Friday, October 16, 2007: From Arkansas City into Greenville, Mississippi

In the morning we drove down to Arkansas City, Arkansas, near the Mississippi River. During the steamboat area, Arkansas City was a major steamboat stop on the Mississippi River. When the Mississippi River ate Napoleon, the county seat was moved to Arkansas City. The 1927 flooding of the Mississippi River, one of the worst natural disasters in US history, changed the course of the river away from Arkansas City. Arkansas City went into decline, but the county seat remains because the two large towns in Desha County would never agree on where the county seat should be moved. So imagine Admire, Kansas, as a county seat and you have a good picture of Arkansas City.

Kathy's plan was to find out something about the time her great-great grandfather, Samuel Woods Reid spent in Napoleon as a young man. This is where he also joined a Confederate unit called the Napoleon Grays. Family stories about Sam make it believable that he was a part of this hard-drinking bunch of Irish riverboat men! More about this is included here.

It was hoped that Sam would at least show up in a poll tax listing of some type for a year or two so a period of residence would be established (he is listed in the 1860 census at Napoleon). These types of taxes were based on who could vote (mostly adult, white, males) so a young man without property might show up in these listings. Unfortunately, even though the county employees were very helpful, and we checked records in three different buildings, we didn't find anything new on Sam's time in Desha County.

Beside the old high school, now the county courthouse annex, is the boyhood home of John H. Johnson, the publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines.



From Arkansas City crossed the river to Greenville, Mississippi. We spent the afternoon doing laundry. In the evening we ate at "Doe's Eat Place." We entered and left the restaurant through the kitchen. When the waitress approached our table she asked us what we wanted to order. We said we have not seen a menu. She told us the menu was simple

• 10 oz. filet steaks
  
• 2 pound ribeye
• 3 pound T-bone
• 4 pound sirloin
• tamales, or
  
• shrimp
• everything comes with fries
• you can also get a dinner salad with their special oil-vinegar and lemon dressing.

We ordered the 10 oz. filets. Chris ordered a salad. There were two other large tables in the room. At both tables, people had brought bottles of whiskey in sacks and were drinking whiskey out of glasses. We drank one bottle of beer each. While we waited for our meal we read about the fame and culture of this place in a 1994 article from the Fort Worth newspaper. Though I have eaten steaks previously that I could cut with a fork, I do believe this is the best steak either of us has ever eaten. The steaks cost about $33 each. The total bill was $82+. (Without a menu, and without asking, this can come as somewhat a surprise!)

We camped in the city's campsite, Warfield Point Park, down by the river. The spots were nice with plenty of room, but the whole place needs to be refurbished. Restrooms have rusting metal stalls, etc. The sinks are definitely kept clean, it isn't that. It justs needs some loving care.