Early History of Phillips County

The Land, the Legends and the Lore

by Patty Smith

Published 2020

Sometimes Life Is Just A Matter of Perspective

With all the latest discussion over the current water bills, it behooves us to look at the water situation of long ago. The very early settlers collected water in one of several ways. They could walk to the river or nearest stream and gather their daily water intake with buckets. Some probably collected rainwater from roof runoff in barrels, or they dug a well. Regardless of which method they used, it was no easy task. Water still had to be hauled, and if you had livestock and other animals, crops planted, as well as a large family, as many did, then the task could become quite burdensome.

Most of the water in this area came from underground streams, of which there were many, both in Helena and on Crowley’s Ridge. This stream or creek water originated from underground artesian wells. In fact, these streams were so numerous that much of what we called Old Helena was often flooded by these streams. An 1820 plat map shows a large stream coming from north of Walker Street, across McDonough, Miller, Market, Perry, Porter and down to York Street. Another stream came from the ridge on the north end ran down across Pecan and Elm. Lower areas of Beech, Columbia, Franklin, Perry and Porter, Rightor and York Streets were very often flooded. Dale Kirkman, in volume 4, Number 2 of the Phillips County Historical Quarterly stated that the first Jefferson School, located on what used to be the old Safeway store, was a four room school, built on ten foot pilings and had walkways to the school due to the flooding. At recess, pupils sat on the high board walks and fished in the eight or nine feet of water. If you notice the old concrete bridges along these areas, you will note that this is the area that presented with the biggest problem. At some point, dirt was taken from the hill where First Baptist Church stands, as well as other areas, to fill in low sections of the city. Raising this mid section of Old Helena definitely helped, but even today you have water standing underneath buildings in downtown Helena from these natural artesian wells. You then had the overflow of the Mississippi River, creating horrendous flooding episodes. This is most likely why the national forest and Helena area was at one time known as ‘The Great Swamp’.

As most know, where there is water, there can be disease. It was decades before the pioneers learned that it was both contaminated water and mosquito infestations that was causing diseases that were prevalent, such as Malaria, Yellow Fever, Cholera and Typhoid. It has, in fact, been said that more soldiers died during the Civil War from disease than from battle wounds, and during the early years, the overall mortality rate was much higher in villages and towns located near river towns.

As time passed, and ‘technology’, so to speak, increased, our water system was upgraded. The following is taken from the December 1965 Phillips County Historical Quarterly, Volume 4, Number 2, and was reprinted in the quarterly from a booklet called “Historic Souvenir, Helena, Arkansas”, published sometime between 1910-1912

Helena Water Company

‘Helena is today, without a doubt, one of the healthiest cities in the country, and in addition to its ideal climate it also has a distinction of possessing one of the best and purest water supplies in the Southwest. This pure artesian well water has given Helena the distinction of possessing the lowest death rate in the state. A short treatise on the manner in which the Helena Water Company obtain and distribute the city’s water supply will be of interest to the public. It is taken from four artesian wells drilled to a depth of 500 feet, and pumped to their reservoir, which is on a hill above the business section. All of the wells have ten inch pipes and a capacity of 1,000 gallons per minute, and the water company can supply the city with all of its requirements by running one well. In other words, they have a capacity and equipment large enough to supply a city of 60,000.’

Unfortunately, if the medical insurance companies are correct, Helena no longer remains one of the healthiest cities in the country. I was, in fact, told that if I moved to Hot Springs, my insurance rates would drop considerably. And, even though I am MOST THANKFUL that I do not have to haul water tomorrow for my morning shower, I chose not to leave this lovely land, with its rich history, its rivers, its forests and its people. You see, it is all just a matter of perspective.

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Primary sources for these articles include the Phillips County Historical Quarterlies, Shinn's Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas; Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas; Down the Great River by Glazier; Arkansas Historical Documents and Land Grants; The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture; Courts and Lawyers on the Arkansas Frontier; Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi; USGenWeb; Ancestry.com; FamilySearch.org; Phillips DNA Project.