Helena, AR

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"The rivers of the state, so vital to transportation, could change from blessings to curses in only a few days. The Arkansas River rose in September 1836, to a mark higher than nay since the 1833 overflow and severely damaged crops in its flood plain. Earlier in 1836, during the Mississippi River's annual spring flood, Editor Yeomans wrote that there was almost as big a river behind Helena as before it. "One foot rise in the river now, and we should require a lead and line to find the town."

Source: Stokes, Allen D., "Arkansas in 1836," Phillips County Historical Quarterly. June, 1964. Vol.2, #4, p.30.