Roswell Beebe was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician, business executive, and real estate purveyor during the early 19th century. Serving as president of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad Company, Roswell Beebe was an important figure in the early development of Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

, where he was elected alderman (1848) and mayor of the city (1849). On September 25, 1839, he received the original patent for the town of Little Rock, signed by President Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2303.

Beebe, Arkansas

Beebe, Arkansas

Beebe, Arkansas is a city in White County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,930 at the 2000 census, making it the second most populous in the county after Searcy. The city is home to a branch campus of Jonesboro-based Arkansas State University. It was named for Roswell Beebe, a...

 (and later, its current city hall) was also named after Roswell Beebe.

"As first President of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad company, Roswell Beebe guided the southern portion of the Union Pacific (which is now named the Southern Pacific line) from Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 to Little Rock and then on to San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

" http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/99-00/LukeE/R&r.htm. The Roswell Beebe train ran on this track and was named after its benefactor.

Beebe was born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 to a wealthy English family, and he died there while visiting in 1856. His body was returned to Little Rock, where it was buried in Mount Holly Cemetery

Mount Holly Cemetery

Mount Holly Cemetery is the original cemetery in the Quapaw Quarter area of downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, and is the resting place for numerous Arkansans of note...

, one of the city cemeteries that he had donated.

Works cited

Atkinson, J. H., ed. “Letters from Solon Borland to Roswell Beebe.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 18 (Autumn 1959): 287–290.

"The Railroad: A Monument in History." http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/99-00/LukeE/R&r.htm

"Roswell Beebe (1795–1856)." Entry in The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2303

"Roswell Beebe Materials, 1795–1925." Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, Arkansas.