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1880’s – Walnut Logs on Barge

1880’s – Walnut Logs on Barge

This postcard shows walnut logs being loaded onto a barge somewhere near Newport.  They were on their way to a sawmill downriver - perhaps the Empie Lumber Mill in Newport, where they would be cut and planed into boards, studs or shingles - but they occasionally...

1880’s – Sawmill

1880’s – Sawmill

The first order of business in creating an agricultural economy was clearing the land.  Thousands of acres of virgin timber spread throughout Jackson County, and the lumber business became s source of great wealth for the men who had the means to capitalize on this...

1880’s – Snag Boat Quapaw

1880’s – Snag Boat Quapaw

The Quapaw was typical of the government snag boats that kept the river free of fallen trees and other debris that could snag or sink a steamboat or barge.  Because the White River ran through heavy forests, snag-boating was very important to the early years of...

1880’s – McDonald Family

1880’s – McDonald Family

These ancestors of the McDonald families reflect great wealth in their clothes, jewelry, and presentation.  Pictured are, from left to right, (first row) Margaret McDonald Johnson, Florence Polk McDonald Scales Gilliam, Lavator McDonald, and John McDonald; (second...

1880 – Joseph C. Sharp’s Cotton Gin

1880 – Joseph C. Sharp’s Cotton Gin

Joseph C. Sharp's cotton gin was another important element in Swifton's economy.  This photograph from 1880 shows cotton arriving at the gin on a mule-drawn wagon, where it would be cleaned of trash, the seeds removed, and then compressed into bales.  Apparently, some...

1880’s – Joseph Coffin’s Mercantile

1880’s – Joseph Coffin’s Mercantile

Situated north of Newport on the Iron Mountain Railway line, the little town of Swifton was blessed with fertile land and a thriving economy.  Joseph Coffin's store was a leading mercantile establishment in the 1880's. From Watson, Tim, and Elizabeth Jacoway. Newport...

1890 – Harmon Liveright Remmel

1890 – Harmon Liveright Remmel

Harmon Liveright Remmel (1859-1927) and his brother Augustus had learned the lumber business in Indiana before moving to Arkansas.  In 1896, Harmon left the lumber business and moved to Little Rock, where he quickly became an important force in Republican Party...

1880’s – Remmel Lumber Company

1880’s – Remmel Lumber Company

This photograph of the Remmel Brothers Lumber Company is one of the earliest images of downtown Newport.  Harmon Remmel and his brother Augustus came to Jackson County from New York in 1874 and made a fortune in the lumber business, capitalizing on the depressed...

1870’s – Steamer DeSmet

1870’s – Steamer DeSmet

Some steamboats carried as many as 125 passengers and 2,000 bales of cotton.  When they came up the river, they carried thousands of sacks of salt along with cargo of sugar, molasses, and dry goods, which they could trade in the backcountry, before loading up with...

1870’s – Steamboat Dining Room

1870’s – Steamboat Dining Room

Early Jackson County chronicler W.E. Bevens describes the steamboats this way:  "To those early pioneers, so long forced to do without luxuries, they seemed the acme of elegance, with their bands of music, their calliopes, handsome cabins, tables adorned with shining...

1870’s – The Steamboat Walt

1870’s – The Steamboat Walt

The steamboat Walt was a truly elegant steamer.  Its 43 staterooms were lavishly furnished, but the 10 set aside for women were fitted like rooms in a fine hotel, with imported furnishings.  The cabin was covered with the finest velvet carpet, with all furniture...

1860’s – Isabella Means Harrison

1860’s – Isabella Means Harrison

Isabella Means Harrison (1821-1892) moved with her family to Jacksonport in 1849.  She brought her slave Pal (short for Palestine) Louisa.  An ancestor of the prominent Boyce family of Tuckerman, Harrison represents much of the pioneer spirit that moved America west...

1850’s – Thomas Todd Tunstall

1850’s – Thomas Todd Tunstall

Thomas Todd Tunstall (1790-1862) is generally acknowledged as the founder of Jacksonport. Tunstall brought the second steamboat up the White river to the mouth of Jack's Creek, later named Jacksonport.  Captain Tunstall and his son William laid out the town, built a...

1830’s – Judge John Robinson

1830’s – Judge John Robinson

Judge John Robinson (1748-1832) came to Jackson County from Kentucky in 1831, leading a party of 200 people, each of whom received 1,000 acres of land purchased for $1 per acre.  Robinson and his wife had five sons.  His sister married his wife's brother, and they had...

1910’s – Judge Coe’s Road Grader

1910’s – Judge Coe’s Road Grader

County Judge (1910-1914) Charles B. Coe stands on an early road grader his employees used to improve the roads of Jackson County.  Driving the mules is his son J. Herbert Coe.  Judge Coe made it his business to improve the roads, bridges, and highways of Jackson...

1890 ‘s – Newport Ice Storm in 1898

1890 ‘s – Newport Ice Storm in 1898

In the severe ice storm of 1898, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at the corner of Laurel and Second Streets is shown on a very cold day.  This weather was unusual enough in the southern latitudes of Newport that the men had not purchased heavy overcoats. From...

1884 – Newport Flood Overflow

1884 – Newport Flood Overflow

In 1884, the White River rose over its banks, creating this overflow in the downtown.  Handwritten on the back of this photograph is this note:  "Newport, Ark., Hazel Street, looking from Front Street towards Third Street.  In 1885, Newport's town council gave a...