Reverie, Tennessee

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Reverie, Tennessee
ARMap-doton-Reverie-TN.png
Location of Reverie, Tennessee, on the state map of Arkansas
Coordinates: 35°32′17″N89°59′24″W / 35.53806°N 89.99000°W / 35.53806; -89.99000
Country United States
State Tennessee
Counties Tipton County
Government
  Community type Unincorporated
Elevation
239.44 ft (73 m)
Population
 (2000) of the Reverie voting precinct [1]
  Total11
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
Reverie TN, AR 72395
Wilson, AR 72395 [2]

Reverie is an unincorporated community in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States. In 2001, the population was 11. [1]

Contents

Over a period of about 24 hours on March 7, 1876, the Mississippi River abandoned its former channel that coincided with the Tennessee-Arkansas border, and established a new channel east of Reverie. This places Reverie on the Arkansas side, while most of the area of Tipton County is located east of the Mississippi River, the Tennessee side. The formation of the new Centennial Cut-off, named for the US centennial, and the abandonment of the stretch of river formerly known as the Devil's Elbow, led to a 1918 Supreme Court case ( Arkansas v. Tennessee ) on whether the border should be moved with the river. [3]

In 1900, a mastodon skeleton was discovered 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Reverie. [4]

In the first half of the 20th century, archeological artifacts from an aboriginal village dated AD 1400-1650 were found about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Reverie, at the Nodena site. [5]

Demographics

According to the United States Census, in 2000 the total population of the Reverie voting precinct was 11. The entire population was non-Hispanic white at that time. [1]

Education

The state of Tennessee pays for the children in the population to attend schools in Arkansas. [6]

Economy

Modern cotton processing Nutbush tennessee cotton.jpg
Modern cotton processing

Agriculture is the dominant source of income in the area surrounding Reverie, especially the cultivation of cotton.

After the abolition of slavery, sharecropping was the primary means of income for low income families in the area. Mostly for the cultivation of cotton, land would be used by sharecroppers in return for a share of the crop to the landowner.

Modern machines such as the cotton picker have made the manual cultivation obsolete over time as they took over the work from the hand laborers. As a result of the lessened need for agricultural laborers, and very little potential for other forms of employment, the population of the area has dropped precipitously in recent decades.

In 2007, there were no industries in Reverie.

History

Founded in the 1800s, Reverie is one of the early settlements in Tipton County. In 1883, a U.S. Post office was opened that in 2007 is no longer in existence. [7]

Prehistoric mastodon skeleton

Mastodon skeleton SimplifiedPealeMastodon.jpg
Mastodon skeleton

Mastodons are members of the prehistoric, extinct genus Mammut, that resemble modern elephants. Native to North America they lived on the North American continent from almost 4 million years ago until their eventual disappearance about 10,000 years ago. [8]

In 1900, archaeologist James K. Hampson documented the find of skeletal remains of a mastodon on Island No. 35 of the Mississippi River, approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) east of Reverie and 23 mi (37 km) south of Blytheville, Arkansas. [4]

In 1957, the site was reported as destroyed. [4]

Aboriginal village AD 1400-1650

About 4 mi (6.4 km) northeast of Reverie, at the Nodena site, artifacts from a 15  acre (6.1 hectare) aboriginal village dated AD 1400-1650 were found in the first half of the 20th century. [9]

A collection of these artifacts is on display at the Hampson Museum State Park in Wilson, Arkansas. [5] [10]

In 1964, the Nodena site was declared a National Historic Landmark. [11] In 1966 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [12]

Geography

Location and landscape

View to the NE along the Mississippi riverbed (2010) Reverie TN 04 former MS river N.jpg
View to the NE along the Mississippi riverbed (2010)

Reverie is located at 35.53806 North, -89.99 West. The coordinates mark the location of the historical post office. [13] The elevation above sea level is 239.44 ft (73 m). [14]

The landscape is dominated by the Mississippi River flood plains, fields and few trees.

