Total Eclipse Here in ARK.

 

                Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, then you know there will be a total solar eclipse occurring on Monday, April 8. According to experts, the best place to see the astronomical wonder is Arkansas. Although the total eclipse will last just approximately four minutes, millions of tourists will be traveling to the state once known as the Land of Opportunity to have the best opportunity to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event.

                I’m no astronomer, but as I understand it, as the sun, moon, and Earth line up perfectly, the sun will become blocked by the moon and then cast a dark shadow on a small portion of our planet. In the middle of the afternoon, the skies above will grow dark and the sun will disappear for several minutes. 

                The moon’s narrow dark shadow will rapidly traverse across the United States at over 1600 mph, making the path of totality, which will travel over most of Arkansas. There will be a huge difference in 95% coverage versus 100% coverage which the Natural State will have, and why so many are traveling to our state to witness it.

                According to the National Weather Service, Little Rock will see the eclipse begin at 12:33 p.m. and will reach 100% totality around 1:52 p.m. and will then be over around 3:11 p.m. Totality length and times will vary slightly across the eclipse’s path. Cities such as Clinton, Danville, DeQueen, Melbourne, Mena and Russellville will enjoy over four minutes of mostly darker skies in the middle of the afternoon.

                When viewing the total eclipse, it is imperative that you do not look at the sun directly without wearing proper eye protection. It’s very important to wear eclipse glasses from a trusted manufacturer. One crucial thing to look for when obtaining your eclipse glasses is to look for the approval stamp of ISO 12312-2 on them. This label means your eyes are fully protected from the dangerous rays of the sun when viewing.

                Some trusted glasses are made by American Paper Optics and Rainbow Symphony. The American Astronomical Society also has several approved products on its website. Many cities, chambers of commerce, public libraries and other agencies and organizations are giving away the glasses for free. My wife and I recently purchased our eclipse glasses for $1.50 a pair in a state park gift shop. We couldn’t beat the price, and they have a commemorative logo and the date of the big event printed on them, making them a great souvenir.

                Another fun way to see the eclipse is to make a pinhole projector. As light goes through the tiny holes, the eclipse is projected on the ground. I remember my co-workers and I at Arkansas Parks and Tourism did this during the last eclipse in August 2017.

                Again, as totality will only last 2-4 minutes be ready to put your eclipse glasses back on as soon as the sunlight begins to show once again. Over the next hour or so the moon’s shadow will retreat to the northeast and skies will brighten up once again. Nature will then return to its normal activities.

                As a result of the influx of visitors to Arkansas, be sure to plan accordingly once the eclipse is over. Expect traffic congestion and slow travel for several hours in some areas. Lines for gas and food have the potential to be extremely long as well. State officials and local law enforcement have been working on a plan for years to help the state’s infrastructure, which will be put to the test on April 8 and the preceding days.

                Let’s hope that no cloudy skies or April showers (even though they bring May flowers) are in the forecast, as any cloud cover or precipitation most would ruin the total solar eclipse here in Arkansas for millions of excited tourists and residents.

                Enjoy the total eclipse, Arkansas!

The Ten Mile House

                

                Partially hidden behind a large magnolia tree along Highway 5 (Stagecoach Road) in Little Rock stands the historic Ten Mile House. The federal-style home is a rare example of the rural homes found in early nineteenth century-Arkansas. Since its construction, the structure has looked much like it did when first built. The Ten Mile House was taken over by Union troops during the Civil War and accommodated those traveling on the Southwest Trail stagecoach line.

                The Ten Mile House, also known as the Stagecoach House and the McHenry House, was built by Archibald McHenry sometime between 1825-1836. Having left Tennessee around 1820, McHenry built a log cabin on property he purchased near Arkansas’ capital city of Little Rock. His children, John and Henry McHenry, later built a brick home adjacent to their father’s log home. 

                Archibald McHenry owned about 1,500-acres along the Southwest Trail, as well as property in the community of Crystal Hill (Pulaski County) by the beginning of the nineteenth century. Along with farming, McHenry was active in local politics-- serving as a public building commissioner, justice of the peace and as Pulaski County coroner. After McHenry’s death in 1835, his two sons inherited his home and vast amounts of property in Crystal Hill and Little Rock. 

