Eunice, Arkansas

Eunice (also Eunice Landing and Railroad Township) is a ghost town on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Chicot County, Arkansas, United States.[1]

Eunice, Arkansas
Ghost town
Looking north on the Mississippi River from Eunice
Eunice
Eunice
Coordinates: 33°32′51″N 91°13′59″W
CountryUnited States
StateArkansas
CountyChicot
Elevation
131 ft (40 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID61708

The settlement was completely destroyed by the Union Army during the American Civil War.

History

Eunice was the eastern terminus of the Mississippi, Ouachita and Red River Railroad (MO&RR), the first railroad chartered in Arkansas. Construction of the line began in 1852, and by the start of the Civil War, 7 mi (11 km) of track had been laid west from Eunice.[2] The railroad was completed after the war, but was abandoned in 1875 after flooding on the Mississippi River damaged the railbed and bridges.[3]

Arkansas Highway 208 between Eunice and Halley was built on top of the abandoned railbed.

Civil War

On June 14, 1863, Confederate rebels at Eunice fired artillery onto the Union gunboat USS Marmora. The Marmora returned fire, and then anchored at Eunice. The next morning, the union gunboat Nebraska was fired upon as it approached Eunice. Both the Marmora and Nebraska bombarded the town with artillery, and then sent a party ashore. The soldiers set fire to stores, houses, and the railroad depot, destroying the town. The commander of the Marmora reported: "not a single vestige of the town of Eunice remains".[4]:126

No rebels were found.[4]

Today

The Yellow Bend Port—a modern industrial port, harbor and turning basin—is located on the original townsite. Nothing remains of Eunice.[5]

References
  1. "Eunice Landing". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. Zbinden, Van (November 18, 2011). "Mississippi, Ouachita and Red River Railroad". Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
  3. Stroud, Hilliard; Merritt, Jim (1981). "McGehee: The Town and the Man". Rootsweb.
  4. Bragg, Marion (1977). "Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River". Mississippi River Commission.
  5. "Yellow Bend Port". Arkansas City Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
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