Fordyce, John R. (John Rison), 1869-1939

John Rison Fordyce was born on 7 Nov. 1869 at Huntsville, Ala. His father, Samuel W. Fordyce, was a union officer in the Civil War. After moving his family to Arkansas in 1874, S. W. Fordyce became prominent in several industries, most notably the railroad business. John Fordyce settled in Little Rock around 1900 as a partner in the Thomas-Fordyce Manufacturing Co. In Apr. 1917, Fordyce was commissioned a major in the Engineers Reserve Corps of the Army. His first assignment was as construction engineer of the Twelfth Divisional Cantonment, known as Camp Pike. Some of Fordyce's other accomplishments include several military inventions, work as an engineer in the construction of the Arlington Hotel and the Fordyce Bath House in Hot Springs, and his involvement in the building of Remmel Dam on Lake Ouachita. He was considered a leading authority on Hernando de Soto and was a member of the De Soto Expedition Committee. John Rison Fordyce died on 19 June 1939 in at Hot Springs, Ark.