other portions of the southland, let us
review the conditions of the present.
With an area of 650 square miles and
a population of 30,000, there is evidently
great development ahead if a large part
of the land be tillable, for in the South
the amount of cotton land, which one
man can work, is very small compared
with that in corn and other products of
the North. Lying largely between river
valleys, the surface of Jackson is level
and the soil alluvial to sandy.
In the extreme southwestern section
the hills enclose the fertile bottoms and
offer a most excellent fruit country, hav
ing the advantage of a nearby railroad
for shipment. This land embraces about
9,000 acres, and can be bought at very
low prices, and will raise such peaches
as have made the Ozarks famous, such
apples as held the blue ribbon floating
over the Arkansas exhibit at the Louisi
ana Purchase Exposition, such straw
berries as each year supply the early
markets of the North at fancy prices,
reaping rich returns for the growers of
this state. All kinds of small fruit do
well upon our hill lands and the grapes
of our vineyards ripen without rust.
The horticultural premiums at the great
Fair of last summer were given fof size,
quality, flavor and coloring, and the
highest awards were won by north Ar
kansas fruits. The fruit lands in the
West and North bring high prices, but
in this section lands available for"'this
purpose that could be made to blosson
as a garden are very cheap.
Cotton is the chief product of our
county, the average yield being 800 to
x puunus <^x accu luuuu pcx civ^i
though our rich bottom lands are capa
ble of a bale to the acre. Jackson alone
produces about 30,000 bales, though the
compress at Newport will handle this
season over 95,000 bales, which, with that
shipped to Memphis and other points
from here before compression, foot up
an aggregate of nearly $5,000,000. The
general purpose of the South to reduce
the acreage of this staple found a ready
acceptance among the farmers of Jack
son County, and in the planting of this
season a decrease of one-fourth in the
acreage will be generally followed. The
South raises almost the entire supply of
the world’s cotton, and will thus un
doubtedly force a higher price and more
profitable margin for her leading staple.
No section produces a finer grade of cot
ton than the White River bottoms, and it
might be of interest to know that thou
sands of bales have been sold this year
to the factories of the Mikado’s realm.
The demand for the fleecy article in the
far Eastern markets is fast increasing
and the building of the Panama Canal,
in bringing us closer to these vast mar
kets, heralds an era of the highest pros
perity for the South.
Not only do we produce the raw ma
terial of our clothing, but many of our
cereals, the staff of life. Jackson County
dirt is capable of 30 to 75 bushels of
corn; 15 to 40 bushels of wheat; 25 to
70 bushels of oats; 20 to 50 bushels of
rye and 40 bushels of field peas. Both
Irish and sweet potatoes are lucrative
crops in our sandy lands, producing 100
to 400 bushels to the acre.
Much bottom land is being planted in
alfalfa, and there is a home market for
this hay at $15 per ton. With three, and
perhaps five, cuttings per season, the re
turns of this crop are readily seen to be
enormous. Timothy also does well and
brings about 2,500 pounds to the acre;
clover 6,000 pounds, and millet 4,000
pounds.
The raising of stock has heretofore re
ceived little attention, but a number of
progressive land owners have introduced
finely bred horses, cattle and hogs, and
their raising promises to become a very
successful industry.
Land and timber have been magic
words with the developers of this coun
try and many a fortune have they held
in store for those who have had confi
dence in their rising values. The vast
forests of Jackson have since the early
settlements withstood the drain of the
saw mills’ continuous hum and there is
yet much cypress and red gum in her
bottom lands. Oak, hickory and ash
still abound in considerable quantities
and there is abundant raw material for
the manufacture of all kinds of wooden
ware.
The mussel industry has been an im
portant factor in recent years. The bars
of White and Black Rivers are covered
with mussels, whose shells are worth
from $6 to $14 per ton for the manu
facture of pearl buttons. Such a factory
is located at Newport and another at
Black Rock. While the shell supply is
temporarily low by reason of the profits
of the industry and its speculative char
acter, the shell beds are soon replen
ished and the industry will doubtless at
tain its old-time importance. In one
season $300,000 was paid out for pearls
at Newport and $120,000 for shells.
The chief towns of Jackson County
are Newport, the county seat; Tucker
man, a progressive town of 500, on the
Iron Mountain Railroad, and the market
of a very fine agricultural section; Jack
sonport, the terminal of the Rock Island
branch from Brinkley, located at the
mouth of Black River, a fine factory site,
with 300 people; Tupelo, on the Rock
Island, with 300 people and a growing
town; Swifton, on the Iron Mountain
Railroad, with 200 population; Au
vergne, Weldon, Shoffner, Grand Glaize,
Olyphant, Grubbs, Elgin and Diaz.
