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Between The River and The Slough

Posted on June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 by ML Williams

Our Tennessee Towns, One of a Series
In Reverie, they never know what trick the deadly Mississippi will pull next. Each may be the last one – for the town.
Story and Pictures by Bob Kollar

Like vesuvius at Pompeii, The River is always there, beautiful and dangerous. The River, and its little brother, The Slough.

To get to Reverie, first you must cross the bridge over The Slough.

That’s why some people have never been to Reverie. They refuse to cross the bridge.

This is understandable.

Bridges don’t usually look like a snake on a hot rock. This one does.


Reverie is the only Tennessee town on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River.

It once was on the Tennessee bank. It didn’t move; The River did.

It is the only Tennessee town on an island. The U.S. Engineers call it Island 35.

These things – the bridge, the island, The River and The Slough – combine to either complicate or simplify life at Reverie enormously, depending on how you look at it.


There are the floods.

In 1960, a former resident of Reverie ran out in a boat to look over the damage while the water was still up. He expected to find everybody adding their tears to the muddy Mississippi.

“You know what they were doing?” he asked. “They were out there water-skiing in the cotton fields! They had three boats, and everybody took turns. The men would drive while the women skied, and then the women would drive.”

All of the cotton crop was gone, and most of the soybeans.

But Reverie had something to talk about for a hundred years – skiing in the cotton fields!

“You can’t just sit and hold your head,” one of the Cash family said. The Cashes have 6,000 acres in cultivation on the island.

In the 1927 flood, all but three spots on the island were covered. Until the waters went down, everybody lived in a schoolhouse, a house and a barn on one of the mounds. A large flock of ducks laid eggs every night on top of the schoolhouse, so there were fresh eggs for breakfast every morning.

In 1937, all the land was covered, but some of the Cash family stayed on, in the upstairs floor of their house. Boats came to the second story window.


The snake of a bridge, which is wooden and built on poles like an old-time railroad trestle, crosses The Slough which separates Island 35 from the Arkansas mainland. The pols shift this way and that in the soft mud.

A couple of months ago, two people drove off the bridge and drowned. The jurisdictional problem of whether they died in Tennessee or Arkansas hasn’t been solved yet.

When the bridge is under water, as it is several times each spring, Reverie’s 38 school children cross The Slough in a boat to meet the school bus on the other side. The youngsters attend in Wilson, Ark., through an arrangement between the Arkansas authorities and the board of education in Tipton County, Tennessee, of which Reverie is legally a part.

In 1949, a man and two women – the town’s two school teachers – were returning by boat to Reverie from a funeral on the mainland. It was almost dark on a cold day in January, and the water in The Slough was rough. Something happened. All three drowned. The bridge wasn’t built until 1960.

Sixty years ago, before The River became The Slough and The Slough became The River, Reverie was on the Tennessee side.

In dry weather, when the water was low, you could ford The Slough and drive a buggy through the cotton fields to Covington, the county seat, in two hours.

Today, Covington is still 20 miles away, and it still takes about two hours to get there. You drive down through Arkansas to cross the Mississippi at Memphis, or upstream to where there is a ferry at Cottonwood Point in Missouri.


Back then, the town was known as Reverie Landing. It was a major stopover for steamboats and packets.

“I remember the Robert E. Lee and the Fred Herald,” says Mrs. Ora Cash, 78, grandmother of the Cash brothers and Reverie’s postmistress for 35 years. She now lives in Memphis.

“The big sternwheelers used to tie up at Pennel Brothers General Store. The whole town turned out. The youngsters were thrilled wide-eyed by the shrill whistle.”

In high water, steamers would sometimes take a shortcut through The Slough. One – the Emma III – didn’t make it. She sank in the chute in 1870. The islanders dug into the mud-filled wreckage and salvaged the silverware and dishes. Today these are treasured among the island’s families. The Cashes have the boat’s bell.


