Back To The Delta

It was a cold and rainy Saturday when I drove off towards the Arkansas Delta. It probably wasn't the most ideal traveling conditions, but I hoped that it would make for some moody photographs. I first drove through the small town of Scott, and pulled over by this old barn. My shoes sank into the wet and muddy ground with an audible squelch as I walked over to take this picture:



It had been pouring rain all day, and there was water everywhere. The ditches and fields were flooded in places, including this pecan tree orchard near Keo.



And the fields on the right were flooded in this shot, the waters home to several ducks.



Heading up the road I tried to get a view of a bunch of different silos, reflected in the murky waters as the heavy and forlorn clouds drifted above.



I headed further east, and drove through the small town of Ulm. The town was first settled in the 1880s by German immigrants, who named it after their former home city of Ulm in Bavaria. The town became a stop along the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, which ran across the state from Texarkana to St. Francis. The town now has a population of about 200 people, and has some interesting old buildings. This is the old Ulm Methodist Church:





There were a few abandoned homes here as well.





And this one kinda breaks my heart. If you look at the Google Street View of Ulm, you'll find this house as it was in 2014. The house is well-maintained, with an American flag flying on the porch. The yard is filled with a happy and vibrant selection of plants, and decorated with various knickknacks and bird baths. But on this rainy day in 2023 the house was abandoned. The yard was overgrown with brown weeds, with a crooked "Price Reduced" sign nearly hidden by a bush. I don't know what happened here, but we can guess. I can easily imagine a scenario, where the original owners were elderly, but they loved and dedicated their lives to this house and its yard. But when they sadly passed on, and there was no one to take care of the house or the property. It was put up for sale, but there were no takers. And then time passed along, as it always does.



Just north of Ulm, along a bumpy gravel road, was this abandoned home. It was interesting find thanks to the combination of blue stone siding, and the selection of purple flowers growing in what used to be the front yard.



From there I got back on the main road and drove towards Clarendon. Pictures from there coming soon....