church related publications etc. R. A. Pickens hired many college educated Farm managers/shareholders in the partnership such as Fonzy G. Godfrey, George Brasfield, Lee Scifres, Wallace Bullock, B. J. St. John, William C. Carter, Lamar Grisham, M. Buck Westbrook, B. F. Keahey, Burt Southard, Joe Lee Smith, Clyde LaGrone, Doyle Rowland, Jim Crews, Bob Hudson, Cullen O. Borland, Clarence J. Mahurin, W.I Adams, George McCown, Carroll Fish, Ronnie Grider, Jack Carey, Roy West, Ray Watson, Jon Lambi, Charles Denver, Charles Coffield, Hillburn Borland, Jimmy Borland, and many more such as more recently Greg Hillis and Mike Brown, the current two remaining Farm Managers. Freddie Black, a native of Lake Villiage Arkansas and banker, and Laurie Black, step-daughter of R.A. Pickens II, is executors of the R. A. Pickens estate and of the B C Pickens Trust, R. A. Pickens Trust A & B and are active partners of the R. A. Pickens & Son Company firm. The history of this Desha County plantation is rich and has been a place that has served many people for over one hundred and thirty years as a venue for work and to raise a family. This partnership has been a pillar of agricultural excellence in Desha County for well over a century and will continue to be a progressive model farming operation producing and marketing various crops supporting the feeding of America and the world. Headquarters of this firm are located in red brick store and restaurant located in the township of Pickens, Arkansas. This popular southern Commissary/Restaurant recently has been a excellent place to eat homestyle southern cooked food along with other general store items for sale to the public. Come by and see Laurie Black, Kim McCuen, Finley Davis III, Lois Brantley, Mary Wilkerson and all the others working at the Store and Restaurant, they will be glad you stopped by to visit and have a fabulous home cooked southern style meal !!! You won't be disappointed!! ~ R. A. Pickens & Son Company invites all to visit Monday through Friday the extensive plantation and Company Headquarters.

See additional information on Ancestry.com, genealogy.com and findagrave.com websites. ~

DISCLAIMER:
This facebook site "R. A. Pickens & Son Company" is a privately developed site by Roger Lunsford solely for educational purposes only and is not a representative of the company. All content herein is not directly sponsored by any person or persons affiliated with "R. A. Pickens & Son Company". Any information on this website page is intended to be accurate and factual with known researched information with the possibility of inaccurate unintended results. Enjoy this page as a tribute to this fine agricultural partnership.

PUBLIC NOTICE: R. A. Pickens & Son Company requires written permission to hunt, fish, ride ATV, on land owned or operated by the Company. No Trespassing or face possible prosecution! ~

NOTICE: All photographs posted on the "R. A. Pickens & Son Company" facebook website is not to be used without permission from the administrator or his designee. ~