The Mississippi moved in mysterious ways. Upstream, it kept licking away at the Tennessee side. A bluff disappeared, letting the current make a direct assault on The Slough.

The Slough began to get bigger!

In the early 1920s, the U.S. Engineers tried to thwart The River by building an earthen dam to hold it in its old channel.

But it was not to be denied. The trickle became the main channel in the early 1930s. A lot of good farmland was destroyed in the process. “It hit us a tough lick,” says John Cash.


Today, almost a mile of rolling water separates Reverie from the Tennessee mainland. Island 35 is crescent-shaped, about 10 miles long and five wide, with concrete revetments on its eastern lip to keep The River from biting deeper.

In the heyday, 300 families – 750 people – lived on the island. But mechanized farming and fear of floods have cut that to 30 families today, about 125 people. Deserted houses are everywhere; the school was abandoned in 1958.

The Cash brothers – John and H. P. – are the only landowners still living on the island. The rest of the land – more than half – is absentee-owned, farmed by resident managers.


“Really,” said John Cash, “we have a model community. There is no crime. We haven’t had a fistfight in three years.”

Good thing. There’s not a law enforcement officer on the island, and it would take forever for one to get there from Covington.

There’s no juke joint, no bank, no stores. You can’t buy a cigaret [sic] or a Coke.

But progress threatens. The telephone company has offered to run in a line for a single phone. So far, there has been no taker.

“It would just be a nuisance,” says John Cash. “If my brother or I had a phone, everyone on the island would want to use it and we’d be taking calls at all hours of the day and night. It’s just not worth it.”

The Cash brothers live across the road from each other in old, comfortable farm homes, each with the main floor built eight feet off the ground because of the floods.

There is electricity on the island – and washing machines, TV and air-conditioning for those who want and/or can afford them.

The mail comes in three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday. H. P. Cash’s wife, Wanda Lee is the postmistress. She has a little window on the front porch of the house, and a school bell to ring when you want service.

H. P. looks back on 1954 with mixed emotions. Two children were born to him and Wanda Lee that year, one in February, the other in December. In between, a log fell off a truck he was unloading and crushed his legs. He now farms from a pick-up truck.


Reverie takes its politics seriously.

At least 90 per cent of the registered voters vote, John Cash says – “we know we can’t do anything if we don’t stick together, but by sticking together we carry a little weight.”

They went solid for Robert A. (Fats) Everett for congress, though he’s never set foot on the island.

Elections are held on John Cash’s porch. He’s a county magistrate. In a close race, there is nail-biting in Covington until the Reverie box comes in – it’s always the last.

There are sometimes medical emergencies when the bridge is flooded. Over the years, a few people have died of a ruptured appendix.


Is Island 35 a “new” island? Some people think not, and point to the discovery of a huge animal skeleton soon after the turn of the century.

It turned out to be the bones of a mastodon, an elephant-like creature which became extinct 17,000 years ago (some say only 7000).

An archaeologist theorized that the body had been washed down the river and deposited in the mud.

But before the scientist could get to the site, all but one piece of bone had been carried away by the people of Reverie.

One lady made a border of bones for her flowerbed.

Nothing was left for the archaeologist but a thigh bone, 2 1/2 feet long.

It now reposes in a museum at Wilson, Ark.

[Between The River and The Slough, The Tennessean – The Nashville Tennessee Sunday Magazine, Bob Kollar, Nashville TN, 23 July 1967 pages 6-7]

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Welcome!

Mary Lynne Williams with Kenny Faulk at Bozos Bar-B-Q in 2018
Mary Lynne Williams with Kenny Faulk at Bozos Bar-B-Q in 2018

My name is ML Williams. I am a hiking, fossil hunting, God loving, coffee drinking, hot fries eatin' middle school math teacher! I love researching my family history and, since my family is from Tipton County, I love researching the people and areas of Tipton.

Thanks for visiting my site and good luck in your quest!

