Arkansas History: Uncovering the Missing Records at Lakeport Plantation

Museum officials at the Lakeport Plantation in Chicot County, Arkansas, are continuing active research to identify the individuals who were enslaved on the property. The site has served as a museum for nearly 20 years, but the full historical record of the people who lived and worked there remains incomplete.

Ruth O'Loughlin, the museum director, stated that researchers do not yet know the names of everyone who was enslaved. The house is one of Arkansas State University's Heritage sites and attracts thousands of visitors annually. It stands as the only remaining plantation house in the state that still faces the Mississippi River.

Joel Johnson purchased the land in the southeast corner of the state in 1831 after selling his house and grist mill in Scott County, Kentucky. He died in 1846, leaving his property and approximately 95 enslaved people to his son, Lycurgus Johnson. The younger Johnson expanded the operation during the 1850s, when cotton prices rose sharply.

By the late 1850s, Lycurgus Johnson owned more than 4,400 acres and 155 enslaved people. He began construction of the current house, a Greek Revival style structure, near a river oxbow. The building was named for a local steamboat landing. At the time of its completion, the river was visible from the front porch, though a large earthen levee now blocks that view. Cotton fields still surround the property.

The house features 17 rooms and covers about 8,000 square feet. It was built on an elevation to protect it from river flooding. Dwellings for the enslaved people were located on the grounds near the main house. Construction finished just before the Civil War began.

Arkansas seceded on May 6, 1861, and joined the Confederacy. Confederate leaders believed that the textile industries in Great Britain and France would force those nations to support the South because their mills relied on southern cotton. However, both nations began importing more cotton from Egypt and other countries due to the unpopularity of slavery.

The Union strategy involved taking control of the Mississippi River to cut the southern states in half. While heavy fighting occurred in the East, Union forces steadily advanced along the river. They captured New Orleans and parts of western Tennessee. Two key ports, Helena in Phillips County and Vicksburg in Mississippi, became focal points for Confederate defense.

Helena was captured in July 1862. The siege of Vicksburg began in late May 1863, leading to Confederate attacks on nearby towns to relieve pressure. The Union victory at Vicksburg was finalized on July 4, 1863. This event gave the Union control of the river and split the Confederacy, leading to economic turmoil in the region.

Confederate and Union armies foraged in Chicot County, and partisan bands roamed the countryside. In 1863 or 1864, Union soldiers took all of the plantation's mules, horses, and cattle. After the war, Lycurgus Johnson reportedly secured his freed slaves as workers. By 1870, the plantation produced about 600 bales of cotton per year, which was half of its pre-war output.

The family retained ownership until 1927, when Russian immigrant Sam Epstein bought the property for $30,000. The Epstein family expanded the land to 13,000 acres. The house was abandoned for more than 30 years before Sam Epstein Angel, Epstein's grandson, donated it to Arkansas State University in 2001. He made the decision after visiting the Hemingway-Pfeiffer House in Piggott. The house reopened to the public in 2007.