Pie-eating time in Jasper

LITTLE ROCK — The invitation proved irresistible. Rhonda Watkins of Jasper asked me to judge the homemade pie competition held in conjunction with the 15th annual Buffalo River Elk Festival. The judging would take place on a Saturday morning with proceeds from a pie auction going to the Single Parent Scholarship Fund. How could I turn down a chance to eat free pie?

I turned off Interstate 40 at Russellville late on a Friday afternoon last month and began the climb north on Arkansas 7—past the empty buildings that once housed the tourist trap known as Booger Hollow, past the Rotary Ann Overlook operated by the U.S. Forest Service and past the Cliff House just south of Jasper, which has a small inn, restaurant and gift shop.

As I drove down the mountain into downtown Jasper, it was clear that the town was filled with visitors. Craftsmen crowded the grounds of the Newton County Courthouse, and music could be heard playing. With 8,330 residents in the 2010 census—down from 12,538 in 1990—Newton County is among the state’s smallest counties in terms of population. Only six counties—Calhoun, Woodruff, Lafayette, Dallas, Monroe and Searcy—have fewer residents.

Newton County is one of the state’s most isolated, scenic places. The area was made part of Carroll County in 1833, and settlers of European descent began moving in as the Indians moved out. Jasper appeared on maps as early as 1840, though it wasn’t incorporated until 1896. The Legislature created Newton County in December of 1842, naming it after Thomas Willoughby Newton, who was elected to Congress after the resignation of Archibald Yell. Jasper became the county seat in 1843.

In the 1860 census, only 24 slaves were in the county since farming was limited to fields along the Buffalo and Little Buffalo rivers. Union sentiment was strong, even after Arkansas joined the Confederacy. Change was slow to come. Highway 7 between Jasper and Harrison wasn’t paved until 1951. The current courthouse was built in 1942 as a Works Progress Administration project. There were high hopes when the Dogpatch USA amusement park opened in 1968, but the isolated location resulted in the park’s demise.

After congressional passage of the Flood Control Act of 1938, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified two sites for potential dams on the Buffalo River—one near its mouth with the White River and one just upstream from Gilbert in Searcy County. The pro-dam Buffalo River Improvement Association was led by James Tudor of Marshall, and the anti-dam Ozark Society was led by Neil Compton of Bentonville. The 1960s battle received national attention, especially when Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas floated the river.

In December of 1965, Gov. Orval Faubus told the Corps he couldn’t support the dam. Efforts to keep the river flowing freely received yet another boost in 1966 when Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt of Harrison defeated Democratic Rep. James Trimble, who had supported damming the Buffalo. Hammerschmidt joined forces with the state’s two Democratic senators, John L. McClellan and J. William Fulbright, in pushing to create a national river.

It became the country’s first national river on March 1, 1972. The bill’s signing ended a battle marked by decades of bitter debate. A park superintendent and chief ranger set up temporary headquarters in Harrison. National Park Service staff members eventually were divided into three management districts, and for years had to deal with residents angry about land they were forced to sell.

The Buffalo National River, though, has become a tourism success with more than 800,000 visitors per year to its 94,293 acres. Other attractions have developed. Horseshoe Canyon Ranch draws visitors from across the country for its horseback riding, outdoor cookouts and world-class rockclimbing opportunities. One of the longest zip lines in the country is being added. The owners, Barry and Amy Johnson, met when they were working at a Wyoming ranch while enrolled at Brigham Young University in Utah.

The pie judging began at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. I took bites of 24 homemade pies—blueberry, chocolate, peach, apple and more. After the pie auction, I headed west on Arkansas 74, stopping briefly at the tiny community of Low Gap to visit noted chef Nick Bottini, who operates the Low Gap Café in an old general store.

After leaving Low Gap, I took a right on Arkansas 43 so I could visit the beautiful new headquarters of Mike Mills’ Buffalo Outdoor Center at Ponca. Mills, who long has been among the state’s leading tourism entrepreneurs, offers everything from individual cabins to a lodge that can be rented for family reunions and corporate retreats. Mills, a Hendrix College graduate, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1969-71. He managed the Lost Valley Lodge in Ponca from 1974-76 and then began Buffalo Outdoor Center as a canoe-rental operation. Dinner Saturday night was in downtown Jasper at the Boardwalk Café, known for using buffalo, elk, locally grown produce and locally baked bread. Owners Joseph and Janet Morgan also operate the adjacent Arkansas House, which has two suites on the ground floor and three rooms on the second floor. I had elk gumbo with locally grown okra, which seemed a fitting way to end a visit to such a unique county.

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Freelance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.