Saturday, May 20, 2006

Mount Olive

The building is a hotel/Boarding House that operated during the early 20th century. It's pretty grown up and about to fall. I am told that it was originally the home of Elijah Jeffery, son of Jehoiada Jeffery and father of Isaac Jeffery who was killed by jayhawkers while home on furlough during the Civil-War. The track runs just a few yards from the old structure. From what I could tell, it the original frame was of hewn logs, dovetailed. The roofing material is of ornate tin sheets.

Update - The House/Hotel/Boarding House is no longer standing. It was dismantled and some of the materials used in other structures in the area. Only the chimney still remains as a monument to its existence.

Other photos:

The iron ring was originally used to secure paddlewheelers to the bank of the White River.

For some interesting fossils check out Izard County Root Fossil Bed!





















5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you notice the pressed metal roofing on the backside of the old hotel? That is something you just dont see anymore. It would be interesting to see where that came from.

Anonymous said...

Here I go again. When I was a young boy, and you may remeber this to, there was a large iron ring through the iron ring in the rock at Mt. Olive that you have pictured approx. 8 in in diameter. Someone has pryed it away and taken it. My Grandmother told me that as a child(around 1897 or 1898) they would hear the steamboats blow as they were crossing the shoals and fixing to dock, they would run as fast as they could down to the river just to get a look at the steamboats.

Al-Ozarka said...

Thanks for reminiscing, Anon.

Your reflections grace the page.

Cheers!

Jamie D. said...

Did I read somewhere on this blog that the boarding house turned out to be Elijah Jeffrey's homeplace?

Al-Ozarka said...

Yes, Jamie! The old boarding house along the track was Elijah's home.