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→Scripture Hill
==Scripture Hill==
The stonework was constructed either in 1889 or 1897, mostly by Fred himself, with sometimes an African-American friend helping him who had a wagon. It took seven months to build and whitewash. In addition to 476 feet long and 18 feet high, the letters are 12 feet wide, and 3 feet deep. It was rebuilt thrice over a 30 year period, and the stone is from the hillside where it stands. It is said that "his wife and kids would hitch the horse to the wagon and head to railroad yards to pick up Father for supper. Afterward, he'd be off to the hill, on foot."
* WRT 1902-4-10: Wichita Eagle: Gospel in Rock: "Entering Arkansas City on the south bound Santa Fe trains the attention of "Christ Died For the Ungodly", formed with large letters on the side of the hill two miles north of town. If, upon reaching Arkansas City the traveler looks to the east he will see the words: "Eternity Where", on the side of the hill about a mile away. These words were placed on the hills by Fred Horton, a telegraph operator in the office of the train dispatcher of the Santa Fe railroad in Arkansas City. Will Young, a Santa Fe brakeman residing in the same city and [[Thomas Chairs Bush|T.C. Bush]], a Texas preacher.
A representative of the Eagle called at the home of Mrs. Horton last week and he talked freely of the motives which inspired him to place texts in the rocks where all could see. "I thought I might be doing something for the Lord," he said humbly. Mr. Horton lives in a comfortable home, the very atmosphere of which breathes of his faith and religious zeal. On the walls are numerous scriptural texts, similar to those seen in the houses of many Christian people. On the organ are several song books, and the family Bible is well dusted.
When asked how he formed the letters, Mr. Horton said: "Those letters are simply large piles of stone. There are nearly two wagon loads of rock in each one. The smallest letters are fifteen feet long and the largest are eighteen feet long. We smoothed the face of the letters by filling in the crevices with small stones, and then whitewashed the front of it so it would present a glazed appearance. It took us about two weeks to form the letters, although I only worked about three hours each day on it.
"Do you think any good has been accomplished by these texts?" was asked. "I trust so," was the reply. "A conductor told me that those texts had caused him to do more thinking about the salvation of his soul than anything else. The most striking incident that I have heard was that of a man who was nearly run over at the Santa Fe depot. He attempted to board the train while it was in motion, but lost his footing and was dragged a car length before he succeeded in getting on the car platform. A man on the platform said to him: "what were you thinking about when dragging and in such danger of losing your life?" "I was thinking about those words over there on the hill" was the reply. He referred to the words, "Eternity Where".
"Of what church are you a member", one asked. "I am not a member of any denomination" was the reply. "I belong to the children of God. There is no authority in the Bible for belonging to any denominations. I know there are a good many men in the churches, but they go farther than the word of God gives them authority to do. There are about fifteen in this city who believe as I do on the subject. We meet on Lord's day and break bread."
"I was a member of a church for five years on my way to perdition. I was zealous in my religious life and would go to prayer meeting, rain or shine. But the time came when I found out that I was lost and that nothing could save me, I could only be saved through the merits of Jesus. Now I know that I am saved. I can never be lost. Christ bore my sins on Calvary 1,900 years ago before I had committed my sins. He bore all the sins which I should commit from the date of my birth to the hour of my death. For me to go into sin would be like a person leaving a supper table and eating with the swine. I love to please God."
Several church groups and civic organizations (including the Boy Scouts) have maintained the lettering over the years. Awhile back, some folks installed three crosses near the stonework that they have lit by kerosene certain times of the year. Passenger trains no longer travel in the area, although freight trains still use the tracks, which have been moved some. Motorists can see the lettering when traveling on the nearby US Hwy bypass, especially during the Autumn months.