This week on Retracing Our Roots, pack your bags and join Sammy Raycraft and Vincent Anderson as we journey to the nearest steamboat landing on the White River! Step back in time along this historic waterway, winding through some of the most beloved destinations in the Arkansas Ozarks.
We’ll travel upriver, stopping at steamboat landings like Calico Rock, Liberty/Norfork, Mountain Home, Gassville, McBee’s, Talbert’s/Mooney, Oakland, and Dubuque. Discover the steamboats that fueled economic growth and provided affordable transportation and shipping throughout the region.
Next, we’ll venture 24.2 miles up the Buffalo River to Rush, Arkansas, as we celebrate the legendary steamboat captains whose stories have only grown larger with time.
In our final segment, we’ll explore how the arrival of the railroad marked the closing chapter of the White River’s Steamboat Era, uncovering a few key figures behind the scenes and the remnants that still endure today.
