This historic Arch spans US Highway 61 at the Arkansas-Missouri state line, between Blytheville, Arkansas and Steele, Missouri. The concrete horseshoe arch reads "Entering Arkansas" on one side and "Entering Missouri" on the other. The arch is the only archway over a US Highway in Arkansas. Erected in 1924 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 2001 - The Highway 61 Arch is one of only a handful of US Highway Arches still standing in their original location.
The Mississippi County, Arkansas Road Improvement District built the arch in 1924 after paving the highway; it erected a similar arch over the highway at the Crittenden County line, but that arch was removed in the 1950s. At the time, the highway was called the North-South Road, and it was already a major route between St. Louis and Memphis; the next year, it was designated as part of US Highway 61. Once upon a time, there was also an arch at Gateway, Arkansas, on Hwy 37, but it has been gone many, many years.
AN ARCH IN TIME
by Robert Thompson
U.S. Route 61 is the official designation for the highway that runs from New Orleans, past Memphis, Cape Girardeau and St. Louis, ending up in Wyoming, Minn.This section through Arkansas was once a dirt trail called the North-South Road, and was in such poor shape that it might take as much as a full day to cover 15 miles.
In 1923-25 came the building of State Highway 61 through Mississippi County, AR. A monumental arch was built at each end of the county. It was monumental, indeed, like a tombstone.
Every town, city or influential landowner wanted a piece of the road, so the result was a crooked, short, and dangerously curved way to town. However, it was much appreciated.
Much ill planning went into the road and the arches. The highway was poured as a continuous ribbon without any expansion joints. When hot summer time came, the road expanded, causing big chunks of concrete to pile up, resulting in many injuries and much property damage to vehicles, especially at night.
The arches, though nicely designed, were constructed too close to the roadside for future widening, thus the Crittenden County Arch had to be torn down.
Highway 61 brought a great flow of traffic to and from Memphis and St. Louis. Due to a much lower gas and cigarette tax in Missouri, all traffic seemed to stop at the Arch and "tank up" with gas. This caused an influx of competition among major oil companies.
The short span of highway at the arch caused a dense construction of gas stations, making "The Arch" the per square foot retail gas capital of the United States.
Along with this flow of people came stores of all kinds -- groceries, alcoholic beverages, nightclubs, gambling, slot machines, etc. -- making competition fierce.
The Arch became known as "Little Chicago" after some strafing incidents. However, we were somewhat proud of its notoriety. As some would say, it was a good place to go while the wife and kids were in church.
Years later, the city fathers had enough influence to pull Interstate 55 farther east and made sure there was no commercial interchange at the Ark-Mo state line. This dried up this center of business almost overnight. Gas and cigarettes are not nearly as competitive. Only a trickle of the old business is left.
The Arch is indeed a monument to some very interesting events. Many of us remember it rather fondly as the entrance to Arkansas and home from long trips and even wars.
*Mr. Robert Thompson of Yarbro is a notable, quotable local who is deeply interested in Mississippi County history.
FOOTNOTE: There were at one time as many as 14 service stations lined up on the north side of "the line" making nearby Yarbro what once was said to be the largest town in the United States without a gas station. The last commercial business to operate on "the line" closed in the summer of 1989 (Bailey's Whiskey Store), ending an era.
Highway 61, called the Great River Road because it parallels the Mississippi River a good part of its run also answers to the name “Blues Highway” because of the path it takes through Blues country.
Logging Requirement:
To claim a find you must include in your online log a photo of you (or your personal item) with something geocaching related (gps, a trackable or a piece of paper with your geocaching name) with the arch in the photo.
This can be a high traffic area at times so please be careful and keep a close eye on children and pets. There is plenty of parking at the Arch and room to stretch your legs.
Found It logs that do not have this photo will be deleted!
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.