On Tuesday, August 21, I’ll be speaking about my book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas as part of the Arkansas State Archives’ Pen to Podium lecture series. In addition to the nearly 80 year history of the railroad in the state, I’ll discuss recent efforts to save the 100-year-old Rock Island depot in Perry. The program will also feature historic photos featured in the book and questions from the audience.
The lecture will be at the Department of Arkansas Heritage, 1100 North Street in Little Rock. The event begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the discussion. It’s free and open to the public. Afterward I’ll be signing copies of my book. You can learn more about the event on the Arkansas State Archives website or on Facebook. Hope to see you there!
The Rock Island depot at Perry, Arkansas on March 13, 2018. Photo: Michael Hibblen.
Almost a year to the day that I spoke at a meeting of the Perry County Historical & Genealogical Society and learned about the group’s effort to move and preserve the Rock Island depot at Perry, Arkansas, we got news from the current owner of the building that our proposal has been approved. It has taken many conversations and a lot of money to pay for liability coverage, but it finally looks like the 100-year-old depot will be saved!
We don’t have a date yet to move the depot to an adjacent lot being offered by the city, but I’ll be sure to post that here. Now we’re starting a renewed fundraising effort to cover the next steps in the process. We’re also starting to think about how best to restore the depot to its former glory. READ MORE.
PREVIOUS ENTRIES ON THE PERRY DEPOT:
Effort to Save Former Rock Island Depot in Perry, Arkansas from Demolition (Sept. 2, 2017) – Features extensive photos I took inside the depot and details the early proposal to move it. This was before the city offered a property and at that time the idea was being floated to move the depot across the tracks to an area also owned by the Little Rock & Western Railway. READ MORE
Challenges Persist in Moving the Former Rock Island Depot at Perry, Arkansas (March 27, 2018) – Includes the first estimate from a company on the cost of moving the depot, which was unrealistic. I also update details of a rejected request for the Little Rock & Western to donate a piece of land. READ MORE
UPDATES ON THE PERRY DEPOT:
The Rock Island’s Perry, Arkansas Depot is Moved in Advance of Restoration (Oct. 28, 2018) – During the last week of September 2018, a house moving company placed steel beams underneath the Perry depot and moved it to a temporary location until we had a new foundation ready to place the depot on. This includes photos of the moving process and inside the depot. READ MORE
Grant Money Will Ensure Former Rock Island Depot in Perry Gets Back on the Ground (April 28, 2019) – At a time when fundraising was stagnant, we got great news as the Arkansas Economic Development Commission awarded the project nearly $10,000 to create a community meeting place and museum inside the depot. READ MORE
Preparing to Place Rock Island Depot at Perry, Arkansas in New Location (Jan. 5, 2020) – Extensive work was done to build up a city-owned piece of land to place the Perry depot on. Record flooding threatened the depot in its temporary location and showed the ground where it would be placed needed to be higher than originally planed. READ MORE
Relocation Completed of Rock Island Depot in Arkansas, Now Fundraising Begins to Repair Roof (March 1, 2020) – In January, the house moving company returned to Perry and placed the depot in its new location. Then a block mason built a foundation underneath, with the depot now ready for renovations to begin. The next priority is repairing the roof. READ MORE
After years of debate and public hearings, a controversial project to widen Interstate 30 through the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock is getting closer to beginning. On the deadline for comments about an environmental assessment, 30 Crossing Project Director Ben Browning joined me on AETN’s “Arkansas Week” to take questions about the $632 million project. A 6.7 mile stretch of the interstate is to be remade, including replacing the Arkansas River Bridge.
I used quotes from Browning and added comments from an opponent of the project in my version of the story for KUAR, which you can read here. Submission of the proposal to the Federal Highway Administration for approval comes at the same time as construction is getting underway on a separate project to add an additional lane in each direction to I-630 in Little Rock.
This is the online home of broadcasting news veteran Michael Hibblen. I've worked for newspapers, radio and TV stations around the country, with this website telling the story of my career, including audio, photos and videos. Also featured are various interests I've researched, primarily about radio and railroads. Today I'm Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, overseeing production of Arkansas Week and the streaming of events on the Arkansas Citizens Access Network. The posts on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Arkansas PBS or my former employers.
My Book
Released by Arcadia Publishing in 2017, Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas delves into the history of the railroad which once had a huge footprint in Arkansas, as well as other states in the middle of the U.S. The book features historic photos and tells the story of the Rock Island, which was shut down in March 1980. READ MORE
For 13 years, from May 2009 to December 2022, I worked for NPR station KUAR-FM 89.1 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. That included 10 years as News Director while continuing to anchor and report. You can read and hear reports from that time on Little Rock Public Radio's website.