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© 2018-2021 Tipton County, Tennessee
Mary Lynne Williams

Shelley, Barbara June Abbott

BARBARA JUNE ABBOTT SHELLEY | 52, of Drummonds, Tenn., clerk for Abbott Jewelry, died Thursday at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Tipton in Covington, Tenn. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Munford (Tenn.) Funeral Home with burial in Poplar Grove Cemetery in Drummonds.  She leaves a daughter, Kimberly Ann Douglas, and a son, James D. Shelley, both of Atlanta; her parents, John and Reamonia Millican Abbot of Drummonds; a brother, Paul Abbott of Memphis, and five grandchildren.

[Barbara June Abbott Shelley; The Commercial Appeal; Memphis, Tenn; 14 Dec 2003; Pg 29]

Janie Reamonia Rann

JANIE REAMONIA RANN, 17, of Drummonds, Tenn., clerk for Abbott Diamond Enterprises, died Thursday at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Munford (Tenn.) Funeral Home with Burial in Poplar Grove Cemetery in Drummonds. She was a member of Fellowship Baptist Church. She leaves her great-grandparents who raised her, Reamonia and John Abbott of Drummonds; a half-brother, John Abbot Peak of Texas, and her grandmother, Barbara Shelley of Drummonds.

[Janie Reamonia Rann; The Commercial Appeal; Memphis, Tenn; 20 Sep 2003; Pg 15]

John A Murrell Death

Lillian Oreed Smith

Lillian was born August 22, 1903, in Tipton County, Tennessee and died June 22, 1992, in Covington, Tennessee.  She married William Austin Rhodes, May 25, 1924.  William was born July 18, 1894, and died September 17, 1980.  Lillian taught school in the schoolhouse at Bethel as a very young woman.  Then she went to Memphis where she met and married Austin.  They operated drug stores, sometimes one and sometimes two, in north Memphis most of their adult lives.  One of the stores was on Leath Street very near Humes High School and the other was on Manassas Street.  Rather late in life, they bought the old Smith family house and four acres from Lillian’s mother, Della, and moved back to Tipton County.  They put in a hen house for laying hens and sold eggs until retirement.  Austin and Lillian never had any children.  They both are buried in the “New Part” of Bethel Cemetery.

[ from An Illustrated History of the People and Towns of Northeast Shelby County and South Central Tipton County, page 178]

Lillian Oreed Smith Rhodes Obituary

ATOKA – Lillian Smith Rhodes, 88, retired merchant, died Monday at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton after a long illness.  Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Munford Funeral Home with burial in Bethel Cemetery.  She was a member of Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Home Demonstration Club.  Mrs. Rhodes, the widow of Austin Rhodes, leaves a sister, Carmen Smith of Memphis, and two brothers, A. T. Smith of Atoka and Richard Smith of Gautier, Miss.

[Rhodes, Lillian Smith; The Commercial Appeal; Memphis, Tenn; 24 Jun 1992; Pg 11]

Delayed birth certificate Lillian Oreed Smith
Delayed birth certificate Lillian Oreed Smith
Lillian Oreed Smith and W A Rhodes Marriage License
Lillian Oreed Smith and W A Rhodes Marriage License
Lillian Oreed Smith Rhodes
Lillian Oreed Smith Rhodes
Richard Arnold Smith

Richard was born on June 29, 1912, and died in Pascagoula, Mississippi on June 3, 1994.  He married Zelma Wright on October 19, 1940.  Richard attended college at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.  I do not know if he got a degree or not.  After college, he went to work for Continental Gin Company as a sales engineer in Birmingham.  He and Zelma lived there for a long time.  He finally did transfer to Memphis and lived there for several years.  During his years with Continental Gin Company, he traveled a lot, even to India for several months to install a cotton gin there.  After a long career with Continental, they bought a small tourist court in Pascagoula and moved down there to operate it.  This facility consisted of several individual cottages scattered through a pine grove.  They did most of the work themselves, just hiring people to supplement in areas that they could not see after twenty-four hours per day.  Most of their clientele were extended stay types who worked on the shrimp boats that fished out of the Pascagoula harbor and construction workers who were there for several months at a time.  Of course, they did do some overnight business, too.  Later in life, when the work became too difficult, they sold the tourist court and retired to Dolphin Island where they lived until Richard died.  It is assumed that both Richard and Zelma are buried in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

