1890’s – Steamboat Rex

1890’s – Steamboat Rex

1890s, Photo Search

The steamboat trade was vital to inland towns like Newport and the surrounding countryside.  Steamers from Newport had clear passage to New Orleans, Memphis and even St. Louis via the White and Mississippi Rivers, which provided ready markets for cotton and timber...
1880’s – W.B. Empie Lumber Mill

1880’s – W.B. Empie Lumber Mill

1880s, Photo Search

The W.B. Empie lumber mill was one of the largest mills in Jackson County, as reflected in this drawing.  Located between the railroad tracks and the river, as the mills usually were, the Empie operation could transport its product by railcar or steamboat.  In this...
1880’s – Walnut Logs on Barge

1880’s – Walnut Logs on Barge

1880s, Photo Search

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...
1880’s – Sawmill

1880’s – Sawmill

1880s, Photo Search

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...
1890 – Harmon Liveright Remmel

1890 – Harmon Liveright Remmel

1890s, Photo Search

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...