In the Beginning...
BACKGROUND
The Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad (MNA) was built on a shoestring at the beginning of the 20th Century into the previously isolated area of the Ozark Mountains in North Arkansas. Its well deserved nickname, “May Never Arrive” was based on its car number prefix and company initials was resignedly known throughout the area and the industry. Although nicknames for railroads were common and usually a mix of pride and criticism by employees, such as “Uncle Pete” (UP) and "MoP” (Missouri Pacific) few were so apropos.
Early decisions, without the benefit of hindsight, established a 350 mile railroad that went from “Nowhere to Nowhere.” Its beginning was the St. Louis and Eureka Springs Railway which served the solid business purpose and quick success of connecting the beautiful and popular resort city of Eureka Springs, AR with its healing springs and beautiful scenery, to St. Louis and other cities. It connected with the Frisco and Kansas City Southern railroads at Joplin and Neosho, MO.
That grand success led railroad investors and politicians to continue on with the railroad into the heart of the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks. This area was almost inaccessible and extremely isolated from the rest of the country, which was at the time in the middle of enormous growth and the beginnings of economic prosperity.
What followed was a rapidly, if poorly, built rail line from Joplin, MO to Helena, AR which brought commerce and prosperity to an area that sorely desired and needed access to the outside world. The MNA established its main yards and headquarters in Harrison, AR.
Soon, subsistence farming was transformed into the shipping of strawberries, apples, pears and other fruits and agricultural goods to outside the area. Zine and silica sand mining was facilitated by access to available markets. The world’s largest cooperage (barrels) was built and prospered. The harvesting and milling of timber became the area’s largest industry, not only for building of the railroad and supplying local industry but to export out of the area. People were able to travel routinely and get mail quickly. Importing of finished goods and other luxuries items was more efficient and cheaply available.
Soon, subsistence farming was transformed into the shipping of strawberries, apples, pears and other fruits and agricultural goods to outside the area. Zine and silica sand mining was facilitated by access to available markets. The world’s largest cooperage (barrels) was built and prospered. The harvesting and milling of timber became the area’s largest industry, not only for building of the railroad and supplying local industry but to export out of the area. People were able to travel routinely and get mail quickly. Importing of finished goods and other luxuries items was more efficient and cheaply available.
The owners and managers of the MNA envisioned a fast bridge line connecting Kansas City and New Orleans. These grand plans were dependent on connections and agreements with other railroads. The north end supplied two railroads for that purpose although always a precarious and dependent arrangement. At Helena, having completely bypassed Little Rock with its excellent rail connections, the MNA ended at a ramp and car ferry on the Mississippi River . It crossed the river for a single connection with the Illinois Central Railroad to get to New Orleans. To make things less tenable for the MNA was that two other already existing rail lines had shorter routes between the two cities.
The Great War led to the federal government taking over the nation’s railroads for the duration in 1918. The effect of this was artificially raising all the salaries of MNA employees to national standards. A shop laborer made the same salary as his counterpart in New York or Chicago with their much higher cost of living. The MNA ran at a huge loss during the war. The tab was paid by the federal government.
When the war was over, traffic dropped and the government returned the railroads to their owners in 1920. The MNA could not continue the salaries, which were well above local levels and stay in business. This led to the longest railroad strike in U.S. history, involvement of national labor unions, the tearing apart of the area economy, a local civil war and domestic terrorism that split communities, churches and even families. A MNA union leader was lynched from a railroad bridge and industry and many local businesses closed. The American Red Cross was called out for the first time for a non-natural disaster that left thousands homeless and starving.
When the war was over, traffic dropped and the government returned the railroads to their owners in 1920. The MNA could not continue the salaries, which were well above local levels and stay in business. This led to the longest railroad strike in U.S. history, involvement of national labor unions, the tearing apart of the area economy, a local civil war and domestic terrorism that split communities, churches and even families. A MNA union leader was lynched from a railroad bridge and industry and many local businesses closed. The American Red Cross was called out for the first time for a non-natural disaster that left thousands homeless and starving.
National railroad union leaders stated publicly that if the MNA “could not provide a living wage for its employees then it did not deserve to exist.” Local union leaders spent their days sitting in chairs holding strike signs in front of the courthouse in Harrison, AR. They sipped moonshine and drew strike pay form the national unions while the majority of the community around them lost their jobs, homes and businesses.
What outside observers didn't understand, especially national railroad union leaders embroiled in hard nose conflict with giant profitable roads and rich rail barons, was that the MNA was less a business and more a community service. It rarely squeaked out a profit. It was the lifeline of business, farming and access to the world outside the Ozarks for almost everyone in the area. Locals were heavily invested in the continued operation of MNA as the most vital piece of the community's infrastructure.
