History of Snow Lake
(Excerpts of the 1973
programs of the Desha County, Arkansas, Historical Society reprinted here with
permission.)
Mississippi Township was the
subject of the meeting of the Desha County Historical Society held Monday
night, March 12, at the Desha County Court Building in McGehee.
This is the most northern township
of the county and viewing a map of the county it resembles the handle of a hand
ax. The area, with Snow Lake and
Laconia, had the unique distinction of being featured in the syndicated
“Believe it or Not” news item a few years ago.
The reason being that there is a levee called “Laconia Circle Levee”
which encloses some 14,000 acres of land and the towns of Snow Lake and Laconia
are protected from the flood waters of the Mississippi River.
The township was in the 1800’s a
miniature portrait of the Old South.
Mr. and Mrs. J.L. (Jim) Britt of Snow Lake were featured in an interview
reported by C.C. Stuart, Society president.
Mr. Britt stated that there were in the area at that time 14 palatial
homes that today would cost around $100,000 each; 50,000 acres of cleared
alluvial land, second only to the Nile River land in productivity, cotton
farming as a way of life, transportation by river, seven stores, two schools,
two saloons and three and four doctors in the area in the 1800s. He said that before the public schools were
opened instruction was conducted on most of the plantations. The land still remains as productive as ever. Two old homes remain and are occupied. The homes were built in 1833.
The Britts are pioneer residents
of the township. Mr. Britt’s parents
emigrated from Ireland to the United States in the 1800’s coming to the home of
a relative in Chicago, IL. There they
learned of the fertile lands of the lower Mississippi River Valley and of
cotton selling for $1.00 per pound, so they moved to what is now Mississippi
Township, and landed at Laconia Landing on January 4, 1869. They farmed land owned by Captain Rice, a
horse fancier, later of Varner, Lincoln County, who owned race horses that he
ran on most of the tracks of the nation….
(Coordinator’s note: In an interview with Michael Jones, 2005 president of the Desha County Historical Society and descendent of the Britt’s, Mr. Jones said that there were four communities at the boat landings around Laconia Circle with Snow Lake inside the old levee loop. Along the levee were: Beith, Knowlton (whose namesakes came from New England), Laconia and Henrico (whose namesakes were direct descendents of Patrick Henry.)