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1930’s – Sol Heinemann’s Hunt
These young men chose to memorialize their prodigious hunting by having a postcard printed carrying their images. Clearly, there were no state-imposed limits in those days. Signed by Sol Heinemann Jr. and W.A. Mayberry, the note reads, "147 quail, 2 dogs." Hunting of...
1934 – Swifton Gin – Cotton Bales
Taken in 1934 at the Swifton cotton gin, this photograph shows cotton bales that are ready for shipment. The proud workers and serious businessmen are, from left to right, John Jordan, Herbert Duncan, Troy Montgomery, Loyd Mosley, Harry Wyatt, Jim Haney, and Bill...
1931 – Coca Cola
Newport's Coca-Cola Bottling Co. plant delivered cases of Cokes to stores all over the county. In April 1931, Dewitt Scraggs and John Robinette pose for an informal portrait. Scraggs, in the driveway, had the in-city route; Robinette, by the truck in the street, had...
1931 – Hinkle-McDonald Ins Agency
The Hinkle-McDonald Insurance Agency, established in the 1920's, operated for many years on Hazel Street. Shown here in the 1930's are Jewell Daughtery, Roy Hinkle (center), and Clyde McDonald. After Hinkle's death, the agency merged with several others and became...
1930 – PK Holmes Store
Sol Heinemann Sr. operated the Heinemann Department Store in the 400 block of Front Street from 1903 to 1929, then sold it to P.K. Holmes Sr., who changed the name but operated in that location for over 40 years. In 1972, Holmes's son moved his P.K. Holmes Men's Store...
1930’s – Newport High School
Built in 1930, Newport High School replaced the Walnut Street School, which continued to be used for grades one through six until 1951. This school building is still in use as Newport High School. (Courtesy of Robert Craig.)
1930’s – Remmel Park
Situated on beautiful tree-shaded land bordering Newport Lake, Remmel Park, given by the Remmel family around 1930, was the first city park for Newport's citizens. The park provided picnicking, tennis, and fishing for locals, and is still much in use. In 1932, Huey...
1918 – Swifton High School
Children play in the unaccustomed snow on the grounds of the new Swifton High School in 1918. The substantial nature of the school building reflects the wealth that the ever-expanding cotton crop was bringing into Jackson County. (Courtesy of J.W. Hulen.)
1930’s – Front Street
Obviously captured on a Saturday, this image shows the throngs of people who collected on Front Street in downtown Newport every weekend as the folks from the country came into town to do their shopping. One old-timer remembers rushing downtown as a teenager to get a...
1930’s – Blue Bridge
Opened in 1930 to much fanfare, the bridge over the White River in Newport was constructed at the location of the old Newport, or upper ferry. Ferry service had existed at this point on the White River since approximately 1835. The new bridge helped speed traffic on...
1920’s – Moon Home
The L.W. Moon home was perhaps the most intriguing of the many fine homes that Swifton's farmers and merchants built for their families. (Courtesy of Ray Hanley.)
1928 – High School Graduates
Best friends Lady Elizabeth Watson (later Luker) , left, and Clare Phillips (later Dowell) graduated from Newport High School in 1928. Lady then spent a year at Miss Madeira's School in Washington, DC, in preparation for college at Wellesley. Clare attended Goucher...
1920’s – School at Weldon
In the southern part of Jackson County, the white children of Weldon attended school in this wood-frame schoolhouse through the first half of the 20th century. Small rural schools like this one dotted the countryside all over the county. School consolidation later...
1920’s – Moon Store, Swifton
Members of the Moon family were among the leading residents of Swifton. The N.D. Moon and Sons Store offered groceries and dry goods. Almost every small community in the county had its own general merchandise store that sold everything from buttonhooks to bacon and...
1920’s – Bank of Swifton
The Bank of Swifton was no Wall Street bank, but it did a brisk business in this prosperous little north Jackson County farming community. (Courtesy of Ray Hanley.)
1927 – Heinemann Barge
Sol Heinemann's barge brought fresh water into Newport during the flood of 1927. Shown in this picture are, from left to right, two unidentified, J.E. Wilmans (mayor) Heinemann, Hattie Heinemann, and a Mr. House. The boys are identified only as Sol and Sylvan...
1926 – Fire Map
This map shows the area that succumbed to the fire, as it was obviously being driven by the wind. Newport bounced back with strong-willed determination. The town astounded the entire state with its optimism and energy, winning the nickname "Plucky Newport" in news...
1926 – After the Fire
A few homes survived the carnage, largely because of the quick thinking of their owners. The Wilmans house (not pictured) was spared only because R.D. Wilmans brought his farmhands in from the fields and stood them on top of his house with wet towels and blankets to...
1926 – After the Fire
Newport's old-timers remembered for years how eerie the town seemed after the fire, looking to the veterans like scenes they had witnessed during World War I. Whole blocks were swept clean of homes, and then suddenly it would be evident that the wind had shifted and a...
1926 – After the Fire
A devastating fire in March 1926 destroyed more than 280 businesses and homes in a 30-block area. Most of the town's fine homes burned to the ground, and the fire smoldered for a week. It started during a high wind when wooden shingles caught fire in a lumberyard and...
1920’s – Stayton Home
The John Stayton home was another lovely structure and one that mercifully survived. Historian Marvin Schwartz write, "Wealthy families celebrated their good fortune, building large, expansive homes with elaborate parquet flooring, railings, and wall panels." Those...
1920’s – Wolff Home
The home of Sigmund and Elise Wolff was one of the fine homes in downtown Newport that soon would fall prey to the fire of 1926. Note the unidentified black nursemaid, a fixture in every prosperous white home at the time.
1924 – Lumber Barge Loaded
Bob Logan sits on one of the barges being loaded for shipment from his mill in 1924. Railcars also stand by waiting to be loaded, as does another steamboat docked at the river's edge in Newport. Strong arms and broad shoulders were needed to do this backbreaking work,...
1920’s – Steamer F.W. Tucker
The steamer F.W. Tucker sits at a lumberyard in Jackson County, probably Bob Logan's, being loaded in the 1920's. African American laborers are standing by waiting to load the cut lumber onto barges that the steamboat will push down the White River to Memphis, New...