Stone Gardens: Eternal resting place of an early Johnson County settler lies in Beakley/Shopshire Cemetery in Lamar

Hudson Johnson Shropshire was born April 4, 1802, in Dickson County, Tennessee, to a family of farmers with roots in colonial Virginia. By his early twenties, he married Sarah F. Nesbitt, born around 1800, and the couple joined the westward migration to Arkansas Territory in the 1820s.

Settling in Johnson County, newly formed in 1833, Hudson became a key figure in the region’s early development through land acquisition and business ventures. In the 1830s, Hudson capitalized on Arkansas’s land rush, purchasing over 500 acres in Lamar Township through federal auctions at the Little Rock land office.

His holdings, documented in U.S. Bureau of Land Management records, supported farming operations that grew corn, cotton, and hogs. He built a gristmill on Mulberry Creek, grinding grain for local farmers, and established trade routes to Fort Smith and Van Buren, supplying markets via the Arkansas River.

The 1840s U.S. Census lists him as a farmer with $2,000 ($233,340 in 2025 in 2025) value in assets, employing workers and contributing to Johnson County’s economy.

Hudson and Sarah raised several children, including Martha Mason Shropshire Fleming (1823–1898), Joel W. Shropshire (1826–1847), Calvin B. Shropshire (1834–1838), and Henry Shropshire, a Confederate corporal in the 1860s.

Sarah died in 1860. Hudson later married Sally Ann Brown, who died in 1864.

The 1850 Census shows a household of nine in Lamar, with children ranging from 10 to 27 years old.

In 1846, Hudson served briefly as a private in an Arkansas infantry unit during the Mexican-American War, mustered at Little Rock. He returned to farming by 1848.

On August 28, 1850, Hudson died in Lamar at age 48 from unknown causes.

He was buried in Blakeley Cemetery, also known as Shropshire Historic Cemetery, a family plot on his Lamar property off Arkansas Highway 123. The cemetery, established in the 1830s, holds over 50 graves, including Sarah, Joel, and Calvin.

Maintained by descendants and the Johnson County Historical Society, it was officially named for the Shropshires in 2003.

Hudson’s gravestone lists his name and dates.

Hudson’s land and businesses helped establish Lamar as a trade hub. His descendants, tracked through FamilySearch, continue farming in the area or have spread across the U.S.

Johnson County records and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas note his role in shaping the region’s early economy. His grave remains a testament to his contributions as a pioneer settler.