Sylvanus Blackburn, a Tennessee native who arrived at the War Eagle River in 1832 by ox-drawn wagon found it pleasing enough to establish his 160 acre homestead upon its banks. By 1838 the Blackburns had prospered sufficiently to build a grist mill, blacksmith shop, saw mill and carpentry business.

When Civil War was declared, all five of Blackburn's sons joined the Confederate Army. Sylvanus took his wife, Catherine, and older members of the family to Texas for safety during the war. Their vacated home was taken over by Confederate forces and served for a time as headquarters for a Confederate general. Two days before the battle of Pea Ridge, the grist mill, which Sylvanus had rebuilt after it was lost to a flood in 1848,was burned by Confederate forces to prevent it falling into Union hands.

Blackburn's son, James, rebuilt the grist mill once more in 1873, this time installing a cast iron turbine waterwheel which not only ground flour but drove a saw mill for the thriving lumber trade. Much of the lumber used to build Fayetteville, Arkansas and Old Main on the University of Arkansas campus was cut at the War Eagle saw mill. In 1924, the grist mill burned down a second time. After extensive research, a faithful reproduction of the 1873 mill was built upon the original site and foundation of the previous three. War Eagle is the only working mill in Arkansas, and the first such mill to be built in the state in ninety years. Powered by the War Eagle River, the eighteen-foot cypress waterwheel is believed to be the only undershot water wheel now in operation in the United States.