[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 18, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO THE CITY OF MANILA

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                           HON. MARION BERRY

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 18, 2001

  Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
Arkansas city that celebrated its centennial on July 3rd. I am proud to 
recognize the City of Manila in the Congress for its outstanding 
community spirit and its contributions to Arkansas and the nation.
  Manila was incorporated in 1901 after a population and industry boom 
in the area. Recordings of Manila go all the way back to the 1500's 
when Hernando de Soto crossed the Mississippi River. Accounts taken 
from his travels talk about a Native American settlement, although 
there were several European settlers also said to be living in the 
area.
  Manila is also known for being a settlement of fugitive Cherokee who 
snuck away from the Trail of Tears as they were being forcibly driven 
from Georgia in 1838. The swamps were so overgrown that the federal 
soldiers didn't want to go look for them and simply declared them as 
dead. These runaways later settled in what is today Manila and the 
surrounding areas.
  From its beginning, Manila was primarily an agriculture town. The 
people in the area lived on the plentiful game and fish in the area and 
developed an industry by shipping it to markets in St. Louis, Chicago, 
and as far east as New York. Later, timber became the chief industry. 
Logs would be sent to mills down the river until the quality and 
quantity of the timber reached the railroad industry. In 1900, the 
Jonesboro, Lake City, and Eastern Railway extended its line to Manila. 
With the railroad came a schoolhouse, general store, a mill, and a 
population boom.
  Today Manila is still growing. In fact, it is the fastest growing 
town in Mississippi County. That is why I rise today on behalf of the 
citizens of the First Congressional District, the State of Arkansas, 
and the United States Congress to wish the City of Manila a happy 100th 
birthday.

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