Annie Read Reeves’ Chicot County Civil War Diary, 1861-1863

presented by

Dr. Blake Wintory, Lakeport Plantation

Thursday, July 30

Refreshments & Conversation @ 5:30 pm
Program @ 6:00 pm

The Rossmere Plantation, founded in 1847 by George Read IV, was located on the east side of Lake Chicot south of Stuart’s Island. In 1861, the plantation had over 1300 acres and 61 slaves. One of those slaves, Lucretia Alexander, was interviewed by the WPA in the 1930s.

Annie Read Reeves, a widow with four children, left New Castle, Delaware in October 1861 during the first year of the Civil War. They arrived at the Rossmere Plantation on Old River Lake in Chicot County on November 22. Annie and her brother George Read IV (1812-1859) were the great-grandchildren of George Read I, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Her late brother founded Rossmere in 1846 and her sister-in-law, Susan (Chapman) Read, still resided there in 1861. Reeves’ diary (1861-1863) details her trip to Chicot County and experiences during the Civil War. Wintory will discuss the diary and what we know about the Read family and plantation from other sources: deeds, tax records, Susan Read’s letters, a memoir by Annie’s daughter, and a slave narrative.

Please RSVP to this FREE Event
870.265.6031

Lakeport Legacies (LL) meets in the Dining Room of the Lakeport Plantation house. LL, held on one of the last Thursdays of the month at the Lakeport Plantation, features a history topic from the Delta. For more information, call 870.265.6031.

Absentee Masters of the Mississippi River

Dr. Kelly Houston Jones, Austin Peay State University
Thursday, June 25

Kenneth Rayner, a resident of North Carolina, purchased a 538 acre Chicot County plantation in 1845. Writing to a friend, he objected to the land being “in the state of Arkansas” and complained “I will never leave my wife so long again.” Two years later, visiting the plantation during the December harvest, he praised his overseer, “I think my overseer a first rate manager…he has, picked, and packed about 220 bales of cotton” despite bad weather. (Image by Matthew Brady; courtesy of East Carolina Manuscript Collection.)

Please RSVP to this FREE Event
870.265.6031

Lakeport Legacies (LL) meets in the Dining Room of the Lakeport Plantation house. LL, held on one of the last Thursdays of the month at the Lakeport Plantation, features a history topic from the Delta. For more information, call 870.265.6031.

Ancestral Activity: Doing African American Genealogy in Arkansas & Chicot County

presented by

Rhonda Stewart, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

Thursday, May 28

Refreshments & Conversation @ 5:30 pm

Program @ 6:00 pm

Ms. Stewart, pictured here in the 3rd grade, became interested in her own family’s history after hearing her grandmother’s stories about her great-grandmother.

 Rhonda Stewart, a genealogy and history specialist at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, will discuss how to research African American family history in Arkansas. Oral histories are excellent places to start building a family history and can be confirmed with local history resources and genealogy databases available on Ancestry.com and other websites. Part of Ms. Stewart’s presentation will focus on two examples of family history in Chicot County. The Butler Center is a department of the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock.

Please RSVP to this FREE Event
870.265.6031

Lakeport Legacies (LL) meets in the Dining Room of the Lakeport Plantation house. LL, held on one of the last Thursdays of the month at the Lakeport Plantation, features a history topic from the Delta. For more information, call 870.265.6031.

Images and History of Chicot County: Book Project Update

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Refreshments & Conversation @ 5:30 pm

 Program @ 6:00 pm

Lake Village’s downtown and lakefront around 1920, probably taken from second floor of the Tushek Building. Visible are Gaines Cafeteria along Lake Chicot and Watt Orton’s Livery Stable. (Bill and Jeanine Session Collection, Lakeport Plantation)

Lakeport Plantation is nearly finished with a pictorial history of Chicot County with Arcadia Publishing. During the past year of research, we have made some interesting discoveries, including the photograph above of downtown Lake Village. Come see, learn or share a memory about Chicot County’s history.

Please RSVP to this FREE Event
870.265.6031

Lakeport Legacies (LL) meets in the Dining Room of the Lakeport Plantation house. LL, held on one of the last Thursdays of the month at the Lakeport Plantation, features a history topic from the Delta. For more information, call 870.265.6031.

March 19 · Doc Hollywood: The Archaeology of Health and Healing at Hollywood Plantation · Dr. Jodi Barnes (Arkansas Archeological Survey)

April 30 · Images and History of Chicot County: Book Project Update · Dr. Blake Wintory (Lakeport Plantation)

May 28 · Ancestral Activity: Doing African American Genealogy in Arkansas & Chicot County · Rhonda Stewart (Butler Center, Central Arkansas Library System)

June 25 · Absentee Masters of the Mississippi River · Dr. Kelly Jones (Austin Peay University)

July 30 · Annie Read Reeves’ Chicot County Civil War Diary, 1861-1863 · Dr. Blake Wintory (Lakeport Plantation)

August 27 · Delta Modern (Architecture) · Jennifer Baughn (Mississippi Department of Archives and History)

Lakeport Legacies is a monthly history talk held at the Lakeport Plantation focusing on history in the Delta.  Lakeport Legacies meets on one of the last Thursdays of the spring and summer months at 5:30 p.m. with the program starting at 6:00 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. Guests are asked to RSVP. The Lakeport Plantation is located at 601 Hwy 142, Lake Village, Arkansas. For more information call 870.265.6031 or visit https://lakeport.astate.edu.

Lakeport Legacies:

Doc Hollywood: The Archaeology of Health and Healing at Hollywood Plantation

presented by

Dr. Jodi A. Barnes, Arkansas Archeological Survey
Thursday, March 19, 2015

Refreshments & Conversation @ 5:30 pm

Program @ 6:00 pm

The Taylor House or Hollywood Plantation (now a UAM Heritage Property) was built in the 1840s as a second residence for Dr. John M. Taylor and his wife. Dr. Taylor received his medical certificate in 1841. A number of medicine bottles were recovered from the 1880s ell kitchen, yet it has been noted that Dr. Taylor never practiced medicine. In this presentation Dr. Barnes will consider whether archeological research can provide evidence of Dr. Taylor’s medical practice or insight into health and healing in southeast Arkansas more generally.

Please RSVP to this FREE Event
870.265.6031
Lakeport Legacies (LL) meets in the Dining Room of the Lakeport Plantation house. LL, held on one of the last Thursdays of the month at the Lakeport Plantation, features a history topic from the Delta. For more information, call 870.265.6031.