I always have to take a spin down South Sprigg Street to check out the cement plant and ride out to the Diversion Channel on what used to be U.S. 61 before I-55 was built. The trip has been complicated a bit by a huge sinkhole that’s closed the road off at Cape LaCroix Creek since the spring flood. (Click on any photo to make it larger.)
Where did that farm come from?
When I got to the bridge, I pulled into a road to turn around. There I saw something I’d never noticed before: an old farm house with a sign that read “Farmer Owned Prairie Farms Sprigg Street Dairy.”
Fresh No-Trespassing signs
I’m pretty casual with No Trespassing signs if I think I can meet someone friendly. These signs were fresh and the light was about gone, so I figured I’d file this away for a future visit. I can’t believe I’ve never noticed that farm over the years.
Train in the distance
My attention was drawn to the train whistle of a BNSF freight. I hustled over to get a shot of it crossing the 1929 railroad bridge Niece Laurie and I photographed last year.
Old Federal Materials building
I swiveled to catch the train headed toward the cement plant with the old Federal Materials building in the foreground. The original Blue Hole BBQ was right across the street from this building.
Sinkhole patch about done
Looks like Sprigg Street is about to open. There’s only a little patch left to go. I wonder how long it’ll be before the street gets swallowed up again.
Ken, that makes two of us. I’ve never noticed that farm back there either. Of course, I always take my little cruises down that road to nosey around to see what’s going on in the summer. BUT, that looks like a clear field. Can’t believe I missed it~~~
Your photos of the cement plant seem to be missing the smoke stack, which as I recall was the object of a spectacular demolition many years ago (the 1970s or 80s?). When I was a young child, before my family moved back to Cape, that stack was a much-welcomed landmark on the drive from West Memphis to visit my grandparents. It was a long drive in those pre-Interstate days, and the sight of the plume of dust belching from that stack, which we always saw long before we could see the stack itself, was the signal my sister and I needed to assure us that the trip was nearly ended.
You can see the old and new stacks at the cement plant in this post I did in October.
I like the results when you put Smelterville in the search box:
Smelterville
travel.yahoo.com Destination Deals From Yahoo Travel Smelterville
I wonder how much the trip would cost.
It would be pretty expensive. You’d have to buy a time travel device to take you back to Smelterville, since it doesn’t exist these days.