Mississippi River Island No. 35

When the border between Tennessee and Arkansas was established in 1795, it followed the middle of the Mississippi River. At that time, the river ran northwest of Reverie. After the avulsion of 1876, the Mississippi River ran southeast of Reverie, cutting it off from Tipton County.

Today, Reverie is surrounded by the modern Mississippi River in the southeast and the sidearms following the 1795 course in the northwest. Although the sidearms are only partially connected most of the time, Reverie is located on what topographically is Island No. 35 of the Mississippi River, because it is surrounded by water on all sides. [15] [16]

County seat Covington, Tennessee

A meander in a river can be cut off, creating a new island. Mississippi River-sand bars.jpg
A meander in a river can be cut off, creating a new island.

The direct distance between Reverie and the county seat, Covington, Tennessee, is only 18 miles (29 km).

As of 2007, the road trip to Covington required the driver to go via Memphis, Tennessee and was longer than 83 miles.

Postal

Postal address and ZIP code for the community used to be Reverie TN, AR 72395. The ZIP code is cross referenced with Wilson, Arkansas. United States Postal Service recommends using Wilson, AR 72395 for Reverie. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tipton County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi County, Arkansas</span> County in Arkansas, United States

Mississippi County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,685. There are two county seats, Blytheville and Osceola. The county is named for the Mississippi River which borders the county to the east. Mississippi County is part of the First Congressional District in Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilson, Arkansas</span> City in Arkansas known for its cotton production

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atoka, Tennessee</span> Town

Atoka is a local government area with a town charter in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States. In 1888, Atoka was a stop on the Newport News & Mississippi Valley Railroad. Today the City of New Orleans Amtrak passenger train makes its daily route between New Orleans and Chicago, through Atoka. The population was 10,008 at the 2020 census, making the Town of Atoka the largest municipality in Tipton County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Covington, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Covington is a city in central Tipton County, Tennessee, United States. Covington is the second largest city and county seat of Tipton County. The city is located in West Tennessee, 12 mi (19 km) east of the Mississippi River. The city's population was 9,038 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census. Located 42 mi (68 km) northeast of Memphis, Covington is part of the Memphis, Tennessee Metropolitan Area.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nodena site</span> Archaeological site in Arkansas, United States

The Nodena site is an archeological site east of Wilson, Arkansas, and northeast of Reverie, Tennessee, in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. Around 1400–1650 CE an aboriginal palisaded village existed in the Nodena area on a meander bend of the Mississippi River. The Nodena site was discovered and first documented by Dr. James K. Hampson, archaeologist and owner of the plantation on which the Nodena site is located. Artifacts from this site are on display in the Hampson Museum State Park in Wilson, Arkansas. The Nodena site is the type site for the Nodena phase, believed by many archaeologists to be the province of Pacaha visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1542.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkin Archeological State Park</span> Archaeological site

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampson Archeological Museum State Park</span> State park in Arkansas, United States

Hampson Archeological Museum State Park is a 5-acre (2.0 ha) Arkansas state park in Mississippi County, Arkansas in the United States. The museum contains a collection of archeological artifacts from the Nodena site, which is a former Native American village on the Mississippi River between 1400 and 1650. James K. Hampson began excavating the site in the 1920s, a museum was built in 1946 and the Arkansas General Assembly officially accepted the collection of artifacts from the Hampson family on March 30, 1957. The park first opened in 1961 as Hampson Museum State Park and has since been renamed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James K. Hampson</span> American archaeologist

James Kelly Hampson was the archaeologist that excavated and preserved the artifacts from the Nodena site and owner of the Hampson Plantation in Wilson, Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island 35 Mastodon</span>

The Island 35 Mastodon was discovered on Island No. 35 of the Mississippi River in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randolph, Tennessee</span> Unincorporated community in Tennessee, United States

