2/34 – Belfast, Arkansas: 12/14 Aug 2024

I left Randy and Jazz at 0930 and made my way, more or less directly to the Natchez Trace Parkway. This is a wonderful road; perfect surface and empty of traffic, it wanders through forest (mainly) and farmland for 100 miles – at least the part that I did was 100 miles.

I stopped in a little town called Collinwood, where I had coffee on a wonderful emporium called the Dragonfly. I can heartily recommend this if you’re passing. David, the owner will give you a warm welcome, and the brownies are so good, I bought one to take with me.

It was a longish ride today, so I ploughed on until the heat and humidity forced a stop. I pulled into a “historical site” and saw a tableau commemorating the forced removal of the Chickasaw Indian Tribe from their ancestral homelands. I found this a poignant reminder of the shameful history of this so-called “Land of the Free”; a history which I don’t think the majority of white Americans have acknowledged and this possibly contributes to some of the country’s ongoing difficulties.

However, with a daily total of 200+ miles to cover, I didn’t have time to linger or reflect for long. The Traceway, took me all the way to Tupelo, where I was stopping for the night,making it a little easier.

My hosts for the night were Denny and Brigid, and they did a great job. I was given a tour of Elvis’ birthplace and first church; the shop where he bought his first guitar; and the impressive Vietnam War Wall of Remembrance – a replica of the original in Washington DC. After this I was treated to a fantastic steak in a Texas Roadhouse.

Tue 13 Aug: I left early in the morning as I had even further to go than yesterday – 270 miles this time. This was due to (another) change of plan. I wanted to get close to Belfast, AR so that I could visit it in the morning and move on immediately, rather than spend a second night, because I didn’t expect to see much there.

It was a long hot day, and stops were forced rather than chosen. I was 100 km from the end when I decided to stop for fuel. Nothing unusual there, except that as I pulled away, I noticed petrol pouring out of the air filter and. Down onto the engine.  I cut the fuel at the tap and moved to the side of the garage forecourt.

The next hour was spent, in 35ºC ad 60% humidity, trying to work out why one of the carbs was overflowing. I, perhaps foolishly, removed the float and needle, and then struggled for ages, as I had forecast to myself, to get it back in. After this typical check, where you find nothing wrong and reassemble the offending part, the overflow stopped, and I continued on my way.

Things happen in threes, they say. Well first was the overflow; then when I went to get some air to blow out the carb vent pipe and tube, the air pump didn’t work; and finally, when I had finished, I tried to get some ice for my water bottle and … there was none left!

Nonetheless, I made it to a town called Sheridan, a mere 18km from Belfast, so all set up for tomorrow.

Wed 14 Aug: The day that started out reasonably well, almost turned to disaster and then just as quickly improved again. As recommended by Hondaman, I inflated the tyres and it seems to have made something of a difference, although it is certainly a slightly harsher ride, and I then set out to find the Belfast Pioneer Commemorative Stone, which, surprise, surprise, turned out not to be where I thought, it was; it turned out I wasn’t alone in this! 🙂

I turned down the road indicated by GM, and found nothing, so I turned around to ask for info at the house I had just passed. I parked by the side of the road and since the bottom of the ditch was further down than it seemed, the bike immediately toppled over. As I walked across the road towards the house, to ask for assistance, two ladies emerged. These were Mandy and Carly McGarrity, clearly a family of Irish descent. Carly came and helped me right the bike, and when I asked her about the stone, Mandy interjected that she knew exactly where the stone was. She described where I would find it, and then offered to lead me there, even though it was in the opposite direction to her work.

Leaving my bags where they were, I followed Mandy to the turn off. The road to the stone was barred by a very well locked gate, so, since I didn’t have too far to go today (only 280kms) I set off to find it on foot. I walked for about 20 minutes in the heat and humidity – 30º and 77% – with no joy. So, a 45-minute walk altogether; I tried! My t-shirt was wetter than the one I washed and packed away this morning, and these jeans, while great on the bike, are certainly not made for hiking in this climate.

