12 Marble Steps & Stone Arched Doorway Under Bull Shoals Lake.
An opinion from someone who loves Ozark Lore!
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐬, 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬
Picture taken at the home of Col. Randolph "Ran" DePriest Casey, in Mtn. Home, Arkansas, circa 1890. I placed birthdates next to the children to guesstimate the photo's date. Sometimes, birthdates can get a little spongy! Mary Ann Messick stated it was near 1890.
I have also added the full names of the ladies & girls, if possible, instead of i.e. - Mrs. J. B. Simpson because the naming technique back then bugs me. A little over 80% pictured here are buried in the Mountain Home Cemetery.
From left to right, Back row:
• Lugilla "Hicks" Simpson/Mrs. J. B. Simpson
• Mary Cummin "Wolf" Casey/Mrs. J. M. Casey
• Judge, John Samuel Russell
• Zephaniah McCarver "Z.M." Horton
• Miss Angeline Carter - Mtn. Home's 1st Elem. Teacher
• Dr. Jeremiah Brady "J.D." Simpson
• Rebecca Jane "Casey" Hicks/Mrs. Thomas Irby Hicks
Second row:
• Dr. John Madison "J.M." Casey
• Randolph Casey "R.C." Paul
• Kate Paul "Hicks" Horton/Mrs. Z. M. Horton
• Prof. Ambrose Joseph "A.J." Truman
• Orrin L. Dodd
• Elizabeth Catherine "Smith" Casey/Mrs. R. D. Casey.
Third row:
• Catherine Benson "Casey" Paul/Mrs. C. B. Paul
• Irl Milas Paul
• Randolph DePriest Casey, Jr.
• Gertrude Simpson, b.1887 - married Alonzo Jones, June 16, 1909
• Lucile E. Horton, b.1888 - married Randle P. Sharpe
• Annie Simpson
• Col. Randolph "Ran" DePriest Casey
• John Murphy Simpson, b. 1889
Boys on the bottom row:
• Hiram Casey, b. Jan 15, 1883
• Thomas "Hicks" Simpson, b. 1884
• Paul Horton
𝐀 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 - 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗼 𝗖𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆
I get questions every so often about this headstone. So, I’ll post it here. Within the Grisso Cemetery, a worn headstone engraved with lettering still faintly reads:
𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤
𝐔.𝐒. 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫
𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟎
The name “Black” has puzzled many, as formerly enslaved people are buried in this cemetery. In the context of history, Black soldiers weren’t officially recognized until afterward the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. One of the first notable examples of African-American troops being mustered into Union service was the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, which was formed on March 13, 1863.
A little closer to home, we have the 1st Regiment, Kansas Colored Infantry (later called the 79th). They were also not mustered into official service until January 1863, even though the regiment had already participated in the action at Island Mound, Missouri, on October 27, 1862. Additionally, these troops were rostered as Colored.
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An
unidentified African American soldier poses with his family for a
portrait made between 1863 and 1865. This image was found in Cecil
County, Maryland, leading researchers to believe that this soldier
probably belonged to one of the seven United States Colored Troops
regiments raised in that state. This ambrotype is part of the
Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs at the Library of
Congress. Colorization by Vincent S. Anderson |
By virtue of the date, 1860, we know this is not an African American soldier, but it is a soldier with the last name “Black.”
Although this soldier’s first name, origin, and personal history remain unknown, his presence and death are still recorded on this eroding ledger of stone, marking the end of his journey.
I also found a potential clue in Fulton County, Arkansas, records—a marriage between the Black and Grisso families. Perhaps this hints at a connection to the soldier’s stone.
Enjoy Your Ozarks' History!
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝?
A common question lately has been, How were people buried in Stone-Box Crypts?
Here are some examples of Cumberland Stone-Box Crypts from the Old Hurst Teagarden Cemetery in Marion County, Arkansas, where there are notably many infant burials. I have also posted two Stone-Box Crypts from the Grisso Cemetery.
