UNKOWN BUILDING

OSCEOLA ARKANSAS

 

This unfortunate early twentieth century commercial structure looks to have been the victim of high winds. The roof, made of PVC sheets annealed together with either heat or chemicals at the seams, was lifted as a single unit and now hangs sadly over the side of the parapet. Must have been one hell of a storm. The area was hit hard by a tornado in the mid-oughts, with neighboring Marmaduke taking most of the damage. This might be a result of that storm.

Osceola, located in northeast Arkansas, is a city with a lot of interesting architecture but little going on to preserve it. Once a prosperous farming town that boomed with rice and cotton, it was also quite a bustling river port, though the river is actually a few miles outside of town. Presently the town is turning the direction of steel manufacturing, as is the entire area. Rail car wheels and rail tanker cars are made a little ways off in Marmaduke, and nearby Blytheville has made its mark as one of the most modern steel towns in the U.S.

I’ll be featuring a number of interesting Vestiges from this area in the next month. Thanks to everyone for being patient with my absence since my move to the Northeast; I just got phone and internet at The Standish Farm last week, so I’ll be posting more often now.