French hunters and trappers constructed cabins on the White River at the mouth of Cache River in the late 1700s. By the 1820s, what was known as the Military Road between Memphis and Little Rock crossed the White River at Clarendon.
"By 1828, a ferry crossing and post office were established, likely attracting more settlers," W.R. Mayo writes for the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. "Monroe County was created on Nov. 2, 1829, by the Territorial Legislature from portions of Arkansas and Phillips counties with Clarendon becoming its county seat. It remains so to this day. ... The White River served as an important byway for Union forces during the Civil War and was heavy with gunboat traffic, with Clarendon serving as a skirmish point. After the war, the town resumed its role as a port for cotton and other commodities."
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway (commonly known as the Cotton Belt) built a bridge at Clarendon in 1883. Meanwhile, highway traffic continued to use a ferry until 1931, when a bridge was constructed. That bridge has been the subject of a battle dating back several years. A nonprofit organization known as the Friends of the Historic White River Bridge at Clarendon was formed in 2014 to advocate saving the span (a new one recently opened for traffic on U.S. 79) for use by cyclists, hikers and wildlife watchers.
"Only a lawsuit by the Friends of the Historic White River Bridge at Clarendon and the cooperation of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department in temporarily delaying the letting of bids to demolish it stand in the way of a mistake that will long be rued if the demolition is allowed to proceed," says Doug Friedlander of Helena, who's leading an Arkansas Delta tourism initiative. "Aside from the loss of what could be the centerpiece of a world-class bicycle route between Memphis and Little Rock, there are numerous ecological and fiscal arguments in favor of preserving rather than demolishing the historic bridge. Among these is the estimated $10 million to $15 million price tag for demolition and remediation, which will come out of both state and federal highway coffers. At a time of substantial federal deficits and with our state now exploring ways to increase highway revenues, it's hard to countenance this type of expenditure just to remove something that has a recipient willing to take ownership."
Friedlander left his job at a software company in the Research Triangle of North Carolina to come to the Arkansas Delta in 2004 to teach high school science as part of the Teach for America program. He says he wanted to make more of a difference in the world. A New York Times story from Helena in July 2013 began this way: "If you are from around here, you know Doug Friedlander is not. Born in New York City and reared on Long Island, Mr. Friedlander is Jewish and vegetarian and has a physics degree from Duke. But here he is, at 37, living in a roomy white house in this hard-luck Delta town of 12,000. Mr. Friedlander and his wife, Anna Skorupa, are part of a gradual flow of young, university-trained outsiders into the Delta's shrinking communities, many of whom arrived through Teach for America and stayed beyond their two-year commitment. Mr. Friedlander is now the ambitious director of the county's chamber of commerce. He frets over the kudzu that is devouring abandoned buildings. He attends Rotary Club meetings, where he sidesteps the lunch offerings for carnivores. He organizes workshops to modernize small businesses and pushes tourism and the development of a decimated downtown along the banks of the Mississippi. The mechanization of agriculture, lost manufacturing and a legacy of poverty and racism have taken their toll on the Delta, but Mr. Friedlander is thrilled to be here."
Across the Arkansas Delta, it sometimes takes those raised in other states to force natives to recognize assets such as the old bridge at Clarendon; assets that could be the building blocks for the region's future. A group of Delta natives has now joined forces with Friedlander to develop a regional plan centered on things such as bicycling, paddling, hiking, birdwatching, agricultural-based tourism and cultural heritage initiatives.
In a 2014 interview, Friedlander was asked to give advice to Delta newcomers. He said the first rule is to "have an attitude of respect and humility, not coming in like a superstar." He said the second rule is to "volunteer constantly and show up religiously. In any community, there's only a small subset of people who show up and do things, and when they see you showing up, they'll start to see you as a brother or sister." The third rule is to "share credit. Make other people look good." Though the young, talented newcomers are quick to share credit with the natives, they're the ones who have forced Delta residents to look at things in a new way. The fight to save the Clarendon bridge is an example of that. A decade ago, people would never have given the destruction of the bridge a second thought.
"The Arkansas Delta has fantastic assets for tourism that are largely unknown and underutilized," Friedlander says. "Like a keen investor, the trick is to identify an undervalued resource and invest in it before its value is obvious to everyone else."
------------v------------
Freelance columnist Rex Nelson is the director of corporate community relations for Simmons First National Corp. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial on 11/16/2016