Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas

Pine Bluff Murals

Jefferson County, Arkansas

Arkansas River and Agriculture in 1908

Cotton farming and river boats have been a familiar part of Pine Bluff business and industry throughout the city's history.

This scene was recreated from photographs taken around the turn of the century. The product of a bountiful harvest is being hauled to the river port on a mule drawn wagon. Commodities loaded onto river boats were shipped down the Arkansas River to the Mississippi River and then to New Orleans.

Today the Port of Pine Bluff located on the slackwater harbor of the Arkansas River has facilities for, barge loading and unloading, liquid & dry bulk storage, 25 & 50 ton cranes, harbor tow service, and overseas ports utilizing Lash and Seabee.

Located at 5th & Pine Painted by Alan Wylie of Britsh Columbia.

Looking north on Main Street from 3rd Avenue you see the Jefferson County Court House on Barraque Street.

The picture is a compilation of many historic photographs. The store fronts, names of the old business firms and the mule drawn street cars are represented just as they were over 100 years ago.

Two figures dominate the foreground of the mural. On the left is a portrait of Judge J. W. Bocage, an early settler in Pine Bluff who arrived in the community in 1840. Serving as a judge, mayor, and historian of the town, he lived until the turn of the century.

On the right is a portrait of Wiley Jones, owner of the public transportation system in Pine Bluff in 1888. A freed slave, he rose to prominence in the community and gained considerable wealth through his business ventures. He owned and raised thoroughbred race horses as a hobby and built a race track at the south end of Main Street.

You can view this mural from across 3rd Avenue and then look slightly to the right and see the exact same view of present day downtown Pine Bluff and get the feeling of jumping back and forward in time.

Located at 3rd & Main Painted by Robert Dafford

Main Street Pine Bluff 1888

Painted by Robert Dafford & Douglas Dafford,

Lafayette, Louisiana - October 1992