1900’s – White River Railroad Bridge

1900’s – White River Railroad Bridge

This postcard shows the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railway bridge over the White River, three miles downstream from Newport.  The tracks then proceeded through town along the bluff side of the river, protecting the rails from the frequent overflows in the...
1906 – Sigma Chi Party

1906 – Sigma Chi Party

A 1906 Sigma Chi party almost ended in disaster when the boat hit a snag, throwing the two young ladies on the roof, Irma Hooker and Jamie Irby, into the river.  The newspaper account notes, “Nearly all the young men went to the rescue” and “the...
1900’s – Paddleboat Sears

1900’s – Paddleboat Sears

The paddleboat Sears loads lumber onto barges at the Jacksonport log yard in about 1900.  All types of lumber – including cottonwood, gum, hickory, elm, oak, maple, ash, and cedar – were brought down from the Black, Current, and upper White Rivers to...
1880’s – W.B. Empie Lumber Mill

1880’s – W.B. Empie Lumber Mill

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...
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...