Randolph is a rural unincorporated community in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States, located on the banks of the Mississippi River. Randolph was founded in the 1820s and in 1827, the Randolph post office was established. In the 1830s, the town became an early center of river commerce in West Tennessee. Randolph shipped more cotton annually than Memphis until 1840. In 1834, the first pastor of the Methodist congregation was appointed. The fortunes of the community began to decline in the late 1840s due to failed railroad development, an unfavorable mail route and other factors. The first Confederate States Army fort in Tennessee was built at Randolph early in the Civil War in 1861, a second fortification at Randolph was constructed later that same year. During the Civil War, the town was burned down twice by Union Army forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Randolph, Tennessee</span>

Randolph is an unincorporated rural community in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States, located on the banks of the Mississippi River. The lands of the Mississippi River Basin were inhabited by Paleo-Indians and later Native American tribes of the Mississippian culture for thousands of years. The Tipton phase people and the Chickasaw Indian tribe populated the Mississippi River valley near Randolph during the Mississippian period. In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto crossed the Mississippi River at or near Randolph. French explorer Cavelier de La Salle built the first French fortification at or near Randolph on his 1682 canoe expedition of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tipton phase</span>

The Tipton phase is an archaeological phase in southwestern Tennessee of the Late Mississippian culture. Other contemporaneous groups in the area include the Parkin phase, Walls phase, Menard phase, and the Nodena phase. The Tipton phase is the last prehistoric people to inhabit the area before the arrival of Europeans. It is located directly across the Mississippi River from the people of the Nodena phase and directly north of the Walls phase. During the early 1540s the Hernando de Soto Expedition passed through the area, stopping at many villages in the area. The phase itself is named for Tipton County, Tennessee.

Corona is an unincorporated community in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nodena phase</span>

The Nodena phase is an archaeological phase in eastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri of the Late Mississippian culture which dates from about 1400–1650 CE. The Nodena phase is known from a collection of villages along the Mississippi River between the Missouri Bootheel and Wapanocca Lake. They practiced extensive maize agriculture and artificial cranial deformation and were members of a continent wide trade and religious network known as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, which brought chert, whelk shells, and other exotic goods to the area.

References

View to the SW along the Mississippi riverbed (2010) Reverie TN 07 former MS river S.jpg
View to the SW along the Mississippi riverbed (2010)
  1. 1 2 3 http://cber.utk.edu/Census/vtd/c167vtd.txt U.S. Census 2000
  2. 1 2 http://www.usps.com United States Postal Service
  3. "Arkansas v. Tennessee, 246 U.S. 158 (1918)".
  4. 1 2 3 Williams, Steven (April 1957). "The Island 35 Mastodon: Its Bearing on the Age of Archaic Cultures in the East". American Antiquity. 22 (4): 359–372. doi:10.2307/276134. JSTOR   276134.
  5. 1 2 http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/hampsonmuseum/ ArkansasStateParks.com, Hampson Museum
  6. "Tipton - Tennessee History for Kids". Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2010. www.tnhistoryforkids.org
  7. http://www.state.tn.us/tsla/history/places/postoff4.htm Tennessee State Library and Archives
  8. "Greek mastodon find 'spectacular'". BBC News. July 24, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
  9. Map of the Nodena, Arkansas area Mapquest.com
  10. "Hampson Museum State Park near Wilson Arkansas". Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2007. Visiomania.com, Hampson Museum
  11. "Nodena Site". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on March 1, 2007.
  12. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  13. http://www.brainygeography.com/features/TN.po/reveriepostofficehistorica.html www.braingeography.com
  14. http://tennessee.quickcityinfo.com/Memphis/Post_Offices/83272/Reverie_Post_Office_(historical) tennessee.quickcityinfo.com
  15. http://www.munford.com/maps/TiptonCounty.pdf Tipton County map
  16. TopoQuest.com Topographic map of Mississippi River Island No. 35

Notes

Aerial views of the Reverie area with superimposed state borders illustrate the course of the Mississippi River in this area before and after the 1876 avulsion. The state line is following the pre-cutoff riverbed as of 1795. In 2007, the Mississippi River was located about 3.5 miles (5,6 km) southeast of the Tennessee/Arkansas state border near Reverie.