Video: 2009 "Spring Splash" Road Trip

A better quality version is available at the EIC TV YouTube page in three-parts!

First of All...Thanks to All!

What a day, Saturday!


Thirty-Two vehicles winding along the Guion Road...around 100 people descending upon Guion, Lafferty, and Gid...great music, a truly unforgettable historic presentation, and a fat-reducing hike! The "Spring Splash" Road Trip was truly a wonderful experience for those of us at EIC!


And surely a historic occasion for our website and even the county itself!


The most amusing part of the trip? Lawncare workers doing double-takes and yard-dogs stopping their play to watch in bewilderment as the tour passed-by!


We want to thank everyone who participated in the event, Mrs. Mary Lafferty Wilson for her excellent history lesson, Dwayne Spangler for the awesome music, all those who encourage us to continue finding things to post and activities to host via e-mail, everyone who donned the yellow-shirts to help as Event Staff, the many who drove hours to be with us, the Izard County Historical & Genealogical Society for joining us, individuals who bought T-Shirts, merchandise, and made donations to the Trimble House Project, our sponsors who made it all possible, and most especially...the landowners and caretakers who graciously allowed us to visit such wonderful places!


Give us a day or two to collect photos and video from staff and participants and we'll begin sharing the entire experience through more photos, videos, and slideshows,

Again, thanks to all of you!

Jones Bottom (Stone County)

A drive across the river from Guion and along White River's Jones Bottom resulted in some interesting photos, most notably the 1944 Mountain View Herald edition with the shocking headline story as well as the Tuberculosis screening announcement.

Why We Do What We Do

This past weekend, Newburgian and I went to investigate a couple of spots in the county where schoolhouses once stood. A friend had told us about one spot where his late aunt had taught near the site of the Vickery Cave off of State Highway 58 (Guion Road)....another friend told us about the old schoolhouse at Gid which was rumored to either still stand...or to have burned in recent years. It had burned...the foundation remains.
On the way back home, we decided to travel along the old Tate Road between State Highway 58 (Guion Road) and Melbourne...one of the very early roads in the county. The tornado that swept through the county in early February paved a path of destruction across this old road along a branch of Rocky Bayou. As it did so, it cleared underbrush that partially hid an ancient log home while also removing the home's roof. The roof has been replaced since and the magnificent old structure stands alone on the decimated landscape facing Rocky Bayou.
Why, you may ask, have I informed you of these encounters with Izard County's past?
Because our experience last Saturday gives the perfect excuse to also inform you of our reasons for putting so much time and energy into this site.
Izard County is rich in early Ozark history, tradition, and culture. As you may have deduced by browsing through our sidebar, there are many examples of homes, schools, churches, and other structures which are still viewable in our area...each challenging interested parties to explore the known history as well as the lost history that they represent. A lot of the county's history is a complete mystery due to the various fires that destroyed its courthouses in the past.
Destruction has come at the hand of both nature and the hand of man over the centuries. The tornado mentioned above also destroyed the majestic bulk of the Shell House which stood along County Road 289 (Zion Road). Near the intersection of 289 and old State Highway 69 near Sage, the same tornado ripped apart one of the "pyramids of Izard"...an old house with a pyramid-shaped roof. The latter, we were able to get photos of and have them stored. The former was one of those places we kept saying, "You know? We REALLY need to get some shots of the Shell House before it's gone forever."
Guess what?
It's gone.
Forever!
Thanks to Mrs. Betty McCollum, we have some photos of it that she had kept herself.
Other structures have been dismantled or burned by landowners to make way for new construction or larger pastures.
This is the basis for why we do what we do at EIC. We want to preserve these places for future generations...whether by assisting in any restoration efforts or by documenting remaining structures with photographs.
It is also our goal to interest others who value the heritage of Izard County in getting involved in the preservation of these wonderful sites...both man-made...and natural geologic features.
But...the main reason we do what we do is because...well...we LOVE doing it!
We hope you LOVE IT that we LOVE IT!

Note: I would like to apologize for not getting this up as a mid-week post as advertised in last week's e-mail. A new semester began this week and "busy" doesn't even begin to describe the activities necessitated by the fact.



Old Lunenburg Schoolhouse finally succumbed to the elements around 1989. Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Grimes

Guion Schoolhouse

River Run Road House! (Guion Flood-Damage)

UPDATED PHOTOS AND NEW VIDEO BELOW!

River Run...a Road along the White River below Guion...was devastated by the recent flood. 18 out of 20 houses along the road were swept downstream...some have yet to be located. One cannot be missed!

Our heart goes out to those who lost their homes and peaceful getaways.

Video below.

3/19/08 Flood (White River,Guion)

The Lord May be Willin' but...

...Well...see fer yerse'f


UPDATE!!

These are shots from Calico Rock. The photo of the ruined building beyond the trout dock sign is amazing considering that the arrow points upriver to where that very dock (Jenkins) was located...2-3 miles. There is a video of it wedged against the bridge before it passed beneath and ended up here...below the bridge.

The individual bungalows of the Wiseman Motel are seen nearly covered with Calico Creek and the River.

Holiday Weekend Wandering

Guion/Sylamore Road Shelter Cave

Guion Road/Guion