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| Cumberland Stone-Box Crypt in Old Hurst Teagarden Cemetery |
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| Cumberland Stone-Box Crypt in Old Hurst Teagarden Cemetery |
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| Child's Cumberland Stone-Box Crypt in Old Hurst Teagarden Cemetery |
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| Child's Cumberland Stone-Box Crypt in Old Hurst Teagarden Cemetery |
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| Cumberland Stone-Box Crypt in Old Hurst Teagarden Cemetery |
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| Cumberland Stone-Box Crypt in Grisso Cemetery |
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| Collapsed Cumberland Stone-Box Crypt in Grisso Cemetery |
The stone boxes are native to the Cumberland Valley of Middle Tennessee, dating back to the Mississippian Culture, approximately 800 to 1600 A.D.
By around AD 1200, the Mississippian, Native-Americans of Nashville developed this distinct form of burial to honor their dead—the stone-box grave. It is believed that white settlers observed and adopted this method for burying their loved ones.
If a burial took place in winter, a fire would be built to thaw the ground before digging the shallow grave. This explains the presence of ashes within some graves—not as evidence of cremation, but as a practical necessity.
The term "Cumberland Stone-Box" was first introduced by Robert “Bob” Ferguson in 1972.
Enjoy Your Ozarks' History!
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
The 𝙊𝙯𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣
One of my favorite old steamboats, the 𝙊𝙯𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣. In my perfect world, I would rebuild this Ozark classic as a hands-on, educational museum on the White River. It only takes about 8.3 million and a contractor willing to build it historically correct with the specs.
𝙊𝙯𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣 in Calico Rock, Arkansas, prior to 1896.
Sternwheel, wooden hull, packet, built in Batesville, Arkansas, in 1896.
1896: Owner/Master, Capt. C.B. Woodbury for White River service.
1903 (May): Master, Capt. William Shipp & Pilot, John Shipp (Shipps Ferry). The 𝙊𝙯𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣 was in the Batesville-McBees (1 mile N. Of Cotter) trade.
1904 (December): Condemned at Memphis and sold to Capt. M.F. Bradford.
1906: Rebuilt and renamed the 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙢𝙖 in Madisonville, La. Owned by Bradford Transportation Co. Ran New Orleans, Lower Terrebonne, Sugar Refinery and Houma, and on Bayou Lafourche to Lafourche Crossing.
1909: Capt. T.W. Cook, with A. Rodriquez, clerk.
She escaped a bad windstorm at New Orleans only to be destroyed by fire soon after in September, 1926.
Photo from Dr. Abraham Photo Gallery at the Baxter County Library
Colorization by Vincent S. Anderson
𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧
Steamboats 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙡 & the 𝙅.𝘼.𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨𝙤𝙣 at 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧 below Buffalo City, Arkansas.
The steamboat 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙡 was Built in 1889 at Sioux City, Iowa, she was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and could carry 44 tons and 32 passengers. The 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙡 bought by Winner and Hadley in 1892 to haul supplies for the Springfield, Yellville, and White River Railroad being built from the mouth of the Buffalo River to Yellville, then planned to go on to Forsyth and Springfield, Missouri. The 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙡 ran between Batesville and Buffalo City, with many trips to McBee's Landing, near the present town of Cotter. Mr. C. P. Pond was in charge of the Randall. Captain Will Warner of Batesville was the master of the vessel for much of the time.
Captain Charles Woodbury was master of the 𝙅.𝘼.𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨𝙤𝙣.
𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧
The legends of 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧 assembled by Clifton E. Hull for the 𝘼𝙧𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙨 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 in August of 1985.
The place was given the unusual name of 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧. How it got its name has become a legend, and what is truth and what isn't is impossible to determine. During the bustling days before the railroad was built, a large boarding house was erected to accommodate the growing crews of tie cutters and timber workers. The landlady had more work than she could handle, so she hired a young girl who lived back in the hills near Norfork. The girl's name, of course, was Nellie.
It was inevitable that she would attract the attention of some of the younger boarders, and she finally devoted most of her affections to one particular Cassanova who had a reputation of wooing every girl he met. Their friendship soon developed into a serious courtship and Nellie was in figurative heaven. Then one day her young man was notified that he was being transferred to a similar wood yard at Calico Rock.
