My wife Sharon and I took a road trip the end of last week down to Jacksonport, Arkansas. Jacksonport State Park is located there and is a wonderful place for a history lesson on the development of the White River.
The park has the last remaining steamboat to have operated on the White River, the Mary Woods No. 2. The boat was built in Nashville, TN as a coal steamer in 1931, was converted to diesel in 1949, and was retired in 1967. The boat was built for the Woods Lumber Company and pushed barges of logs on the White River. It was named after the daughter of the owner of the company, Eugene Woods, Sr. In 1997, a tornado came through Jacksonport State Park and severely damaged the boat which had been decorated out as a passenger boat. It was restored to its original intent as a work boat at that time.
Another fascinating piece of history at the park is the old court house which was built from 1869-1872 by a confederate Colonel and with bricks made there at Jacksonport. Jacksonport was by-passed by the railroad when the town refused to sign the right-of-way. The railroad was put in three miles down the road at Newport instead, and Jacksonport died on the vine along with the steamboats. As I lay in my tent at the park Friday night and listened to the train whistles, it made me wonder how the town’s people felt about the transition from the steamboat whistles to the newer train whistles which by-passed them. After being renovated, the court house opened as a museum in 1965. The court house too was damaged in the 1997 tornado and and underwent renovation again in 1999.
We also learned a lot about the pearling industry. The park interpreter, Donna Bentley, lead an excellent campground program on it Friday evening.
On the way to Jacksonport, Sharon and I drove through the Buffalo River Valley from Boxley to Jasper and then again back on the return trip. Friday morning we arrived late enough the elk were already gone out of the field. On Saturday evening we saw many elk, including a nursing calf. The bull elk which just days ago had antlers in velvet, now sport bright and shiny new antlers. The rut cometh. No elk photos in this photo blog, but there are a few elk photos in the previous photography blog post which you can check out.
Enjoy the photos.
© 2009, Scott Branyan