[An Illustrated History of the People and Towns of Northeast Shelby County and South Central Tipton County]

Jackson County Memorial Park

Iva Electa Smith

Iva Electa was born April 20, 1901, and died December 24, 1991, in Savannah, Hardin County, Tennessee.  She married Lenvil Gordon Beaver on March 30, 1925.  He died February 21, 1949.  They lived in the community that was named after his family, Beaver, or sometimes referred to as Beaver Town.  There was a store and cotton gin, both of which he owned.  They lived in a house that sat across the road from the store.  They had five children: Lenvil Oneda, Iva Shirley, Steve, Carmen Theo, and Lemuel Gordon Beaver.  Gordon and Iva Electa are buried in Ravencroft Cemetery in Tipton County, Tennessee.

[An Illustrated History of the People and Towns of Northeast Shelby County and South Central Tipton County, page 178]

After the death of Gordon in 1949, Iva Electa married Jesse Ray Blakey on 21 Aug 1970.  Both the bride and the groom were 69 years of age.

Iva Electa passed away on 24 Dec 1991.  Her obit is below:

BRIGHTON – Electa Smith Beaver Blakey, 90, former teacher, died Tuesday at Hardin County General Hospital in Savannah.  Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Munford Funeral Home with burial in Ravenscroft Cemetery.  She was a member of Beaver Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School and the Women’s Bible Class.  Mrs. Blakey, the widow of Gordon Beaver and J. R. Blakey, leaves three daughters, Lenvil Leadbetter of Savannah, Shirley Dyer of Clinton, Ill., and Carmen Harshfield of Somerville; a son, Gordon ‘Lem’ Beaver Jr. of Brighton; two sisters, Carmen Smith of Memphis and Lillian Rhodes of Savannah; two brothers, A. T. Smith of Atoka and Richard Smith of Gauthier, Miss., 15 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Electa Smith Beaver Blakey; The Commercial Appeal; Memphis, TN; 26 Dec 1991; Pg 29
Electa Smith Beaver Blakey; The Commercial Appeal; Memphis, TN; 26 Dec 1991; Pg 29

 

Gordon and Electa Beaver's Headstone in Ravenscroft Cemetery
Gordon and Electa Beaver’s Headstone in Ravenscroft Cemetery
Delayed Birth Record Iva Electa Smith
Delayed Birth Record Iva Electa Smith
Electa Smith marriage to Lenvil Gordon Beaver
Electa Smith marriage to Lenvil Gordon Beaver
Electa Smith Beaver Marriage to Jesse Ray Blakey
Electa Smith Beaver Marriage to Jesse Ray Blakey
Carmen Theo Smith

Carmen was born on 24 Oct 1898 in Tipton County, Tennessee.  After graduating high school, Carmen moved to Memphis where she was a bookkeeper and secretary for William G. Smith.  William owned a refrigerator business.  They soon fell in love and where married on 24 Jun 1927.  William had three children from a previous marriage, and he and Carmen did not have any children.  They lived on E. Cherry Circle in Memphis.  According to Wayne Smith, their house was very nice and sat on about two acres of land.  Carmen died on 6 Feb 2000 in Shelby County, Tennessee.  Both William and Carmen are buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.

