All Around Arkansas: Where Three States Meet

 

                As most people know, in Texarkana, one can stand in two states at once. There’s a spot in front of the federal courthouse and post office known as Photographer’s Island, where thousands of people throughout the years have taken their photo with one foot in Arkansas and the other in Texas. 

                But not too far from Texarkana near Atlanta, Texas (Cass County), is a place where one can actually stand in not just two, but three states at once. It’s not nearly as well known as Photographer’s Island, but it’s a fascinating thing nonetheless.

                I had never heard of what’s known as the Three States Marker until I read a post about it on one of the many Arkansas-themed Facebook pages I follow. When I learned it was not too far from my in-laws' home in Wake Village, Texas, I knew I had to go. And as it happened, my wife and I were going to be traveling soon to the Lone Star State for my nephew's high school graduation. 

                I invited my mother-in-law, who’s always up for a good adventure, if we could go and she was happy to oblige. She was excited about visiting the roadside attraction because even though she grew up in the Ark-La-Tex area, she had never heard of the Three States Marker.

                Saturday morning, she and I headed out in search of the Three States Marker. We took Highway 59 out of Wake Village toward Atlanta and then turned onto Highway 77. From what I could gather from the information I found on the internet, the small concrete marker was located under a tree in some woods between a liquor store and an abandoned gas station. 

                We began looking for the marker as soon as Google Maps began showing that we were in the vicinity. But all we saw were the Louisiana and Texas welcome signs. So I went into the liquor store and asked for directions. One of the employees walked me outside and pointed to a tree. 

                According to the employee, several people per day ask about the location of the roadside attraction. After a short walk through the weeds, we found the tiny stone marker that marks the intersection of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. 

                According to the circular bronze plaque on its top, the concrete obelisk was placed there in 1930 by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Carved on the marker’s side are ARK, LA and TEXAS, denoting the three states that meet at the point.

                Like other tourists, we had to take several pictures of us standing by and on the marker. While we were there, several other folks showed up to see the Three States Marker. If you want even more photos from your visit, the state welcome signs for Louisiana and Texas are close enough that you can get pictures of both while standing in the same spot. 

                There wasn’t much else to see, so we headed back to my in-laws' home in Wake Village, but not before paying a visit to the dam and spillway of Wright Patman Lake (formerly Lake Texarkana), where my mother-in-law took many fishing trips with her late father. I enjoyed hearing her childhood memories and stories about the “good ol’ days.”

                When it comes to the Three States Marker, while I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to see it, if you’re in the area, definitely stop by and get a photo. After all, how many places can you be in three states at the same time and have the photographic evidence to prove it?

All Around Arkansas: Millwood Lake and State Park

                

                Recently I traveled to Ashdown (Little River County) to the nursing home and rehab facility where my mother-in-law worked for several years. They were celebrating “National Nursing Home Week,” and asked my musical mother-in-law if she would perform as part of the festivities. She never misses the chance to sing in public and invited my wife and me to join her. My wife, a busy attorney, was unable to attend. But as a teacher, I'm out for the summer and was able to go. 

                Afterwards, my mother-in-law, who grew up in the area, wanted to show me some of the places she visited as a child and young adult. The first: Millwood State Park at Millwood Lake. 

                As a former employee of the Department of Parks & Tourism, I’ve visited all 52 state parks, including Millwood. But I didn’t tell her that and went along with the ride. She had a great time recalling memories of her and her dad fishing on Millwood, as well as camping with my father-in-law’s family at the park.

                I stopped in at the park’s visitor’s center where I was greeted by two friendly park employees who welcomed me and shared information about the park and the lake.

                Millwood Lake is located 9 miles from Ashdown and was formed by damming the point where Little River and the Saline River meet. According to local legend, the dam, lake and state park take the name “Millwood” from a frontier river landing in the area, which was in use between 1845 and 1875.

                The dam was built by the Tulsa District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, starting in 1961 and was completed in 1966. The dam and lake were officially dedicated on Dec. 8, 1966. The cost of the project was estimated at $44 million. Built mainly for flood control purposes, Millwood Lake is the lynch pin in the flood reduction system for the Red River below Lake Texoma.