The lovers were separated by 25 miles of the twisting White River and the intervening ridges of the wild Ozark Mountains, but he promised he would write to his Nellie frequently until they could be together again. After a tearful parting, he boarded a shallow-draft riverboat and disappeared downstream, borne away by the swift-flowing river. Day after interminable day passed and no letter came.
Nellie waited, hoped, and made excuses, and then, one day she received word from an acquaintance that the gay deceiver was courting one of the sweet young things at Calico Rock. The world of fantasy ended for Nellie that day. In the evening after the chores were done, she went for a walk along the banks of the river, seeking solace from the whitewater rapids and the deep blue-green pools of the swift-flowing river.
Nellie had failed to return by the time the long shadows of evening came marching across the mountains and her worried friends organized a search party. They hunted along the riverbank anxiously seeking some sign of Nellie, and loudly calling her name. Finally, one of the parties found the large apron that Nellie had been wearing when she left the boarding house. It was lying on the bank beneath a large elm tree. Here the waters of the White River swirled and swished the pool angrily over a rocky shoal to enter a deep dark pool of water.
The next morning the search party dragged the river well downstream, but Nellie was never found. Whether the heartbroken girl had drowned or had simply left her large apron as a decoy while she made her way across the rolling mountains to the oblivion of a new life is a secret kept by the cold, swift-flowing waters of the White River.
Version #2
However, another version of the legend has young Nellie living near the little station on the railroad.
One day, Nellie was walking along the track searching for a cow that had broken out of the pasture, and while making her way along the winding track that closely followed the tortuous channel of the White River, young Neile discovered a broken rail. While wondering how she could notify someone about the danger, she heard the long wail of a locomotive whistle.
Within a few seconds, she knew, the speeding train would plunge into the deep waters of the river, so running frantically along the track, Nellie tore her apron from her waist and began waving it wildly back and forth. The engineer saw her desperate signal and brought his train to a shuddering stop only a few feet from the broken rail.
The station at 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧 was removed along with the rails in 1936.
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The closing chapter of the 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧 was written when Norfork Dam was constructed in 1941 on the North Fork River.
Great quantities of river gravel were required as aggregate for the concrete in the structure and one prime source was the heavy deposit known as the Lowe Buffalo Bars, about two miles downstream from the point at which the Buffalo River joined the White River. More than one million cubic yards of gravel were taken from the river, and in the ensuing years, floods on the White River also changed the appearance of the banks in the area.
Today
The only vestige of Nellie's Apron to survive the passing years is the weathered weed-grown embankment where the rails of the siding had lain. Nevertheless, the legend of 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧 still lives in the memory of a few old-time railroaders who rode trains along the twisting White River Division of the old St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railroad.
Was young Nellie fact or fiction?
Hmmm....
Well the fact is that an Apron on the river bank from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary is:
The area along the waterfront edge of a pier or wharf.
So, now, we need to find Nellie!
𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙡 & 𝐉𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐨
The Buffalo River made headlines again when a rare chunk of smithsonite (zinc carbonate), weighing 12,750 pounds, was mined at the Morning Star Mine on Rush Creek. Initially, plans were made to transport the massive specimen overland by wagon to Walton’s Ferry at Buffalo City, but the weight proved too much for the steep, rough roads, forcing the plan to be abandoned.
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| 1893 - Jumbo Colorization by Vincent S. Anderson |
A barge was eventually constructed at Rush, and the specimen was floated down to the mouth of the Buffalo River.
The steamer 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙡, commanded by Capt. C.E. Pond, met the barge, transferred the heavy cargo onto its deck, and set course downstream for Batesville. With Capt. Pond walking the deck and Capt. Will Warner at the helm, the 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙡 safely transported the prized exhibit to Batesville, where it was shipped by railroad to the World's Columbian Exposition—commonly known as the Chicago World's Fair—held from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World.
The Rush, zinc nugget, named "Jumbo," was proudly displayed at the Exposition. However, the fair once again highlighted the significant transportation challenges faced in the remote wilderness of the Buffalo River region.
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| Steamboat Randall Colorization by Vincent S. Anderson Photo from Dr. Abraham Photo Gallery at the Baxter County Library |
I am always grateful for historians of the past like Duane Huddleston, who have documented the history of the White River and the Ozarks. Thanks to his diligence, our rivers have been carefully chronicled.
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