Hopefield, Arkansas

Hopefield was a small community on the Mississippi River in Crittenden County, Arkansas.[1] Its location is near or included within the current limits of the city of West Memphis, Arkansas.[2][3] It was a ferry crossing point to Memphis, Tennessee,[2] and was served by an east-west rail line built by the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad that eventually became a mainline of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.[4][5] During the American Civil War General Stephen Hurlbut had the town burned to combat rebel activity.[2] It was rebuilt, hit by a series of Yellow Fever epidemics, and diminished by erosion.[2] Hopefield Chute, an Ox Bow also called Dacus Lake, and Hopefield Lake are in the area, as well as some remains.[2] G. W. Watson moved there.

The area was once known as Camp Esperanza under Spanish rule.[6] In the 1840s there were plans to develop land in the area.[7] Several locations in the area were surveyed and marked.[8]

An 1880 report discusses the area being quarantined with mounted men stationed to patrol it.[9]

  1. ^ "Hopefield (historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Encyclopedia of Arkansas". Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
  3. ^ "West Memphis". Discover Arkansas. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "The Memphis and Little Rock Railroad (M&LR)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "Publications of the Arkansas Historical Association". The Association. February 15, 1911 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Shinn, Josiah Hazen (February 15, 1908). "Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas". Genealogical and Historical Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Court, Arkansas Supreme (February 15, 1918). "Arkansas Reports: Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas, at the ..." Woodruff Print. Company – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Survey, U. S. Coast and Geodetic; Sutcliffe, Walter Draper (February 15, 1934). "First-order Triangulation and Traverse in Arkansas (1927 Datum)". U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Association, American Public Health (February 15, 1880). "Public Health Papers and Reports". American Public Health Association. – via Google Books.