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1940’s – Holden Avenue Church of Christ
One of the largest congregations in Newport was the Holden Avenue Church of Christ. The Church of Christ had come to Jackson County in the mid-1800's and had flourished to the point that by the 1940's there were more than 25 congregations in the county. (Courtesy of...
1940’s – First Baptist Church
The First Baptist Church in Newport was organized in 1892 and the sanctuary pictured here, which is still in use, was built in 1946. ( Courtesy of Jane Parnell.)
1940’s – St. Cecelia’s
St. Cecelia's Catholic Church in Newport started out in the 1890's as the Church of St. John the Evangelist. Parishioner Christian J. Saenger was instrumental in raising construction funds, and the church building was completed in 1896. The first church burned in the...
1940’s – Tinsley and Hulen Boys
On the home front, life went on as usual for most Jackson County residents. These two little Swifton boys, James Tinsley (left) and J.W. Hulen, enjoy playing with the chickens in the backyard of the Hulen home. Raising chickens for their eggs, and for Sunday dinner...
1945 – WWII Swifton Sailors
These sailors from Swifton obviously enjoyed their time on leave and had someone snap their photograph for Mom. From left to right are Johnny Tharp, Billy Gale, and J.W. Willmuth. (Courtesy of J.W. Hulen.)
1940’s – WWII Newport Soldier
In other areas of the World War II effort, these Newport soldiers served stateside in the Army. From left to right are Roy Evans, ? Landrum, ?Anders, John Burke, and Ralph Monroe. Evans published the Probe, an Army newspaper, at Wakeman Hospital in Indianapolis....
1940’s – Pilot Wiley Albright
Wiley Albright was one of several Jackson County boys who earned their wings at the Newport Airfield. From 1942 to 1946, Wiley was a fighter pilot in the Pacific, flying off the carrier Antietam. His father owned a construction business in Newport, and after the war...
1940’s – Airbase – Cullus Walker
Cullus Walker was one of the pilots who won the heart of a Newport girl and returned after the war to spend his life in Jackson County. Movie-star handsome, he could have been a poster boy for the whole war effort. (Courtesy of Jackson County Historical Society,...
1940’s – Airbase – Maintenance
These are a few of the officers and men who gathered at the Newport Airfield to learn to be pilots and maintain airplanes. The sudden arrival of thousands of young men in Jackson County contributed mightily to the nightlife in a county with legalized alcohol sales and...
1940’s – Airbase – Flyers
These are a few of the officers and men who gathered at the Newport Airfield to learn to be pilots and maintain airplanes. The sudden arrival of thousands of young men in Jackson County contributed mightily to the nightlife in a county with legalized alcohol sales and...
1940’s – Airbase Layout
In November 1942, the Newport Army Airfield sprang into existence after only one year of intensive effort to clear rice fields and marshes, build barracks and training centers, and recruit potential pilots from all branches of the military services to participate in...
1940’s – McDonald Siblings
Descendants of Judge John Robinson, The McDonald siblings were the children of Alvin Tobe McDonald and Mary Susan Johnson McDonald. They are, from left to right, Sue McDonald Robinson, Robert Haas McDonald, Lottie McDonald McCartney, Joseph Johnson McDonald, Ralph...
1941 – 1942 – Swifton School 4th grade
Swifton's fourth-grade lass in 1941-1942 seems to be a happy lot, and they all have shoes. Standing with their teacher, Jewell Eldridge, are, identified by last names and from left to right, (first row) Cason, Moon, two unidentified, Harvey, Barker, Cross, Duncan,...
1940’s – Unidentified members, St. Paul AME
Unidentified members of St. Paul AME Church's congregation stand on the front steps of their church sometime in the 1940's, among them many of the leaders of Newport's black community. (Courtesy of James Logan Morgan Jr. and the Butler Center.)
1941 – Kindergarten class, St. Paul AME
The 1941 kindergarten class at St. Paul AME Church was taught by Willa Black. Years later, a day car center was named in her honor. (Courtesy of James Logan Morgan Jr. and the Butler Center.)
1940’s – St. Paul AME Church
St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1880, and the congregation built this fine structure in 1914 at the corner of Sixth and Main Streets. Long the home of a vibrant congregation, the church moved "out on the highway" (away from downtown), and...
1940 – Senior Choir, Morning Star Church
Members of the senior choir of the Morning Star Baptist Church in Newport poses proudly with their pastor, Rev. R.S. Jones. Pictured are, from left to right, Ruth Cagle, Edith Seales, Thaddeus Walker, Reverend Jones, Hattie Whittenhill, Sally Boyd, and director...
1940’s – Mount Gillard Baptist Church
The congregants of Mount Gillard Baptist Church in Auvergne pose outside their church in the early 1940's. The church was the central element of social life in most parts of Arkansas at this time, in white communities as well as black. (Courtesy of James Logan Morgan...
1940’s – Aerial view of Newport
An aerial view of Newport shot in 1940 shows the bend in the White River on the north side of town, with the blue bridge spanning the river and leading into the business district. Clearly, the devastation of the 1926 fire has been overcome, and a prosperous little...
1930’s – Pickens Black
Born a slave in Alabama about 1861, Pickens Black Sr. moved to Arkansas as a teenager, worked on the railroad, and started buying land, eventually amassing more than 8,000 acres. Black and his sons ran a plantation that included a cotton gin, sawmill, and grain...
1939 – Jacksonport School Children
These schoolchildren of Jacksonport pictured in 1939 with their teachers, Charles and Thelma Warlow, are identified by last names only. They are, from left to right, (first row) Seymore, Gullett, unidentified, and Davis; (second row) Dyke, Turner, Wilson, Dunham,...
1930’s – Workers outside the Button Factory
The workers outside one of the button factories in Newport ham it up for the camera, perhaps aware that they will soon appear on postcards that will travel all over country. They seem blissfully unaware that their industry is over harvesting the White River's mussel...
1936 – Shelling for Mussels
Robert Monroe rigged his flatboat with suspended hooks for harvesting mussel shells in the White River about 1936. Hooks were suspended from a pole and dragged along the bottom of the river. The work was tedious and usually beset by mosquitoes and the vagaries of the...
1930’s – Pearling at Newport
Newport had discovered a new source of wealth in the early 1900's. Beautiful irregular freshwater pearls from the White River became a national and international sensation, bringing new riches to those who had the technology and the tenacity to harvest them. After...