Rollin' on the river

LITTLE ROCK — Steamboats didn't just ply the mighty Mississippi River. They also navigated the clear waters of the White River.

In the early days of Arkansas, the steamboats played an important role in the development of river towns. Before it was replaced by the railroads after the Civil War era, the steamboats were the main passenger transport.

"Steamboats were the lifeblood for north central Arkansas," said Gail Harley, docent for the Old Independence Regional Museum in Batesville. "They were the main reason the area was settled."

These water transports were sometimes called "floating markets" or "downriver markets."

The steamboats would pick up cotton, corn, furs and hides and bring them to markets in Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans; in return they brought back sugar, coffee, tools and other luxury items, Harley said.

"The river traffic kept people aware of trends outside of the River Valley," Harley said. "There wouldn't have been communication if the steamboats didn't come into the area."

In 1831, the Waverly was the first steamboat to reach Batesville, and in 1850 the U.S. river mail service reached the town. Steamboats pushed commerce along the river from the Mississippi River to the Ozark foothills and beyond during the rainy season.

Batesville became a hub for steamboats, which were often owned and operated by locals. The Civil War stopped all riverboat traffic from 1861-1865 but resumed once the war was over. In 1883, the railroads started coming into Batesville from Newport, the first sign to mark the declining use of the steamboat. That same year, the Chickasaw, the first White River steamboat with electric lights that could be loaded with 2,000 bales of cotton was built, Harley said.

Another town that thrived during the steamboat era was Jacksonport. Created in 1833 by Thomas Todd Tunstall of Kentucky, he came up the White River on his steamboat, the William Parsons, the second steamboat to ply the river, according to records from Jacksonport State Park.

Jacksonport became a center for commerce and transportation where cargo for the up-river Ozarks region was transferred to wagon train that had brought in hides and farm produce.

The town began to decline when its citizens failed to see the importance of bringing the mainline of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad through the town.

"The railroad offered the extension of the tracks through town, a sidetrack and a depot in exchange for $25,000," Richard Spillman, Jacksonport State park interpreter said. "But due to their great confidence in steamboats and the commercial importance of Jacksonport, the people declined, believing that the railroad would eventually be compelled to lay track in Jacksonport without being paid."

The railroad owners decided to run the line six miles past town. They built a bridge over the White River, and the town of Newport was born.

Bud Cooper, a historian of the area, has a family history dating back to 1850 and remembers hearing stories about the steamboats from his relatives.

"My grandmother's sister used to hear the steamboats coming for miles. They lived a mile from the river," Cooper said. "She would rush to the top of Soldier's Bluff to see the steamboats."

Steamboats were hard to keep for more than five years because they would either blow up from boiler explosions or get stuck in muddy waters and sink.

"They were expensive to build and operate," Cooper said. "Some were built in Batesville, and one or two were built in Calico Rock."

There were steamboat landings in every town including Calico Rock, Sylamore and Mt. Olive, Cooper said.

"The steamboats were made to work," Cooper said. "People would stack a cord of wood along the river, and the steamboat would get it on its way up. On the way down, they would leave money."

River traffic flourished until it was slowed by the building of the first three of 10 lock-and-dam projects. In 1900, Lock & Dam No. 1 was built on the White River at Batesville. Today, it is a backdrop for the city's Riverside Park.

These were then replaced by the railroads. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad first arrived in 1883 and extended up the White River Valley in 1905.

The steamboat era officially ended in 1940, Harley said.

Today, a more modern transportation system has replaced the steamboat. Four airports serve the area: Batesville Regional Airport, Calico Rock-Izard County Airport, Newport Municipal Airport and Woodruff County Airport. Many roadwayscross the White River at different points. U.S. 167, Arkansas 16, Arkansas 9 and Arkansas 17 run north to south, and Arkansas 14, Arkansas 367 and U.S. 64 run east to west.

In 1930, a bridge was completed across the White River by the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company of Leavenworh, Kan., opening U.S. 64. Initially, it started as a toll bridge. In 2001, It was replaced with a modern, four-lane bridge.

"We tried to give a name to the bridge but the Highway Department said it was to be called the White River Bridge," Gayney Schmidt, Augusta Chamber of Commerce president. "It's still our bridge."

Concrete parts from the old bridge were placed in a memorial at Preller Park, located near the bridge.

The Batesville Bridge was built in 1928 and traverses the White River on U.S. Highway 167. The bridge was replaced by a modern bridge in 1979, Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh said.

The two-lane Newport Bridge, constructed between 1929 and 1930 by the Missouri Valley Iron and Bridge Company, carries U.S. 367 across the White River.

Even though the steamboat era might be part of the past, the White River is still an important character for the towns today.

The White River Water Carnival, Arkansas's oldest annual water event that started in 1943, is still held in Batesville.

"Growing up in the '40s and '50s, I remember when contestants would walk across the barge for the beauty contest," Harley said.

For the town of Augusta, they still pay respect to its storied history. One of the town's logos reads "Augusta, a port on the White River."

"Everyone loves the river," Schmidt said.

- egano@ arkansasonline.com