Plum Point/Osceola, Arkansas

Plum Point/Osceola, Arkansas. Mississippi River Walk. , A) Plum Point , Mile 782.0 AHP, The channel off Plum Point was widely considered the most dangerous stretch of the lower Mississippi in the early 1800s. A vast assortment of snags, imbedded tree trunks and sandbars produced wildly erratic currents that foamed around the point with a loud roar. To dramatize the effectiveness of his new invention, the snagboat, Captain Henry Shreve chose infamous Plum Point for its first demonstration in 1829. An innovative double hull design allowed the craft to straddle snags and pull them out of the water with a winch. The prototype snagboat, Heliopolis, removed a large number of Plum Point's worst snags in a few hours work, and the U.S. Government soon appointed Shreve superintendent of navigation improvement. , One of the major naval engagements of the U.S. Civil War occurred off Plum Point in 1862. The Confederate River Defense Fleet consisted of seven old steamboats converted to rams. Their guns were unimpressive, but their massive ironclad bows could easily smash through a boat's hull. The Rebel fleet surprised two U.S. gunboats in Plum Point Reach and rammed them, quickly sinking both. Three more Union vessels appeared from upriver, and the Confederates retreated down to Memphis. After many defeats, this small victory was a great occasion for the Rebel river force. Plum Point still requires close attention to keep the channel stable. , B) Osceola, Arkansas , Mile 786.0 AHP, This town was first called Plum Point when it was established on the river bank in 1837. It was later renamed for the great Seminole chief, Osceola, many of whose tribe resettled in Arkansas. Shrewd early settlers persuaded steamboat captains to stop at the tiny village by keeping cheap firewood stacked on the shore. Among river travelers, the town was known for its aid to the frequent victims of boat wrecks on the notorious Plum Point stretch. Osceola had developed a thriving river trade by the Civil War, but it was still too small to attract much military attention. In the early 1900s, the river channel shifted, positioning Island No. 30 directly in front of Osceola. Osceola is the commercial center for a cotton and soybean farming area.