Brinkley

Most people might now the town of Brinkley because of its important location on I-40 - about halfway between Little Rock and Memphis. But there is more to the town than a place to use the potty. Brinkley has a nice little downtown, with several older and historic buildings. A few of them are empty, and since I'm finishing a project on abandoned and threatened buildings in the Arkansas Delta, I stopped to take a few pictures while I was driving through.

Brinkley was established in 1872, along the just-completed railroad that snaked through the swampy Delta lands and connected Memphis and Little Rock. The original name for the settlement, which they totally should have kept, was Lick Skillet. Legend says that the crew that built the railroad would cook their dinners over an open fire, and would retire for the evening only when the last skillet was licked.

This was written on the side of a building that used to be the home of a bar. It sits by the railroad tracks that still pass through the heart of the town.

It was getting close to sunset, and the sun was casting a golden glow on some of the buildings.

Also sitting by the train tracks was this old auto parts store. The large ad on the side of the building still stands out, even if the paint has faded and chipped away in places.

And the sign that sits on top of the store, which was in a neat old art-deco building.

Just down the block was this massive ghost sign, stretching along the entire length of the wall of this old building. The ad was for Kis-Me Gum.

Kis-Me Gum was actually the first ever gum to have fruit flavors. The gum's slogan was that it was "Far Better Than A Kiss."