Tillar

Located on Highway 65 near Bayou Bartholomew, Tillar is mostly in Drew County, although its southeast corner is in Desha County. It is on the Great River Road National Scenic Byway and about 60 miles from Pine Bluff. Tillar became a community in the 1870s when the Little Rock, Mississippi River, and Texas Railroad Co was completed through the area. The town was named for J. T. W. Tillar, an area merchant and state legislator who also was on the railroad’s board of directors and provided the land for the railroad depot and surrounding settlement.

By the time the town was incorporated in 1907, it was already beginning to decline. Some who located their businesses there chose to leave their families in nearby Selma and travel home for the weekend, and railroad shops built in nearby McGehee then eliminated the need for most railroad jobs. Over time, however, the settlement grew, and many of the families of Selma eventually moved there.

Tillar is perhaps best known for its historic well-maintained cemetery established in 1910. It is bordered on the east by a huge row of oak trees, with a row of crepe myrtles down the center.

Ornamental pear and apple trees also abound. A gazebo in the center features a brick pump with the date inscribed in the floor and an old water pump.