KY3 TV News

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -
Former Republican U.S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt died Wednesday at age 92 at Regency Hospital. His son, John Arthur Hammerschmidt, announced his death.

In the 1960s, Hammerschmidt was chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, which was then a predominately Democratic state. He also operated a lumber and business supply company.

Hammerschmidt won his first race for Congress from the 3rd district of northwest Arkansas in 1966. He was the first Republican from Arkansas in Congress since the Civil War.

He spent 26 years in office by winning 12 more elections. In 1974, he defeated Bill Clinton, who went on to become Arkansas governor in 1979 and president in 1993.

Hammerschmidt retired from Congress in January 1993. He remained active in civic matters.

“Today is an extremely sad day for the Third District and the entire state of Arkansas. John Paul Hammerschmidt was a statesman and one of our most steadfast advocates – he always put Arkansas first. As the lone Republican in our delegation for many years, John Paul proudly fought to protect Arkansas’s conservative values in Congress while working bipartisanly to bring critical transportation infrastructure to the Third District, enabling northwest Arkansas’s explosive growth. For this work and for his legendary constituent service, he garnered enormous respect. Simply put, no one did it better. He leaves behind a grateful state forever indebted for his decades of service. My prayers are with his family," said Rep. Steve Womack, R - Arkansas, who currently represents the 3rd District.

Hammerschmidt was a veteran of World War II, and lived most of his life in the Harrison area.

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The last time that KY3 News interviewed Hammerschmidt was in 2012, upon the 40th anniversary of the creation of Buffalo River National Park by Congress. Ed Fillmer interviewed him and others about the first national river.

The park created a lot of controversy. Landowners whose families lived there for decades suddenly were told they'd have to move. Back then, the promise of millions of tourists coming to float the Buffalo seemed far-fetched -- and it took years for harsh feelings to subside. Even now, mixed feelings remain.

"We were never used to rules on our farm,” said lifelong resident Nina Lee Fowler.

"A lot of people just didn't want their land taken at all,” Hammerschmidt said. “It was very, very controversial.”

When the federal government planned America's first national river, people either welcomed the idea or fought it.

"There were a lot of hard feelings, a lot,” said longtime resident Euldean Clark. “We were satisfied with what we had here. We had a good living here and we wanted it left just like it was."

Hammerschmidt led the effort to create the park. Its supporters honored him in 2012, shortly after he turned 90.

"Well, I grew up on the Buffalo,” he said.

Hammerschmidt’s fond memories of the river and the valley guided him. He didn't want it to disappear. He clearly recalled the animosity as local people debated plans for the government takeover.

"They were all our friends, and it was very difficult to pass that bill because they were totally against it,” he said. "They'd say, ‘John Paul, why are you allowing them to take my land?’"

But the National River was established. As forecast, new opportunities to make money came into the valley. Tourism mostly replaced farming. Many have prospered meeting the needs of a million and a half visitors a year.

"It’s where people want to get away and see a little bit of the past," said Ben Fruehauf, owner of the 111-year-old Gilbert general store, a block off the river.

For the past 35 years, Fruehauf has sold mostly tourist supplies and souvenirs and has rented canoes and cabins. He says Gilbert survives because of the national river.

"If this wasn't Gilbert, forty yards to the Buffalo National River, it would have dried up and blown away, dead on the vine,” he said.

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