DE QUEEN, Ark. (AP) - Beneath the waters of De Queen Lake lies an important part of Sevier County’s past.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, mining was big business in the hills north of De Queen.
The sites of several mining operations were covered in water when construction on the lake was done in 1966. The lake, created from the Rolling Ford River for flood control, went into operation in 1977.
The waters covered mines, old mining equipment and the remains of an old community. The graves of many mine employees and other residents would have also been lost under the water forever if they had not been moved to a nearby cemetery.
“Before the town of De Queen became De Queen, it was called HooRah City, and it was a tent city. It was a mining town. The mines were why people came here, along with all the virgin timber,” Karen Mills, director of Sevier County Museum, told the Texarkana Gazette (https://bit.ly/1IuQhoH).
“Mining was a big part of Sevier County in those days,” Mills said. “A lot of people worked in the mines until they were able to clear the trees so they could farm.”
According to published reports, mining for stibmite, the ore of antimony, began in the area in 1873 and continued until about 1947.
One of the most well-known operations, now covered by the lake, is the Bellah Mine site, first opened by John Bellah before the Civil War.
According to the book “Sevier County and Its People,” lead was taken from Bellah Mine and used by the Confederate army during the Civil War. Lead was also mined at the nearby Davis Mine.
In 1900, American Ore and Metal Co. took over the mining operations and at one time employed 55 men. A small community was built around the mine with a large commissary and about 20 dwellings in addition to the mine buildings.
The Army Corps of Engineers has maintained the Bellah Mine property as a park on the shore of De Queen Lake, and the high bridge crossing the northern part of the lake is known as the Bellah Mine Bridge.
According to an old report from the De Queen Bee Newspaper, 16 mines were once operated in northern Sevier County, with a total production of ore valued at $23,000. Most of this was produced before 1924.
According to the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas none of these mining efforts produced a boom, however, and the population of the county dropped over time as similar jobs could be found elsewhere that paid better and required less work.
Several abandoned stibnite mines are found on the ridges bordering the lake, and one is submerged about 2 miles upstream from the dam.
Along the ridge now occupied by Bellah Mine Public Use Area was Bellah Cemetery, just north of the mine.
When the lake was built, remains buried at Bellah Cemetery were moved to Mill Creek Cemetery near the Kellum community, along with graves from the old Morphew Cemetery, which was south of the mine. Included in the cemetery relocation was the grave of John Bellah, who died in 1856 at age 51. Buried beside him were the remains of his 7-year-old son.
Another grave moved from the Bellah Cemetery was that of Albert H. Wirth, whose headstone reads “Born Feb. 6, 1884, killed Oct.30. 1900, through cruel and criminal carelessness in the Bellah Mines, owned and operated by the North American Ore and Metal Co.”
Wirth was only 16 when he was killed, and his family made sure their anger toward the mining company would stand the test of time on their son’s headstone.
Wirth’s grave is now just a few feet from Bellah’s grave in Mill Creek Cemetery. There are conflicting stories about Wirth’s death. It was not documented in the local newspapers. One account says he slipped on his slicker and fell into the 168-foot shaft. Another version says a hoist operator accidentally released the clutch, causing Wirth to plunge to his death.
Some business involving the mines was documented in the newspapers at the time.
Amos A. Pearce was a local columnist for the De Queen Bee at the turn of the century. He used the name “Copper King Man” when he wrote and often mentioned the local mines in his opinion columns.
One column mentions the Davis Mine being leased to another company.
“There are about 100 cars loads of zinc in plain sight, near the surface, and the chances are that times will soon be lively again in the mineral business around here,” Pearce wrote in an undated column.
Another undated column also mentioned the Bellah Mine being started again after a closure. “Some strong talk of the Bellah Mine being started up in the near future. If they both start, the market for grub and labor will be good enough in this vicinity,” Pearce wrote.
Operations ceased at the Bellah Mine around 1915. As other industry moved into the area, the mines soon faded into history and legend.
Many who drive across Bellah Mine Bridge may not even be aware of what lies beneath the lake’s calm waters.
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Information from: Texarkana Gazette, https://www.texarkanagazette.com
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