                In 1842, John McHenry became acquainted with three men in Little Rock: Robert Brownlee, Sam McMorrin and James McVicar. The men were Scottish stonemasons who had come to Arkansas to work on the construction of the state’s new capitol building (now known as the Old State House) and several other public buildings in Little Rock. As the men were between jobs at the time, Brownlee, McMorrin and McVicar intermittently lived at McHenry’s house for six years. During their stay, the men constructed the brick kitchen and cellar of the Ten Mile House. Brownlee and McMorrin also created the monument to William Gilchrist, Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, who died in 1843. The sixteen-foot marker is located in the Masonic plot in Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock.

                At the same time, Robert Brownlee, built a brick home in Little Rock for his brother, James. The restored home still stands and can be toured as part of the Division of Arkansas Heritage’s Historic Arkansas Museum. The nearby wooden home built by James McVicar between 1846-1849 has also been restored and is part of the museum as well.

                As the Ten Mile House was located on the stagecoach line, it has long been speculated that it served as a stop for weary travelers as an inn and tavern. During the 1863 Union occupation of Little Rock, the Ten Mile House was used as a headquarters for Union forces.

                In January 1863, seventeen-year-old Arkansan David Owen Dodd was held in Union custody overnight in the Ten Mile House’s smokehouse prior to his transfer to the federal arsenal in Little Rock for his trial and execution for being a Confederate spy.

                The Ten Mile House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1970. Throughout the years, numerous individuals and families have owned the home and its surrounding outbuildings. The historic structure has served as an antique store, tea room, a venue for public dinner parties and weddings and a family residence. Currently, the Ten Mile Home is private property and not open to the public. 

                A stone marker, known as the Confederate Last Stand Monument, stands in front of the Ten Mile House. The monument marks the approximate location of the last skirmish between Union and Confederate troops during the Little Rock Campaign of the Civil War on September 11, 1863. The monument was commissioned by the General T. J. Churchill Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), and dedicated on October 15, 1929.

The Ghosttown of Okay

         

       

                Whether it's the state parks I enjoy visiting or the barbecue restaurants I love dining at, there are few things in the Natural State that are just okay. However, such is not the case with the Arkansas town I recently noticed on an antique highway map given out by a gas station years ago.

                Located in Howard County, Okay was a company town founded by the Arkansas-Portland Cement Co. In 1926, Charles Boettcher, owner of Ideal Cement Co. in Denver, sent two of his employees from an Ideal plant in Oklahoma on a mission to search for a possible plant site in southwest Arkansas. Boettcher had heard rumblings of a movement in the Land of Opportunity to improve the state’s roads and bridges. 

                Boettcher’s two scouts, Tom Dodson and Joe Hargis, recommended a site in Howard County due to its rich deposits of chalk and limestone. Boettcher agreed and purchased the property. Soon, work began on building a much needed railroad spur to connect the future plant location to the main railroad line. After the necessary equipment arrived by rail, cement foundations for the site were poured in November 1928.

                About a year later, Arkansas-Portland Cement Co., the new subsidiary of Ideal Cement Co., was dedicated with the explosion of a 20,000-pound blast of dynamite at the new quarry. In October 1929, the plant began production with the first 125 car loads of cement shipped from the plant. The plant’s initial capacity was approximately four million sacks of cement per year.

                 While the plant was being built, an employee village of forty small homes was constructed as well. Named for the company’s OK brand cement, the town included everything needed by its residents. Utilities of indoor water, sewer, electricity and gas were made available, with electricity and water provided free by the company.  In February 1930, a U.S. post office opened in Okay. The town’s mercantile store provided supplies and implements for its residents. On the second floor of the store was a meeting hall where church services were held each Sunday. 

                 The company also built numerous facilities for recreational activities such as baseball, basketball, golf and tennis. On May 24, 1936, the company’s baseball team, the Okay Cementers, was formed and went on to become one of the state's best semi-professional teams.

