Timber Shaped the Delta

Timber Shaped the Delta. . Arkansas experienced a number of economic advances in the first quarter of the 20th Century. Extensive railroad building in the late 1800s set the stage for economic growth., Although the Delta's popular economic image is King Cotton, lumbering reached an all-time peak in the early 1900s. Railroad lines allowed easy access to remote timberlands, and those same railroads could ship lumber to markets across the country. The result was a boom in logging. Companies raced for timber, and towns near the huge forests of the Delta were in the spotlight., Sawmills depended on river and rails to ship finished lumber to growing markets in the north. At the turn of the 20th Century Parkin, Arkansas, had river, rail, and vast, uncut timberlands. Parkin was poised to take advantage of the timber boom., [Caption] Lumbering reached its peak in the early 1900s and towns like Parkin, near the huge forests of the Delta, were in the spotlight. Photo courtesy American Lumberman magazine and Library of Congress