Arkansas
City-- A busy riverport
and railroad terminal in the two decades before 1900, Arkansas City saw its
destiny changed as the "Mighty Mississippi" moved its shipping channel
away from the town. Today, access to the river is several miles away in
each direction. The town is now Desha County's seat of government and home
for farm managers and employees and for workers at nearby industries. It is
also considered a good place to retire, and boasts the best-tasting
drinking water in the state. Back
Gate -- Said to have
received its name because it grew up around the rear entrance of a large
county prison farm on the Arkansas River. The prison farm's front entrance
was near the present Arkansas River highway bridge at Pendelton. Dumas -- Located in the western part of the
county on US Highways 65 and 165, the present town grew from the site of W.
B. Dumas' general store and cotton gin. It is now the county's largest town
in point of population Kelso -- This small farming community, some 14
miles northeast of McGehee, came into being in 1903 when a railroad station
was located there. No one seems to know the origin of its name. McArthur -- A farming community named for
"Zack" McArthur, member of an early family that settled here.
Pickens -- Named for Reuben A. Pickens Sr., on
whose farm the town is located. It was formerly known as Walnut Lake. Rohwer -- When the Memphis, Helena and
Louisiana Railway Company was building its McGehee to Yancopin line in
1901, a station was established here and named for a "Mr.
Rohwer," the superintendent and engineer in charge of the railroad's
construction. During World War II, a temporary Japanese Relocation Center
was built here by the U. S. Government to house Japanese-Americans from the
west coast. Watson -- An important early farming community
and trade center in the north-central portion of the county. It was named
for Lewis W. Watson, owner of the plantation on which it was located. When
the town of Napoleon was declared unsafe in 1874, the county seat was moved
to Watson, where it remained until 1881, when it was moved to Arkansas
City. Belleville/Red
Fork -- Chicot
City – Located three miles north of Arkansas
City on the Mississippi River. It
was a stop along the Little Rock, Pine Bluff and New Orleans Railroad. Chicot City was eventually abandoned
when the railroad was relocated after the 1875 flood.
Desha
County's Present Towns
Halley (Bowie Station)
Snow Lake
Former
Towns and Places