Van Buren began at the Arkansas River's edge in 1818, and the first muddy trail from the river led directly to this spot, making it the hub of activity where Main Street was born. In 1836-37, John Drennen and David Thompson acquired the Van Buren town site from the Phillips brothers for $11,000 and surveyed it, setting aside the Courthouse Square and ensuring that Main Street would become the center of commerce for the young town. From the 1830's to the 1860's, Van Buren grew in population, industry, and commerce as river traffic brought pioneers headed west toward Mexico, Texas, California, and Oklahoma Territory. In 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail Company began stagecoach service from St. Louis to San Francisco, and Van Buren became an important stop because stages had to cross the Arkansas River there; delays at the ferry created new opportunities for Main Street merchants, and John Butterfield, Sr. drove the first stage down Logtown Hill and Main Street to the ferry. Early businesses around Main Street included a bakery, wagon shop, frame house builders, house and sign painting, a saloon and billiards room, a cake and beer establishment, a cabinet shop, riverfront warehouses, and hotels that served steamboat passengers and westbound wagon trains. Growth and major commerce halted from 1862-1865 during the Civil War, when many families fled to safer places, homes and businesses were ransacked by armies and renegade groups, supplies grew scarce, and riverboats were pressed into federal or confederate service. After the war, former residents returned and gradually restored their homes and businesses. During the 1870s'-1880's, Van Buren and Crawford County entered another major phase of growth as the railroad arrived, a bridge was built across the Arkansas River, telephone service and a telephone exchange appeared, two banks were organized, and the first public school building was erected. In the 1890's, Van Buren gained its first water works, with water pumped from Lee's Creek about 5 miles west of town, and electric lights arrived in July, 1897; in 1901, J. E. Powers purchased the Electric Light and Power Co. and operated it until 1905. Around the turn of the century, industrial changes included a cotton compress, iron works, flooring mills, freight and passenger depots, and excursion travelers arriving from St. Louis, Fayetteville, and Little Rock, while the railroads promoted the area's natural attractions, pleasant temperatures, accommodations, and hospitality. Main Street merchants and Van Buren families strongly supported troops during World War I and World War II, with parades and War Bond drives held along Main Street. By the 1960's, Main Street had declined, with old buildings in disrepair, abandoned, or altered with false fronts and modern materials. After urban renewal efforts began in 1968, planning, public meetings, funding efforts, and work with government agencies helped restore the Van Buren Historic District, returning Main Street to a beautiful, vibrant, and growing center of the city.