                As many businesses were forced to during the Great Depression, Okay’s cement plant was forced to close intermittently, and it looked as if it may close permanently. Thankfully, the company was able to keep its doors open when Gov. Huey Long, initiated a major bridge and road construction project in Louisiana. Most of the cement for Long’s infrastructure projects was produced at the Okay plant. And although many of the town’s male residents went off to serve in World War II, the plant was able to continue operating at its full capacity. 

                The plant in Okay remained in operation for over sixty years. But while the size of the Okay plant had doubled by the late 1950s, the company town was slowly disappearing and employees were encouraged to move starting in 1960. The exodus from Okay began soon afterward when the town’s mercantile and much of its recreational facilities were demolished. 

                By the end of 1972, only a church, the cement plant and the plant’s manager’s home stood. While Okay never had more than about 150 residents, by the late 1970s, just two remained. Though the Okay plant consistently turned a profit through the early eighties, its parent company, Ideal Cement, experienced great financial difficulty. In 1986, Ideal Cement sold a controlling interest to a Swiss-based cement company and the Okay plant was permanently closed in 1993. By 1998, Okay was completely abandoned with few remnants of the once-bustling company town remaining.

O Little Town of Jacksonport

                Three miles northwest of Newport at the confluence of the Black and White rivers lies the small town of Jacksonport. With its popular steamboat stop, it was once a bustling town.

                Native Americans lived in the area now known as Jacksonport for thousands of years before white settlers arrived in the 19th century. The town was located along the Southwest Trail, which diagonally crossed Arkansas from the northeast to the southwest into Texas. The abundance of wild game and heavily forested lands attracted trappers and hunters. 

                In 1831, Thomas Tunstall explored the area when his steamboat, Waverly, which was bound for Batesville, was stalled for several days because of low water. Tunstall returned a year later and bought a sawmill at the mouth of Jacks Creek, which was located near the area that became Jacksonport. 

                Tunstall and his family took up residence in the nearby community of Newark and thus never lived in Jacksonport. But Tunstall is considered to be Jacksonport’s founding father, as he opened the town’s first general store and drafted the first plat of the town in 1833. Jacksonport flourished and became a commercial success due to the stable year-round depth of the White River at its location.

                Jacksonport was incorporated in 1852, and became the Jackson County seat the following year. During its heyday, Jacksonport was estimated to have about 1,200 residents. 

                Like other cities and towns in Arkansas, Jacksonport’s economic and population growth came to an abrupt halt due to the start of the Civil War in April 1861. The war took a devastating toll on Jacksonport, as it was the scene of several battles and skirmishes between Confederate and Union forces looking to gain a stronghold on the important riverport town.

                Several years after the war’s end, the Iron Mountain, St. Louis and Southern Railroad built new tracks about three miles downriver at Newport, bypassing Jacksonport. As a result, many residents and businesses left Jacksonport for Newport and the boomtown went bust. Jacksonport’s fortunes worsened in February 1882, when both a flood and a fire destroyed much of the town within the span of a week. In 1891, the residents of Jackson County voted to make Newport the county seat.

                By the early 1900s, Jacksonport’s population had dwindled to 250. Besides a levee built in 1909, new infrastructure improvements at Jacksonport were rare until the former Jackson County courthouse (completed in 1872) was saved from demolition. 

                In 1962, the Jackson County Historical Society purchased the dilapidated structure and surrounding property. The statuesque red brick courthouse was restored and donated to the state to become the centerpiece of Jacksonport Courthouse State Park in June 1965. Now known as Jacksonport State Park, the recreational area is owned and operated by the state Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in January 1970. 

                A new visitors center for the park was completed in 2018. The visitors center features artifacts and exhibits related to Jacksonport’s history, a gift shop and meeting rooms available for rent. Park interpreters still give guided tours of the old courthouse. Along with the courthouse and visitors center, Jacksonport State Park features a 20-site campground, swimming beach, pavilion, picnic sites and a playground for the park’s young visitors. The half-mile Tunstall Riverwalk takes hikers along the White River from the park’s boat launch to its campground. Wildlife and numerous species of birds can be seen regularly along the trail, making for a memorable hike.

                If you’re interested in learning about the early commercial history of our state or simply enjoy seeing beautiful views of one of Arkansas’ most important rivers, Jacksonport State Park and the old town it’s named for is a must-see destination in the Natural State.