Artwork Adds a Splash of Color to the I30 Bridge

Before the Clinton library was built on Markham Street, the underside of the I30 bridge was more or less decorated with graffiti and litter. The city put good money to use by cleaning up the area, even patching the sidewalks and adding sculptures and artwork. The artwork adds a better splash of color than the graffiti.

In November 2004, over 3,500 hand painted tiles, made by surrounding Little Rock students, were placed on the underside of the I30 bridge, receiving positive attention to the many tourist that frequent that area. I myself had to get a closer look. One specific tile grabbed my attention as it represented Autism, something that I am quite familiar with.

Dueling in Arkansas

Yesterday, my daughter and I had gone to see a re-enactment of a duel at the Plantation Museum in Scott, Arkansas.

When you here the words Civil War, you might think of Gettysburg, or Robert E. Lee, or Ft Sumter, North Carolina. Not a lot of people know that quite a few Civil War skirmishes happened here in Arkansas.

The duel between two Confederate Generals, Major General John S. Marmaduke and Brigadier General Lucius Marshall Walker, was somewhat famous here in Arkansas as dueling was forbidden and outlawed by 1820.

The duel was set up by Marmaduke’s and Walker’s assistants corresponding with one another on the fact that one General called the other General a coward. The duel occurred eight miles south of Little Rock on the early morning of September 6, 1863. Marmaduke wounded Walker, who would later die of his injuries. Marmaduke was arrested and imprisoned. 

Things in Arkansas wasn’t going very well as it were as Union troops had captured the capitol, forcing the Confederate army to retreat.