Located in Delaplaine, Arkansas
The town of Delaplaine is in the extreme northwest corner of Greene County, with state highways 34, 90, 304 connecting its citizens to Paragould, Walnut Ridge, Pocahontas, and Corning.
Delaplaine has a deep history in Greene County. Land transactions have been documented as far back as pre-Civil War days. The present-day site of Delaplaine was once used by numerous Native Americans as a camping ground. As the area was plush with wild game, fishing opportunities, and river transportation, it was a very popular camping destination for Native American tribes. Prior to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the land that would later become Arkansas was owned by France. French traders were already familiar with the layout of the area around Delaplaine and found the area highly desirable to set up a fur trading post there, as it was between two rivers and was closer to St. Louis, the hub of the fur trading business. Legend has it that the French fur traders ran the Osage tribe out of the area to claim it as their own. The post would be named “De La Plaine” or translated to English “of the plain”. Over time, the name became Delaplaine, and was recognized as such officially by the Postal Department in 1894.
The post office was originally granted in 1872 after the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad built a line from St. Louis that clipped northwest Greene County. The railroad made a stop in Delaplaine, calling it Grey’s Station. This would also be the name of the post office for a brief time until Mrs. Lizzie Grey became postmaster, and the name was changed to De La Plaine. Of note, the first newspaper in Greene County began in Delaplaine around 1873 or 1874. Not much is recalled about the paper, only that it was in circulation for a short time.
Delaplaine would eventually become a boom town after the Timber Age hit Marmaduke and Paragould. A large mill to manufacture railroad ties was built near the railroad tracks, and a tram line, made of wooden tracks, was built from Delaplaine to Brookings. Flat rail cars, pulled by mules, were used to transport large logs from Brookings to the mill in Delaplaine. Freight shipping was a huge part of the rail line in Delaplaine, and at one point the volume was so large, it required twenty-four-hour attention by work crews to manage the scheduling and logistics. A fun fact is that the county’s “great iron safe” that was purchased in 1877 from St. Louis was shipped to Delaplaine. Due to the lack of roads and bridges, the safe was transported to then county seat Gainesville by sled.
In April of 1912, Delaplaine was incorporated as a town. It was a bustling town at the time, boasting numerous stores, hotels, saloons, a blacksmith shop, and a doctor’s office. There was a section of Delaplaine that was referred to as “Reedtown”. The Reed family had purchased a considerable amount of land in the community. That section contained several nice buildings and residences. Unfortunately, a very large fire said to be caused by an oil stove that was left lit while the family attended church, destroyed the entire section of town. The residences and buildings were never built back.
After the timber was gone, the land around Delaplaine became available for purchase or reclamation. Land that had been turned back to the state for back taxes could be purchased for $1 per acre. Much of the land was bought and converted to farmland. Today, the Delaplaine area is still a strong agricultural arm of Greene County.
The first recorded school in Delaplaine appears to be in 1912. Later, in 1937, a consolidation was conducted and the Delaplaine district absorbed the schools of Denman, Brownie, Evening Star, and Jones’ Ridge. A later consolidation added the schools O’Kean, Peach Orchard, Haney, Connelly, and Sanders to the Delaplaine district. The district would remain until 2003, when the state department of education forced the Delaplaine School District to consolidate with the Greene County Tech School District due to low enrollment numbers. The Delaplaine campus remained in use until the end of the 2006-2007 school year.
Today, Delaplaine still offers the quaint, small community living desired by many. City leaders in Delaplaine are continually looking for ways to better their community, and as sheriff, I would work hard with those leaders to add safety and security to the list of positives for this long-standing community.