[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN HONOR OF POCAHONTAS' SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

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                           HON. MARION BERRY

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 19, 2006

  Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the city of 
Pocahontas in Randolph County, Arkansas, which will celebrate its 150th 
anniversary this year. This is a significant milestone for the 
community and for all who helped shape the city's history.
  Pocahontas has a long history dating back to the 1700's when the 
region was occupied by the French and a number of Indian tribes, 
including the Osage and Cherokee. The city's first settler, Ransom S. 
Bettis, arrived from Greenville, Missouri, in the early 1800's and is 
credited with helping establish Pocahontas as the county seat.
  Pocahontas began as a significant river port and the first supply 
stop in Arkansas for travelers coming down Old Southwest Road. Several 
famous frontiersmen, including Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, General 
Ulysses S. Grant and others, made stops in Pocahontas during this time. 
Even today, the city continues to serve as a strategic educational and 
agricultural center for Randolph County and the state.
  The city constructed its first courthouse in 1837, a 40 feet by 40 
feet two story structure. After the courthouse collapsed in 1870, 
Pocahontas residents replaced the structure in 1875 with the historic 
courthouse that remains today. The courthouse is a central landmark in 
Pocahontas' historic downtown business square with most of the 
commercial outlets renovated to compliment the building.
  Pocahontas served as a major recruiting, training, and supply center 
during the Civil War. The city housed as many as 10,000 men after 
Arkansas withdrew from the Union on May 6, 1861. These men helped the 
state prepare for combat and secure the northern border from invasion. 
Federal troops even burned a section of the city, including the 
Pocahontas newspaper office, during the conflict.
  The late nineteenth century through the mid-1920s marked a golden age 
for Pocahontas. The city had seven hotels and forty-three steamboats 
that navigated the Black River and turned Pocahontas into an important 
port of commerce. During this time, Pocahontas landed the Hoxie, 
Pocahontas, and Northern Railroad in 1896, completed the Hauk 
Railroading Company's connection of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to 
Pocahontas in 1902, and watched the San Francisco Railroad construct a 
new railroad bridge across the Black River in 1911. Other early 
industries included four button factories, a brick company, Hanauer's 
cotton gin, the Grafton Stave and Heading Company, and the Pocahontas 
Bending Works, which made wooden parts for wagon wheels around 1901.
  Development slowed during the 1920s and 1930s until several 
industries began to locate in the area. In 1942, Pocahontas landed a 
factory that made powdered eggs for the army and employed about 500 
residents. Brown Shoe Company came to the area just a few years later, 
becoming the largest employer in Pocahontas. Other factories came in 
the 1960s including McGee, Aircraft Engineer, Cinch, and Pro Group, 
followed by Amerace ESNA in the 1970s.
  Pocahontas continues to benefit today from its central location 
between the hills of the Ozarks to the west and the rich farmland of 
the Delta to the east. Tourists and residents flock to the region's 
five rivers year-round for all types of recreational activities 
including fishing and canoeing. The city is also home to the Black 
River Technical College which contributes significantly to the region's 
educated workforce.
  This month, friends and residents of Pocahontas will kick-off a three 
week long celebration honoring the city's 150 years of history. I ask 
my colleagues to join me in congratulating Pocahontas, Arkansas, on 
this significant milestone. We send our appreciation to the city's 
citizens for years of hard work and dedication to their community, and 
wish Pocahontas many more years as a wonderful place to live and raise 
a family.

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