The rates of taxation are reasonably
low—.01875 on the dollar in the county
W I —————— I ■—■■■■■!■ .. I. ..■■■■■■■■■■ I I !■■■■.
Photo by Bowen.
Arrival of Joe Wheeler—Five Hundred Bales of Cotton—Largest Boat-load Ever
Brought Down White River—Lying at Newport Wharf.
and .02375 in the city of Newport, and
the assessed valuation will hardly exceed
50 per cent. Lands in cultivation vary
in value from $20 to $50, while wild
lands can be secured at most any price,
depending upon the value of their timber
and the fertility of the soil.
In the development of a greater Ar
kansas, Jackson County is certain to
share richly in the tide of capital and im
migration turned this way. Though long
Photo by Bowen.
Unloading Cotton at Newport Wharf from River Barge to Railroad Car.
suffering the prejudice aroused by mis
representation, the awakening of a coun
try to her manifold resources has at last
dawned and the state doth honor herself
in pointing with a finger of pride to fer
tile Jackson.
NOT as the first settlement of the
pioneer, nor as the historic scene
of the activities of our elders does
Newport lay claim to attention, for her
founding is comparatively recent among
the river towns of the state. It was not
the river landing, but the railway station
which founded a city here upon the
banks of White River.
In 1872, when the St. Louis, Iron
Mountain & Southern Railway Company
was building through this state, a sta
tion to be known as Newport was lo
cated here in consideration of the dona
tion of certain property, Jacksonport
three miles northward, at the mouth of
Black River, having refused to encour
age the company to build that way.
With the development of the country
which followed the building of this road
and the advantage to Newport of rail
way facilities, the new port soon sur
passed the old port in business, and in
1886 the courts and county seat followed
the march of trade, Newport becoming
the authorized heir of Jacksonport’s bus
iness and political importance.
Her growth has been steady and sub
stantial, with no booms to react and kill
her progress, no stagnation of public en
Photo by A. H. Mize & Co.
Loading Shells on White River.
terprise and pride to lose the confidence
of the people in the roseate future of her
ultimate destiny. “Business” has been
the vital effort of her past and among
the cities of Arkansas there is not one
with a better reputation as a business
point. Perhaps, in the pell-mell of such
a life some municipal advantages and
improvements have been neglected, but
all such factors in the building of a city
are now receiving proper attention. Ab
sorbed in business opportunities, she has
pushed ahead, notwithstanding such hin
drances, but the value of paved streets,
good walks and modern buildings has
been recognized in recent years and re
markable transformations have occurred.
In location, both as regards the coun
try whose retail and jobbing trade we
secure and the city markets from which
we must buy and with which compete,
Newport has equal advantages. St.
Louis, Memphis and Little Rock form
the points of a triangle about us, each
connected with us by direct railway lines,
accessible yet sufficiently distant to give
us a wholesale territory and prevent the
retailer from suffering the ruinous com
petition of the big city store.
A city of 5,000 people, few cities can
boast of equal freight facilities, such as
the competition of two great systems—
the Iron Mountain and Rock Island—
forced to meet river rates, has given
Newport.
Newport is well reputed a healthful
city, enjoying for a water supply the
clear White River fresh from the moun
tains. Levees afford protection from
possible overflows and the swampy
marshes, giving way before drainage and
cultivation, no longer furnish cover for
the chill and food for the fever. Pipes
for sewerage are being generally laid
over the city and the. organization of an
improvement district to add this safe
guard for the public health is only de
layed until the ownership of the water
system can be acquired, July i, 1907.
Our advantages are specialized in the
succeeding pages, to which we invite the
reader’s attention. Three business streets
have been macadamized; the older bust
ness blocks are gradually being replaced
with more modern structures. Best of
all, the spirit of progress has taken firm
hold and should work wonders in the
coming years.
In public buildings, Newport has a
$45,000 court house; a $12,000 city hall;
a $15,000 opera house; a $12,500 public
school building; a $12,000 county jail
under construction; also colored school,
and six churches.
In business enterprises, one cotton oil
mill, two compresses, one stave mill, one
button factory, one cotton gin, two bot
tling plants, one foundry, three banks,
one grist mill, two wholesale houses,
four department stores, three hardware
and furniture stores, two lumber yards,
four dry goods and clothing stores, one
shoe store, one clothing and men’s fur
nishing goods store, four drug stores,
one book store, two tailoring establish
ments, three implement houses, two sad
dlery and harness establishments, one
caterer, five restaurants, two milliner}
stores, fourteen grocery stores, three
meat markets, five barber shops, one
bowling alley, one pool hall, one com
mission office, seven hotels, three news
papers, three undertaking rooms, two
plumbers, one marble yard, two bakeries,
two photograph galleries, three black
smith shops, three jewelry stores, six
saloons, one shoemaker, two paint firms,
three abstracters, six real estate firms,
*. ' ' ’