Located along Highway 115 twelve miles north of Pocahontas sits the small town of Maynard Arkansas. The town derived its name from Confederate Captain John Maynard who came from Tennessee after the Civil War and began a mercantile business, at the crossing of the Old Military Road, which ran from Pitman into Davisonville, and the Doniphan-Pocahontas Road which ran from Pocahontas to Doniphan. Although the town sprang up with Mr. Maynard’s new business, settlers had lived there since before Randolph was a county. The large extended Mock and Shaver families came to Randolph County about 1805, and many settled at Mud Creek just north of Maynard in what is now the Arkansas Game and Fish Wildlife Management Area. The Fletcher family came to Randolph shortly after 1800 and settled along the Old Military Road close to present day Maynard, and soon after, the Jarrett Family arrived and purchased land from the Fletchers. Levi Fletcher married Elizabeth Shaver in 1823. Joseph Brooks Sr. was the first Pioneer who settled on what would be the town of Maynard; he served in the War of 1812 and received Bounty Land in payment. He arrived in Ranolph County about 1830 to claim his grant. His descendants can still be found in Randolph County today.

When Captain John Maynard first opened his store, he named his enterprise New Prospect.  The name of the town was changed to Maynard when a Post Office was erected in 1885.  John built a treadwheel cotton gin when he arrived, and in 1888, Albert Hatley built another. The town was incorporated in 1895, and at that time there was a drug store run by J. C. Lehman. There were two newspapers at Maynard, the Pilot written by R.L. Williford and S. O. Penick, and The Northeast Arkansas Enterprise produced by W. R. Lindsey.  Elias Mock ran a mercantile store, and James Acree ran the Blacksmith shop, and drove for a Hack line between Maynard and Pocahontas. This Hack line run by Acree, Jim Lindsey and Tom Maynard, younger brother to John Maynard, town founder, carried mail and delivered supplies and passengers from Maynard to Pocahontas, an important job to the small town. In 1900 the Maynard Bank opened and was run by J. L. Talbot. There was another mercantile house called Chester and Company which was owned by J.T. Chester and his wife Jane who was a Mock descendant.

Blankenship describes Maynard as a thrifty town beautifully located and hospitable, in his 1910 Directory. At that time it was also well known as an educational center due to the Ouachita Maynard Academy. The Ouachita Maynard Academy was early known as the Abbott institute.  Founded by Eli Abbott who started the higher educational school in 1894. Mr. Abbott, who died in Oct of 1910 was well-known and prosperous farmer who felt strongly about educating the young people of the area. When he began his school, there were very few schools in the state which taught above the grade school level.

Maynard is one of our early towns which still stand today, looking much as did a hundred years ago. Professor John Hogan another well-known teacher at Maynard’s Institute died in Nov of 1910. When the year 1910 closed it took two of the most educated minds in Randolph County with it.  J.Q Pond and J. T. Redwine also ran a mercantile store at Maynard, and their building housed the Post office with Mr. Pond acting as Postmaster.

Some of the first telephone lines were at Maynard and the switchboard operator was Bertha Haley, who ran it until her marriage.