So… Once we’re off the ‘superslab’, our trips
almost always reveal something of interest…in this case, 3 more old railroad
depots.
Our route took us north from Lonoke to
the town of Beebe. This town started out
as just an intersection of the railroad with the road that later became
Arkansas Rte. 31. The town now has a
population of 7,315 and it’s actually growing.
This depot was built in 1910 by the
Missouri-Pacific Railroad. It is listed
in the National Register of Historic Places.
The town was named after Roswell Beebe, the President of the Cairo and
Fulton Railroad. The first train
actually rolled through town back in 1872.
The current tracks belong to the Union Pacific Railroad.
In 2011 Beebe made the national news
twice in a 12 month period. The first
time was when 3,000 blackbirds and starlings fell from the sky…dead. The second time was a repeat performance…this
time with over 5,000 dead birds! It was
determined that fireworks caused the first ‘die off’.
This is the former
Missouri-Pacific Railroad’s freight and passenger depot in Clarksville
Arkansas. It was built in 1910 in the
Mediterranean style that was so prevalent at the time. The building used to have a tile roof to
match the architecture but unfortunately it’s been replaced with conventional
roofing materials. The depot is listed
in the National Register of Historic Places.
The town of Clarksville
has a population of about 9,300 and the area is known for it’s peach crop. The depot is now owned and used by the Chamber
of Commerce. While the Union Pacific mainline
runs right through town, unfortunately the tracks next to the depot have been removed…
Believe it or not, this
was the Missouri-Pacific Railroad Station in Altus Arkansas. It’s located right on U.S. 64 and it was built
ca. 1920. The building was used as a
community center for some time but, as you can see, it’s now the home for ‘Big
T Liquor’. The first depot was built for
the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railway back in 1874. The last passenger train came through here on
May 15, 1936.
The area around Altus
was once a center for coal mining but the last coal mine closed by 1940. As a matter of fact, there is a monument to
coal miners adjacent to this building and it’s made from columns of solid coal. This little town of roughly 825 is now the
center of a wine growing region…with 4 wineries in the immediate vicinity.
The town’s other claim
to fame was as the focal point for one of television’s first reality shows.
(FYI…I really don’t like reality shows!) In any case, back in 2001, Paris
Hilton and Nicole Ritchie arrived in town to begin filming their original show, “The
Simple Life”.
Just click on any photo
to see a close up of any of these depots…
Thanks for stopping by
for a visit!
Take Care, Big Daddy
Dave
This is very interesting and of course, I shared it will Bill since he is a RR man, starting out with the L&N many years ago in Louisville. I'm not very informed about the MP, but Bill filled me in and your post did also. Interesting with the coal mines too! I enjoyed your Bob Evans post below, could totally relate to it and left you a comment there.
ReplyDeleteI remember when those birds died..i thought that was the strangest thing and yet was hardly mentioned....I grew up in the coal mines of Pa...take a road trip here sometime!!
ReplyDeletethis is so neat--and i remember the show the simple life--i actually thought it was pretty good---sorry about your friend
ReplyDelete