The Memphis & Little Rock Railroad

The Memphis and Little Rock Railroad was chartered on January 10, 1853, and was built in pieces. The eastern third, Hopefield to Madison, was finished by November 1858, and the western third, Huntersville to DeValls Bluff, by 1862. The middle did not close until April 11, 1871, when the DeValls Bluff drawbridge was completed. The state put in $1.2 million in 1868 to finish it, against an estimated cost of $3.2 million. The company defaulted, was sold in December 1873 and changed hands again before it became part of the Rock Island system.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Louisiana Purchase State Park — 25 mi
  A National Historic Landmark in a headwater swamp where Phillips, Lee and Monroe counties meet, marking the initial point of every survey of the Louisiana Purchase lands.

More markers nearby

• Memphis & Little Rock Railroad — steps away
• DeValls Bluff in the Civil War — steps away
• Monroe County First Courthouse — 10 mi
• Clarendon in the Civil War — 10 mi