What outside observers didn't understand, especially national railroad union leaders embroiled in hard nose conflict with giant profitable roads and rich rail barons, was that the MNA was less a business and more a community service. It rarely squeaked out a profit. It was the lifeline of business, farming and access to the world outside the Ozarks for almost everyone in the area. Locals were heavily invested in the continued operation of MNA as the most vital piece of the community's infrastructure.
There was heavy destruction of railroad property by strikers: bridges burned down, trains derailed and locomotives heavily damaged by sulfuric acid poured in water tanks, The railroad eventually reemerged from the strike without the unions. Yet, the strikers continued on despite courts and federal labor boards ruling that the company that emerged from bankruptcy and under receivership of the federal government was a new entity. The bitterness and strife never seemed to end.
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A whole series of misfortunes, derailments, washouts and general disarray befell the “hard luck railroad.” WWII temporarily sustained the road with greatly increased traffic but a major washout in 1945 and the end of the war led to its final disintegration. The railroad was shut down, pulled up and quickly sold off for scrap in 1948.
Some evidence of it still exist: a couple of depots, a few bridges, a trestle, a collapsed tunnel and over 200 miles of embankment that were eventually transformed to roads or just abandoned. The economy and prosperity of the region never returned to its formal level. The effects of its closure still can be seen in the general decline and attitude of people in the area despite several generations having passed.
THE PROJECT
Much like the railroad we are going to explore, it seems we ‘May Never Arrive.” The plan is to explore the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad starting in Joplin, MO and follow the roadbed, where we can, all the way to Helena, AR. The exploration is expected to take a week to ten days. We will visit existing pieces that are left, such as depots, the Eureka Springs Scenic Railway, bridges abandoned out in the middle of nowhere. We will interview friends, family and hopefully even a couple of former MNA employees.
We will spend time at the Boone County Heritage Museum in Harrison. It has most of the MNA's existing records in their archive as well a huge display of MNA artifacts and photos. We will take photographs of existing structures and buildings, visit other museums. I anticipate spending time visiting a well maintained railroad boarding house in Elba, AR. This town had over 400 citizens when the railroad ran through it. It now has a population of four. (Six if you count the dogs.)
MNA Bridge, MP 215, Shirley, AR, now Van Buren County Road 125 Photo by Lee Phillips
We will spend time at the Boone County Heritage Museum in Harrison. It has most of the MNA's existing records in their archive as well a huge display of MNA artifacts and photos. We will take photographs of existing structures and buildings, visit other museums. I anticipate spending time visiting a well maintained railroad boarding house in Elba, AR. This town had over 400 citizens when the railroad ran through it. It now has a population of four. (Six if you count the dogs.)
We will do a daily podcast that will appear about a week apart as part of this blog.
We’d planned this trip this past fall and kept rescheduling to finally go just after Christmas only to have weather, health and scheduling conflicts with museums and people due to the holiday season delay us again. We are scheduling the trip March 19-27, 2016 to coincide with Spring Break at the University of Central Arkansas were I am working on a Masters in History. I hope to make this story a part of that.
This is not the first time this type of historical exploration of a railroad has occurred. However, this is one of the least commonly known railroads. Most people locally do not know a railroad ran through the area, much less how deeply impactful the MNA was on the economic growth and the later demise of the central Ozarks.
My favorite exploration and model for this project is a trip by David Haward Bain and documented in his book, “The Old Iron Road.” I am also influenced by a comprehensive history of the ingrained involvement of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the development of California and the west coast by Richard J. Orsi in his book “Sunset Limited.” I had the privilege of meeting him when he was researching for that book at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA.
In addition to this blog, you can follow us on Twitter at #mayneverarrive. We welcome all comments, suggestions and contacts for the trip. In a later blog I will post our schedule of where we will be and what we’re doing. Anyone is welcome to see and talk to us anywhere along the trip as long as you understand that we will be quite busy. Lee said anyone that wanted to buy lunch was especially welcome
THE TEAM
Lee Phillips is a retired high school Media Specialist from Florida who moved to Fairfield Bay, AR in 2011. He now enjoys teaching computing and digital photography classes as an Adjunct Instructor for Arkansas State University at the Fairfield Bay Community Education Center. His award winning photographs have been featured at four area exhibits and in numerous publications. Lee graduated with honors from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Educational Media, and the University of North Texas with an MS in Computer Education. He is a US Navy Vietnam veteran and recently finished publishing his fourth book. Lee will be videoing the interviews and our explorations. He has the thankless and tedious job of editing out podcasts.
RECOMMENDED READING
“The North Arkansas Line” by Dr. James Fair, 1982, ISBN 978-0831070773
“The Old Iron Road” by David Haward Bain, 2004, ISBN 0-670-03308-01
#MayNeverArrive