Obituary for Carmen Theo Smith

Carmen T. Smith, 101, of Bartlett, retired bookkeeper for Smith’s Refrigeration Co., died of heart failure Sunday at Ave Maria Nursing Home.  Services will be at 1 p.m. today at Memorial Park Funeral Home with burial in Memorial Park.  She was a choir member at Broadmoor Baptist Church, taught Sunday school, and was a charter member at Sunset Baptist Church.  Mrs. Smith, the widow of William G. Smith, leaves a brother, A. T. Smith of Atoka, Tenn. The family requests that any memorials be sent to Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Churchin Atoka.

Carmen T Smith; The Commercial Appeal; Memphis, Tenn; 8 Feb 2000; Pg 14
Carmen T Smith; The Commercial Appeal; Memphis, Tenn; 8 Feb 2000; Pg 14

 

Delayed Birth Certificate
Delayed Birth Certificate
1910 US Census
1910 US Census
1920 US Census
1920 US Census
1940 US Census
1940 US Census
1950 US Census
1950 US Census
Allie Perry Smith

Allie was born about 1865 and died on 10 Aug 1911.  Allie worked as a clerk in  a store in Randolph, Tennessee.  He never married.

There is an old rumor that Allie was shot and killed.  The suspect, a jealous husband, but no one was ever charged with the crime.  It seems, although an interesting story, this cannot be true as his death certificate states he died of Typhoid Fever.

Fannie Smith

Fannie was born in 1867.  She married John W Reeves (1862-1945) on 7 Feb 1889 in Tipton County, Tenn.  The couple had two children:  Baudine and Finis Henry Uric.  The Reeves family was instrumental in the growth of business and church affairs in Atoka.  John was a merchant for many years and he was very active in the civic projects of the town.  They were members of the Methodist Church, where Fannie taught Sunday school.  Their son, Finis, born 6 Aug 1895, was confined to a wheelchair because of a spinal injury he received as a child.  He died on 28 Jan 1924, at the at of 29. Fannie, John and Finis are buried in Bethel Cemetery.  Baudine, who was born 19 Nov 1893, married James C Smith (1891-1981) on 3 Sep 1916 in Tipton County, Tenn.  Baudine died in Dec of 1981 and is buried in Bethel Cemetery.

 

William Richard Smith

William was born February 16, 1863, and died 22 Oct 1900.  He married Lula Victoria Aycock.  The couple farmed between Tipton and Bethel on land they had purchased.  William and Lula had two daughters, Dorcas Smith and Gladys Smith, and one son, William R Smith who was born 16 Feb 1901, and died 25 Feb 1902.  William and Lula are buried in Bethel Cemetery in unmarked graves.  Their son, William, is buried in part “C” of the cemetery.  They are probably buried in that vicinity.

After William’s death, Lula married Walter Lyles. Walter had a child from a previous marriage named Helen.  Walter and Lula did not have children.

Edward Scott Smith

Edward was born 1860 and died in 1932.  He married Laura McCormick who was born 1859 and died in 1945.  They lived in Shelby County near the Tipton County line just south of Bethel Road.  They farmed, but the land was very poor and they did not do very well.  After their children were grown, Ed and Laura moved into a house located on Tipton Road between Tipton and Munford.  They are buried in the “C” section of Bethel Cemetery.  The children of Edward and Laura McCormick were daughter Myrtle and twins Roger B. and Rodney.

John Alexander Smith

John Alexander married Jarusha Dorcas Walker Oct. 28, 1959 in Tipton County, Tennessee.  She was the daughter of John and Frances Walker.  Jarusha was born July 20, 1842, and died April 24, 1917.  John and Jarusha are buried in the “B” section of Bethel Cemetery.

Arthur Theophilus Smith said that he always heard that John and Jarusha did not own the house and property where they were living when John died.  This property was located in Shelby County between Tracy Road and Mudville Road.  Today the road is known as Mulberry Road.  Somehow, Jarusha managed to raise seven children and purchase a portion of the property, at least the house and maybe some land.  The children of John A. and Jarusha Walker Smith were:  Edward Scott, William Richard, Allie, Fannie, Auther Theophilus, Wyatt Andrew and Johnny LeAndrew.