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1973 – Mary Woods 2
In 1967, the Potlatch Lumber Company donated the Mary Woods No. 2, a working paddle wheeler tugboat, to Jacksonport State Park. The boat then underwent major renovations and was refurbished to look like a steamboat of the 1860's. Here, it sits close to its berth just...
White River Monster
The "White River Monster" was a legendary creature reportedly sighted many times in the river close to Newport. This 230-pound eight-foot gar and his brethren may have been the source of that legend. The note on the postcard claims that fisherman in the area used...
1973 – Jacksonport Round the Bend
Lady Elizabeth Luker, center, poses as a Southern Belle for the 1973 Arkansas Educational Television special titled Jacksonport Round the Bend. On her left are Luckett McDonald Martin, left, and Cindy Hodges (later Burns), and on the steps below is Ann Price Ashley....
1970’s – David Hodges campaigning for prosecuting attorney
David Hodges served as prosecuting attorney of Jackson County from 1966 to 1972. Here, he is campaigning in an unidentified farmer's field. David and his brother Kaneaster were crusading lawyers who shut down much of the gambling in Jackson County. (Courtesy of Jane...
1971 – Ronald Oliver Scharnberg
US Army major Ronald Oliver Scharnberg was a Green Beret whose helicopter crashed in March 1971 in Vietnam, killing all aboard. Major Scharnberg of Newport, a career soldier, did his duty for his country. He was killed while serving his third voluntary tour of duty in...
1970 – Homecoming Royalty
The homecoming court in 1970 demonstrates that integration was very much a fact of life in Jackson County public schools by the end of the 1960's. (Courtesy of Jane Parnell.)
1968 – H.E. Satterfield, Beedeville
At Farmers Day 1968, H.E. Satterfield of Beedeville took home one of the most exciting prizes, a new portable television. Farmers Day included demonstrations on how to use the latest electrical conveniences, whether in the household or the barn. ( Courtesy of Henry...
1960’s – The Baguettes sing at Farmers Day
The Baguettes were an institution in Newport, singing often for civic groups and here at Farmers Day. Elaine Burton (left) and Eleanor Jowers (right) belt out a number, while Chris Cross accompanies them on the piano. Cross's husband, Carl Cross, was the general...
1968 – Farmer’s Day, no integration
Farmers Day continued as an institution in Newport throughout the 1960's. The crowds were huge, and enthusiastic, but as racial tensions heightened throughout the country, the crowds at Farmers Day became increasingly segregated. (Courtesy of Farmers Electric.)
1965 – Wilmans men, Jabie’s wedding
The Wilman's family was one of the oldest families in Jackson County. Here, the youngest generation of the Wilmans men gather for Jabie Jackson's wedding in 1965. Pictured are, from left to right, Dorsey Wilmans III, Stephen Graham, Rex Wilmans, Dorsey Jackson, Jabez...
1960’s – Reenactors at Jacksonport
Civil War reenactors soon discovered the state park at Jacksonport as a favored site for their encampments. Jacksonport had been a center of military activity during the Civil War, with its prominent location at the head of deepwater steamboat activity on the White...
1960’s – Jacksonport Courthouse restoration
The 1960's saw the creation of the Jackson County Historical Society, the restoration of the old Jacksonport Courthouse, and its conversion into a museum that was then taken over by the Arkansas State Parks system, and the creation of the steamboat museum, the Mary...
1960’s – Miss Arkansas
Nita Kay VanHook (later Lindsey), as of this writing, has been Newport's only Miss Arkansas. Here, she cuts a ribbon before an admiring throng of homefolks. Beauty pageants like the Miss Jackson County contest, held annually, were a staple of small-town life....
1960’s – Swifton Coon Hunt
Hunting has remained a constant among the premier activities of Jackson County males over the last 185 years. Here, Jack Jimerson (left) and Claude Brown of Swifton display the results of their most recent raccoon hunt. Duck hunting is by far the preferred form of the...
1960’s – Nicholson Tractor, Swifton
Tractors, large combines, and cotton-picking machines spelled the downfall of many agricultural towns throughout the South. As mechanization robbed laborers of their jobs, they moved away, taking their buying power with them. If towns could not generate other sources...
1960’s – Tornado Destruction
Tornadoes have always been a constant threat in Jackson County, as in much of Arkansas. The damage shown here reflects the incredible force of these storms, which generally track the old Southwest Trail from southwest to northeast through Arkansas. Although Newport is...
1960’s – Bob Penix and Jim Bailey
Two leading Tuckerman farmers, Bob Penix (left) and Jim Bailey, inspect a crop of peanuts. As intensive cotton farming robbed the soil of its minerals, farmers experimented with a wide variety of other crops in an effort to replenish the soil. Eventually, soybeans and...
1960’s – Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey, a lifelong resident of Swifton, was a longtime member of the Arkansas General Assembly. Senator Harvey was one of the most influential members of the Arkansas legislature for decades and the author of the Revenue Stabilization Act, by which the State of...
1960’s – Buzz and Margaret
Margaret Van Dyke was one of the most beloved citizens in the county. Full of ideas and mirth, she wrote and directed plays, traveled extensively, and wrote a popular column for the Newport Daily Independent under the nom de plume Eliza Doolittle. Here, she...
1960’s – Brown Shoe Company Ground Breaking
Here, the Brown Shoe Company christens its new facility. Among the citizens and dignitaries present that day are, from left to right, James A. "Jug" Wallace, P.K. Holmes Jr., Arkansas governor Dale Bumpers, an unidentified Brown Shoe Company official, John Minor,...
1960’s – Eat More Possum
Alcorn Minor Sr. was one of the liveliest and most popular people in Jackson County. His zest for playing pranks and making people laugh was legendary, as is suggested by the "Eat More Possum" sign on his office door. Not many people ate possum in Jackson County....
1960’s – Swifton Cotton Pickers
These cotton pickers in Swifton were proud of their day's work. Pictured here are Pam Swink Worthington and Mrs. and Mrs. Tom Gibbs. At this late date, cotton was still picked the way it had been for centuries: by hand, with the picked bolls stuffed in large sacks,...
1960’s – Fire at the Hazel Hotel
An exciting fire brought down the old Hazel Hotel in the early 1960's. Many people turned out to watch the blaze at Second and Hazel Streets, some of them undoubtedly remembering the terrifying fire of 1926. The Hazel was one of the last real hotels in Newport, all of...
1960’s – Jamie Umsted
Pretty Jamie Umsted (later Castleberry) served as Newport's representative in the Arkansas "Miss Hospitality" contest. Here, she flew in for her Newport visit and is greeted by, from left to right, her little brother Mick; her father, Milton Umsted; Newport mayor Bill...