                The 29,260-acre lake is best known as a fishing lake and wildlife habitat. Its 35,000 acres of sunken timber provide homes for the many kinds of fish in the lake, including the indigenous Millwood lunker largemouth bass. Numerous animals can be found inhabiting the land around the lake, including white-tailed deer, bobwhite quail, squirrel, dove, rabbit, raccoon, armadillo, opossum, fox, mink, American gator and beaver. In 2012, a 1,380-pound alligator — the biggest alligator found in Arkansas — was caught in the lake.

                Millwood Lake is also an important water source. It supplies Domtar's communications paper division with 50 million gallons of water per day for its operations. The lake also provides drinking water to the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, through a water treatment plant located near Ashdown.

                Among several recreational areas the Corps of Engineers established along the lake’s shoreline was Cypress Slough Park, which was located the southwestern end of Millwood Dam. On April 1, 1976, the Corps of Engineers signed a lease agreement with the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism making Cypress Slough Park part of the state park system.

                Millwood State Park features a visitor’s center, a full-service marina, camping, picnicking sites and hiking and bike trails. The park also hosts several recreational events and interpretive activities, including fishing events, bird watching and lake tours. For more information, you can visit the park’s website at www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/millwood-state-park or contact the park’s visitor’s center at (870) 898-2800.

                If you’re looking for a great place to fish and spot some wildlife, Millwood Lake and the state park that sits along its shore is a great place to go. Just be on the lookout for alligators — you never know what might be lurking in the murky waters of Millwood.

All Around Arkansas: Dogpatch, U.S.A.

                As the end of the school year approaches, many parents are deciding where to take their children for summer break. And when I think back on the places in Arkansas my parents took me on summer vacation, Dogpatch U.S.A. immediately comes to mind. 

                If you grew up in Arkansas in the 70s and 80s, chances are you and your family went to Dogpatch at least once or twice as well.

                Dogpatch U.S.A. was located on Highway 7 between Harrison and Jasper. Today the area is known by its original name, Marble Falls. Dogpatch was an amusement park based on the comic strip "Li’l Abner" by Al Capp. The cartoon was set in the fictional town of Dogpatch.

                In 1966, Albert Raney listed his family's trout farm with Harrison real estate agent O. J. Snow. Snow visited the property and had an epiphany: Raney’s trout farm would be the perfect setting for an amusement park centered around a pioneer theme. Snow believed the area's geography resembled those pictured in Capp’s comic strip.

                Snow and several Harrison businessmen created Recreation Enterprises Inc. to develop the former trout farm. The group’s first task was to get permission from Capp to develop a park based on the characters and location in his cartoon. According to the Arkansas Gazette, Snow sent Capp several home movies of the property and descriptions of the proposed attractions. Snow planned a variety of activities for the theme park, including horseback riding, train rides, local arts and crafts shops, and a music venue for national and local performers. Li'l Abner comic-strip characters would roam the park in costume and interact with the visitors. 

                Capp previously had rejected other offers to use his characters in theme parks, but eventually agreed to Snow’s proposal and became a partner in the venture. Capp claimed he had once driven through the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and had pictured the area for the locale of his fictional "Dogpatch" town. In January 1967, Capp's attorneys finalized the agreement with Recreation Enterprises that granted the group the rights to use Capp’s characters and place names.

                But not everyone was happy about the theme park. Many state officials and residents objected to Dogpatch, believing it would encourage the negative hillbilly stereotypes Arkansas had had such a difficulty shedding.

                Capp attended the groundbreaking ceremony at Dogpatch U.S.A. on Oct. 3, 1967. The first phase of the project cost $1.3 million and included construction of the first buildings and rides. The second phase — including the construction of a train from the park to Marble Falls, a tram from the parking lot to the park entrance, the "Skunk Hollow" section of the park, a motel and a golf course — was completed over the next two years. 

                In 1968, the name of the local post office was officially changed from Marble Falls to Dogpatch. Over 300,000 visitors came to Dogpatch U.S.A. in its opening year. People from all over the state and nation made the trip to ride the rides, listen to music, experience homemade crafts and food, and of course, take pictures with Li’l Abner, Daisy Mae and a creature called the Shmoo. My parents still have many photos of li’l Darrell with the residents of Dogpatch.

