Ozark Island No. 75
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Napoleon, Arkansas
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Rosedale, Mississippi

Ozark Island No. 75, also, Napoleon, Arkansas, also, Rosedale, Mississippi. Mississippi River Walk. , A) Ozark Island No. 75 , Mile 579.0 AHP , Ozark Island occupied the middle of the river south of Napoleon in the 1800s, and the treacherous channel on its west side snared many steamboats. One of the strangest incidents involved the steamer, Belle Zane, which hit a snag here in the 1840s. For reasons never understood, the boat quickly flipped upside down, and only 16 on board survived. The river channel later moved east, and Ozark Island is now part of the Arkansas shore. , B) Napoleon, Arkansas , Mile 582.0 AHP , Founded at the mouth of the Arkansas River in the 1820s, Napoleon was one of Arkansas chief ports before the Civil War. It was a busy transfer point for shipping between the Arkansas and White Rivers and the Mississippi. A U.S. marine hospital was built here in 1855. Early in the Civil War, Confederate guerillas were active in the area around Napoleon. They rolled artillery pieces back and forth across the neck of Beulah Bend to the east. Taking two opportunities to fire on Union boats. The U.S. Navy dug an artificial cutoff in 1863, bypassing Beulah Bend and the rebel ambushes, and most of the town of Napoleon was burned. The new channel rapidly eroded Napoleon Point, and the remainder of the town gradually caved into the river. By 1882, Napoleon, Arkansas had disappeared. , C) Rosedale, Mississippi , Mile 589.0 AHP , In the 1800s several settlements were attempted along the Mississippi River between the mouths of the Arkansas and the White Rivers, but only Rosedale, MS has survived. Its main rival was Riverton, a few miles south, which boasted a mule-drawn railway to the interior. A short distance upriver on the west bank lay Cumbyville, AR which fought constantly for survival against the combined currents of the Mississippi and the White. Cumbyville finally washed away, and the river deposited large sandbars in front of Riverton and Rosedale. Riverton disappeared in the 1880s, and Rosedale was left 2 miles inland from the river. In the mid 1900s, a new harbor was constructed in a chute south of the town, restoring Rosedale's status as a river port.