Between the years of 1873 and 1927, Arkansas
City had one of the most important ports on the
Mississippi River. Before being an established
port, a steamboat landing was located at this
site as early as 1834, This port was also known
as the . . . — — Map (db m299004) HM
The county seat of Desha County, named for Captain Ben Desha. Was located in 1838, soon after the creation of the county, at Napoleon where it remained until 1874. — — Map (db m299001) HM
Accompanied by Henri de Tonti on their way down the Mississippi River in 1682. Landed near the mouth of the Arkansas River. They spent several days at a nearby village of Quapaw or Arkansas Indians. — — Map (db m299688) HM
The Flood of 1927 was the greatest disaster
ever suffered by the county. Breaks in the
Arkansas and Mississippi River levees, within
the county covered the land with water from
4 to 30 feet in depth in April and part
remained until summer. Most . . . — — Map (db m299003) HM
Johnny Johnson was born January 19,
1918 to Leroy and Gertrude Johnson in
Arkansas City, Arkansas. This house is his
boyhood home. Johnny Johnson and his
mother relocated to Chicago, Illinois in
1933. He was a renowned
entrepreneur , . . . — — Map (db m299919) HM
The X.O. Pindall Law Office was built
Circa 1882 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The law office of the former Arkansas Governor was given to the
University of Arkansas at Monticello by Robert and Beverly Moore on December 13, . . . — — Map (db m299918) HM
The Arkansas Indians (the down stream people), a branch of the Quapaw tribe, lived in Desha County. Their presence was first recorded by Marquette and Joliet, French explorers, in 1673. They were known as les Beaux Hommes. La Salle while . . . — — Map (db m107809) HM
This important river port, county seat of Desha County from 1838 to 1874, was located 24 miles east at the junction of the Arkansas River with the Mississippi. The town was finally abandoned after most of it washed into the Mississippi River. — — Map (db m107758) HM
In mid-February 1863, Confederate troops at Cypress Bend fired on Union transports on the Mississippi River. On Feb. 19, a force of Union cavalry and mule-mounted infantry set out in pursuit. The Union troops drove off enemy pickets before . . . — — Map (db m107693) HM
The first school in McGehee was started about 1903 in a one room frame building at this location, with Miss Puntney as teacher. In 1905, in this building Reverend J. L. Cannon organized the McGehee First Methodist Episcopal Church. There were ten . . . — — Map (db m229500) HM
In memory of each serviceman in Desha County, who gave their lives for their country in World War II. The American Legion Auxiliary Unit of the Claude E. Jaynes American Legion Post 79, passed a resolution to make Seamans Drive the site for this . . . — — Map (db m229497) WM
Where you now see cotton fields, 432 barracks once housed about 8,000 Japanese Americans.The Camp was surrounded by a barbed wire fence linking eight guard towers from which armed guards watched the camp and internees. The cam was divided by . . . — — Map (db m170077) HM
Years of discrimination and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to the forced removal and imprisonment of Japanese Americans. All Japanese Americans on the West Coast were affected by the forced evacuation - including women and . . . — — Map (db m169429) HM
Internees tried to re-create a life they might have lived
outside of confinement.
Earning money in camp was a constant struggle for internees, bills still had
to be paid on property left behind and everyone needed to buy clothes, . . . — — Map (db m169434) HM
Dedicated to the Patriotic Japanese-American men from Rohwer Internment Camp who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country in World War II.
U.S. Fifth Army - 100 Battalion - 442 Regiment
Cassino Anzio . . . — — Map (db m170092) HM WM
The Rohwer internment camp included a 500-acre area for internee living quarters and more than 10,000 acres of surrounding land for farming and timber harvesting. Officially labeled a relocation center, the internment camps for Japanese . . . — — Map (db m167628) HM
The U.S. entry into World War II led to the forced removal of-
nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast
The Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7,
1941, and America declared war on Japan the next day. . . . — — Map (db m167967) HM
Babies were born, children went to school, adults had jobs, and some people died here during the three years that the Rohwer camp operated. The traditional Japanese family structure was threatened by the camp's communal living conditions: . . . — — Map (db m170078) HM
"Let's teach (our children) that even in a life such as this, our hearts do not despair, that,
although wwe left behind many material things, we did not leave our courage, our fortitude,
and our ability to do the best with the least." . . . — — Map (db m169055) HM
The relocation center sites were chosen because of their distance from the West
Coast and for their suitability and isolation as secured, closed camps. Inside The Relocation Center The loss of their former lives was profound for the . . . — — Map (db m169430) HM
Local Ingenuity
Most communities along today's Delta Heritage Trail were once railway town-settlements created near rail routes where none existed before. One exception is Laconia Circle, an area close to Snow Lake with an
18-mile levee . . . — — Map (db m299923) HM
A Brief History of this Railroad
1873 New York financier Jay Gould purchases Union Pacific Railroad stock.
1879 Gould buys controlling interest in Missouri Pacific Railroad.
1881 Missouri Pacific buys control of St . . . — — Map (db m299926) HM
Walk or bike this trail
into the heart of the
Arkansas Delta.
Your journey on this
historic rail route
transports you through
time, connects you with
communities, and reveals
rich Delta heritage.
The State of Arkansas acquired this . . . — — Map (db m299927) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m299922) HM
Watson became the county seat of Desha County after Napoleon was abandoned to the Mississippi River. Lewis W. Watson donated the land and built the courthouse near this site. The county seat was moved to Arkansas City in 1880. Watson remained the . . . — — Map (db m107757) HM
