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Madison County, Arkansas - Vintage

Images of and relics from Madison County, AR.
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Another "treasure from the attic" item.
10 / 15

Another "treasure from the attic" item.

According to the hand-written caption on the back: "Eliza Baker", one of my great-grandmothers. She's the young lady with the hat, front and center.

Location unknown; given her apparent age, this could be in Madison County or might be in Kentucky. The young man standing front and center is likely her brother, Benjamin Harrison.

The original photo is a severely degraded 2" x 3" snapshot, but a surprising amount of detail could be recovered. Biggest surprise: Yes, those are railroad tracks in the foreground -- but the timbers in the background are hand-hewn fence rails. The peak of the stack is about 25 feet high.

You don't need a fork lift if you've got time, determination and a strong stubborn streak.

Eliza HarrisonBenjamin HarrisonEliza Bakerfence railsrail fencerailroadrailway

  • "1 Mile West of Pettigrew"<br /> <br /> My great-grandparent's 1920 Ford Model T Touring Car. L-to-R: My great-grandmother Helen (Mooney) Barker, unidentified child, and daughters Elva, Gladys and Gail. Hand-written caption on the original negative reads "1 Mile West of Pettigrew".<br /> <br /> Digital image restored from original negative.
  • Pettigrew, AR - mid / late 1930's, looking east along current route of AR Highway 16.<br /> <br /> This picture really tells the story of "What happened after the boom-town days?" -- Twenty years earlier, the right-hand side of the image would have been stacked full of milled timber ready for transportation on the railway. At the time of the photo, the depot freight yard, streets and storefronts are empty. Grass is growing up along the tracks. Unidentified boy standing at the siding switch (right-hand, mid-ground in image) looks east toward town and the Boston Mountains.<br /> <br /> Original negative in my collection, from my father's papers. Shiloh Museum has a copy in their archives.<br /> <br /> Digital restoration (c) 2013 - Daniel P. Martin / ozarkimageworks.com
  • Postcard - Kingston, AR Presbyterian Church<br /> <br /> M. L. Zercher - Topeka, KS Postcard (early / mid 1920's?)<br /> <br /> Digital restoration from original postcard.
  • Hand-written caption from back (inset, upper right corner): "Mrs. Eliza J. Baker, B. H. BP"<br /> <br /> My great-grandmother, Eliza. Of the other two, not sure which one is B.H. and B.P.
  • As the story was handed down to me: First aircraft to land in Madison County, AR, at the St. Paul Reunion (predecessor of the "Pioneer Day" gathering in St. Paul). The original photo is a badly deteriorated 2.5" x 3.5" B&W print; upper right inset is the hand-written inscription on the back of the print -- my maternal grandfather's pencil signature in grade school-boy cursive, and a later ink addition "St. Paul Reunion".<br /> <br /> Leroy was born in 1905, and the original print shows wear and tear consistent with the print surviving time as part of a young boy's treasure collection.<br /> <br /> I'm not an aviation expert of any sort, but am willing to hazard a guess that this is a Curtiss model JN-4 ("Jenny") bi-plane. Correction from more well-qualified folks would be welcome. The original photo is undated; after the end of WW-I, the JN-4 was popular with "barnstorming" pilots.<br /> <br /> The "Jenny" was built primarily as a training aircraft for deployment during WW-I. Tons more information available here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_JN-4">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_JN-4</a><br /> <br /> In the high-resolution scan, the tail number appears to be C245. If that's correct, some time after it's detour through St. Paul Arkansas, this machine later wound up in Canada and met the fate of many other training aircraft: <a href="http://flyingmachines.ru/Images7/Crowood/109-3.jpg">http://flyingmachines.ru/Images7/Crowood/109-3.jpg</a><br /> <br /> The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture mentions several early aviation events in the NW Arkansas region during the 1910's, though not this particular appearance in SE Madison County. Article available here: <a href="http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryid=4589">http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryid=4589</a>
  • Postcard - "Business Section, Huntsville, Arkansas"<br /> <br /> Undated postcard photo of the Huntsville town square - mid- to late-1930's.
  • US Post Office - Dutton, AR - Early 1970's.<br /> <br /> In the late 1960's and early 1970's, this Post Office was an occasional tourist stop -- it was one of the smallest in the region, with a foundation footprint of about 10' x 12'.<br /> <br /> Digital restoration from severely deteriorated Polaroid print; original photo from early 1970's, not long before this office was closed.
  • Pettigrew School - Group Photo.<br /> <br /> If cold weather and hard work builds character, the faces in this photo prove there's plenty of character to go around.<br /> <br /> Digital restoration - Original print dated Feb. 1955.
  • Greater metropolitan Huntsville, AR - late 1910's / early 1920's.<br /> <br /> Digital restoration of original postcard image.
  • Another "treasure from the attic" item.
  • Blotter -- Dr. Kilmer's Swamp Root
  • Promotional Fan - Putnam Dyes
  • The Citizens Bank of Pettigrew, Arkansas - ABA
  • The Citizens Bank of Pettigrew, Arkansas - Vick & Clay
  • The Citizens Bank of Pettigrew, Arkansas - American Express Money Orders
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