                In October 1968, Arkansas businessman Jess Odom purchased the park and hired former Gov. Orval Faubus as Dogpatch’s general manager. In the years to come, Dogpatch changed ownership several times. In 1991, the park dropped the name Dogpatch U.S.A. and stopped using Capp’s characters in an effort to save money. The park closed permanently on Oct. 14, 1993.

                In March 2020, Johnny Morris, owner of Bass Pro Shops, purchased the old Dogpatch land in a foreclosure sale for $1.2 million. In 2021, Morris shared some early plans for a nature park with the Buffalo River Conservation Committee, but no improvements have been made to the property.

                Today, what was once Dogpatch U.S.A. is a ghost town, with only the memories of thrilling rides, the music of such stars as Reba McEntire, and something called a Shmoo remaining.

All Around Arkansas: Augusta, Arkansas

                

                When I was a child, my paternal grandparents lived in Augusta (Woodruff County). I don’t have many memories of the town, but thanks to my dad, I’ve learned a lot about my ancestors and the place they lived.

                According to a historical marker in Augusta, Chickasaw Indians settled on a bluff overlooking the White River. Many years later, white settlers began moving into the area. In 1847, native Philadelphians John Elliott and William Polite opened a general store. In 1848, Thomas Hough moved to the area and had the town surveyed and laid out. Hough named the town after his niece, Augusta Cald. 

                Augusta was officially incorporated in July 1860. At that time, it was in Jackson County. It became the Woodruff County seat when the county was created in November 1862.

                By 1861, Augusta had become home to over 600 residents. In 1852, Hough built a church that was shared by Methodist and Presbyterian congregations.

                Augusta suffered a great deal of damage during the Civil War. The river landing made the town a natural target for Union forces. In 1864, citizens left the town in droves when Union troops arrived. Soldiers tore down houses and used the materials to build shelters for their camps. Augusta’s more upscale residences were used as headquarters for officers. A small skirmish between Union and Confederate forces took place at Augusta in August 1864 and ended in a Union victory.

                The town recovered during Reconstruction and began a new era of prosperity, as riverboat traffic greatly increased. When the railroads proposed crossing the county, the leaders of Augusta rejected the idea, thinking that river trade was all the town needed to thrive. So the railroads bypassed Augusta, and as a result, river traffic began to dwindle. This caused the town leadership to build a short line railroad in 1887, which was called the Augusta and White River Street Railway. The small railroad connected Augusta with the Bald Knob and Memphis Railroad. The Augusta and White River Street Railway ended operations in 1958.

                In 1930, a $614,734 bridge was completed across the White River, which opened U.S. Highway 64. The highway was a direct route across the U.S. and the bridge closed the final gap in the highway without a ferry. A celebration was held with a parade across the bridge and many political leaders and other dignitaries in attendance. The bridge was replaced with a modern four-lane bridge in 2001.

                Like many towns during the Great Depression, Augusta greatly suffered. Crop prices dropped, river traffic all but ceased to exist and the Bank of Augusta was forced to close. The local school almost shut down, but Augusta businessman Ed Bonner loaned the school $10,000. The teachers agreed to work one month out of every eight months without compensation. People raised their own produce, hunted, fished and traded their surplus for commodities they couldn't produce themselves. 

                During World War II, most of the men in the town entered the armed forces, leaving their families to deal with the rationing of food, gasoline and other necessities. But in spite of the Great Depression and World War II, Augusta survived both eras with steady growth in both population and economy.

                Today, the city is home to several factories and retail stores. Augusta is surrounded by rich farmland that produces rice, soybeans and cotton. The nearby Rex Hancock/Black Swamp and Henry Gray/Hurricane Lake Wildlife Management Areas bring many sportsmen to the area.

                The old Presbyterian church has been preserved by the city and turned into a local history museum. The church was visited by future U.S. President Woodrow Wilson as a young boy, as his brother-in-law, Rev. A.R. Kennedy, was its pastor from 1878-1879. A marker commemorating Wilson’s visit stands at the former church.

                It’s always enjoyable for me to write about my state’s history, but even more so when I can write about a place to which I have a personal connection, like Augusta.