Snow Lake: Transformed by the Rail

Snow Lake: Transformed by the Rail. . Era Ends, Era Begins , Large-scale farm and businesses were established here during the early 1800s, when people relied heavily on riverboats for transportation. As a formal community, Snow Lake was established with the arrival of the railroad in the early 1900s, and its founding marks a transition from riverboats to trains. Thornton Clark and Company which dealt in real estate, capitalized on the new rail line by negotiating the construction of a depot on its private land. This depot and surrounding area remained unnamed for a while until Annie Thornton, a local resident with ties to Thornton Clark and Company, suggested the name Snow Lake-a nod to a nearby body of water featuring snowy white flowers., Compared to boats, the rail line was faster for passengers and freight -an advantage for all residents. Advancing the area further was the fact that Thornton Clark and Company cleverly constructed stores and housing for railroad workers arriving at this emerging town., Reliable By Rail , In 1905, the Snow Lake post office opened, and the community witnessed the inaugural freight train route from Helena and McGehee. The following year, passenger service began with additional routes soon added to St. Louis, Missouri, and Ferriday, Louisiana, No longer reliant on steamboats and the cooperation of the ever fluctuating Mississippi River, businesses and passengers reaped the rewards of rail reliably and rapidly. The railroad also expanded settlements because people no longer needed to live near navigable waters., A Major Center of Operations , Snow Lake grew and transformed after 25 years of rail. The main line via spur lines, connected communities to logging and farming operations. Eventually over 30 buildings were constructed here that were associated with the railroad. Into the 1920s, trains coming through Snow Lake were loaded with coal and water for steam power locomotives. The surrounding Delta landscape was quite swampy. Bridges were necessary to cross water-logged areas, numerous workers who maintained these bridges resided in Snow Lake in bunk cars. All of these improvements aided commerce in Snow Lake. A platform was put in to load baled cotton from places such as the C. M. Stevens Cotton Gin that operated at Snow Lake in the 1920s., Safety By Rail , The rail line provided vital relief during the Great Food of 1927. After major levee failures that year, many area residents went to the Snow Lake Depot to board a train operated with orders to move people to safety, even if they could not pay fares. About 2.000 local people were displaced by the high waters. The railroad shipped in tents and provided boxcars for shelter., Snow Lake Today , Transformation continues here with the ending of rail service and the creation of Delta Heritage Trail State Park. Start the journey on the trail reflecting on the sounds, sights, and aromas one might expect to experience in the early boom days of the railroad. Imagine the scent of smoke from a steam powered locomotive and the sound of shoveled coal. Consider the legacy of this rail line as you examine one of the many bridges along the trail, most of which rest on the original wooden rail trestles. Gaze out over today's landscape and reflect on what emotions passengers experienced on a train, rushing away as the area filled with floodwaters., Text under the baled cotton: Bales of cotton waiting to be loaded on train at Snow Lake in the 1960s. Photograph taken by Ernie Deane, Snow Lake, Ark., October 14, 1963 [Britt and Purtle, view I] Ernie Deane Collection, Call number: ECD1766-6, Arkansas State Archives Archival Vault, Text under bottom left picture: Cotton being brought to gin in Snow Lake in the 1960s. , Photograph taken by Ernie Deane, Snow Lake, Ark., October 14, 1963 [Gin, view 2] Ernie Deane Collection, Call number: ECD1766-5, Arkansas State Archives Archival Vault, Text under the train picture: "Missouri Pacific train, high on it's embankment, fords the floodwaters in 1927 at Snow Lake" Photograph taken by unknown, Snow Lake, Ark., 1927, Disaster photograph collection, Call number bc_pho_11_07291,Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at Central Arkansas Library System.