A Clark County man dreamed of finding gold in California and traveled west with thousands of other wealth seekers in 1849, but did not discover the great riches he hoped to find there. After pursuing a gold discovery on multiple continents, he returned home and continued in various business enterprises, finally ending up in Hot Springs.

Peter E. Greene was born in Virginia in 1828, the son of Myal and Nancy Jackson Greene. Myal and Nancy, Virginia natives, lived in Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee, before heading to  Clark County in 1839. Young Peter Greene grew up on a farm, and at age eighteen he went to work at a dry goods store in Arkadelphia prior to going into the grocery business on his own.

Peter Greene’s adventuresome spirit first became apparent while he was still just a teenager. As tensions escalated between the United States and Mexico over Texas’ independence, in May of 1846, President James K. Polk requested two groups of volunteers from Arkansas to assist federal troops.

Clark County men quickly answered the call in June when they gathered at Arkadelphia to form a company and elect officers. Teenagers Peter E. Greene and his younger brother A.S.B. (Algernon Sidney Bailey) “Al” Greene volunteered with the 28^th Regiment of Arkansas Militia when the men assembled. Colonel George W. Wells and future Arkansas governor Captain Harris Flanagin were chosen to lead them. The group as a whole did not go into active service, but some of the men went on to serve in the conflict with Mexico, mustering in at Washington (Hempstead County).

A couple of years later, the discovery of gold in California in 1848  resulted in huge migration to that area. As news spread, people from all over the world headed there—thousands of “Forty-Niners” traveled to the state within a year of the discovery. Most moved west with the dream of quickly striking it rich and then returning home with their new-found wealth. Peter E. Greene and his brother Al joined in the quest.

In March 1849 the Greenes traveled to Fort Smith and left with the first group to head west from that place on the quest for gold in California. The brothers’ journey was a long one, taking almost eight months. While in California Peter Greene operated a ferry and settled about twenty miles east of Stockton, where he farmed. In fact, in 1851, he sowed the first wheat to be planted in the San Joaquin Valley, and went into business there.

Al Greene returned to Clark County in 1853. While it wasn’t enough to be profitable, the brothers apparently found a bit of gold, for Al brought home some gold nuggets that were later fashioned into pieces of jewelry that became family heirlooms passed down to Al’s granddaughter, Amy Jean Greene.

Instead of returning home with his brother, Peter Greene headed for Australia after hearing of a gold strike on that continent. He stayed there for several months, undertaking a daring attempt to walk some 800 miles across the continent. Then he traveled to Callao, Peru, where he once again hoped to be successful in finding a treasure in gold. Peter procured mules and supplies and took off on the perilous journey across the Andes, finally making his way to the head of the Amazon River. Greene engaged in a variety of exciting activities there before returning to Callao and sailing for Panama.

After he reached Panama, Peter Greene began to think about home. He considered revisiting California to continue his search for gold, but felt an equal desire to return to Arkansas. So, he made the life-changing decision to move back to Clark County by flipping a coin: Arkansas it was. He took the next available steamer for New York. Upon reaching the United States he started for Arkadelphia, making it home in August of 1854. A little while later he opened a drug store in Arkadelphia and ran it for a time before beginning a general mercantile business.

Greene served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and engaged in a number of significant ventures after the great conflict was over. Among his properties was one that became the world-famous Mountain Valley Springs north of Hot Springs.

Peter Greene and his brother operated a store in Arkadelphia