On the way back to the bike, I got a message from Mandy’s cousin Michelle. She was a bit of a history buff she said and had a book about Belfast written by an old lady Prof, who grew up in Belfast and still lived in Sheridan. She, Michelle was very keen to meet me but was currently at work about an hour away making it impossible as I was heading on as soon as I retrieved my bags; these I had left behind to avoid riding with them on a gravel road.

The offer of a bed for the night, a home cooked meal and introduction to “some very interesting people”, persuaded me that my schedule was not set in stone 😂 and I agreed to stay a bit longer. It would be good to get a deeper story also.

It would be a few hours before Michelle got home, so in the meantime I rode on down into Belfast – the new one – to see what there was to see. It is a beautiful, sleepy wooded rural spot. I could live here with no problem. Apart from a sign on a farm gate, there was nothing to suggest this was Belfast.

I headed back to Sheridan to Joe’s Diner to await Michelle’s call. I had missed breakfast by 10 minutes, but the ham and cheese toasty on the lunch menu was delicious. The staff were very friendly and interested in my venture. Only thing against it was the temperature; like all American eating establishments, the air con was full on. I probably would have been content under normal circumstances, but as my shirt dried, it became very chilly. I also decided that with the humidity as it was, I probably neede something more than water to replace all the fluid I was losing, so I bought some electrolyte powder from a pharmacy.

Belfast, Arkansas

So back to Belfast. There are, in fact, two Belfasts here, the Old Belfast and the New Belfast. The earliest settlers, arriving before 1840, established a small village situated near an excellent spring. Later, a two-story log structure built on site provided food, whiskey, and sleeping accommodations. The community later relocated approximately four miles east, to be near the newly established railroad, and this location is often referred to as New Belfast or simply, Belfast. At the original site, Old Belfast, the only physical evidence remaining is the well beside the spring (see photo above) and the aforementioned monument.

Old Belfast was a stop on the Camden Trail, that ran from Camden to Little Rock, and according to local oral traditions, the community received the name Belfast from an Irish stagecoach driver. On his first stop there, he ordered whiskey and was said to have exclaimed, “Be glory! I’ve found Belfast!” due to that Irish city’s reputation for excellent whiskey.

The Old Belfast Pioneer Monument was erected on April 13, 1974 by descendants of the original settlers in memory of their ancestors and as a permanent link to the original site to the memory of their ancestors.

Further info can be found here and here.

When I returned to New Belfast, Michelle arrived at the same time. IN no time we were in her bakkie, with her friend and fellow local historian Brent Davis, heading for the monument. This was not a t all where Mandy had thought, and she was to pay a high price for sending me off on a wild goose chase. Do you know the one that ends with “I wouldn’t start from here at all”?

We found the monument and the original spring, which is still flowing. The names of the original settlers are inscribed on it and both Michelle’s (Crawford) and Brent’s mother’s (Walters) family names are there. Many other families are still living in and around Belfast, and Michelle and Brent seemed to know them all!

We then visited the local cemetery, again seeing the strong family names and links, one to the other, and a memorial to a plane crash that happened in WWII, killing all 8 crew. The day finished with a visit to New Belfast.

Not a lot remains, of the store, pharmacy, railroad depot and church, other than a few dilapidated or collapsed buildings. The railroad that caused the migration had been pulled up many years back and all that remained was a long straight track.

As expected, Belfast, or at least New Belfast, did have a church at one time. All that remains now of the Belfast Baptist Missionary Church, established in 1912, is a small pile of rubble overgrown with weeds. At some point it moved to or was incorporated into the nearby Palestine Missionary Baptist Church on Highway 35.

The tour finished, we returned to Michelle’s home where I met her daughter Lanice, husband Nick and mother-in-law Judy. Mandy’s husband, Britt, whom I had met earlier, is an accomplished bluegrass musician, and he came to provide an impromptu personal concert for me. He had been to Ireland some years previously to play at the Omagh Bluegrass Festival, and I very much enjoyed hearing his stories from the experience. Unfortunately I cannot upload an example of his skilful performance.

A delicious dinner prepared by Lanice (I think) was almost the last highlight of a very full day. It was fortunate that Mandy and Britt came over as Michelle couldn’t find her copy of the book she had used to lure me into staying. Mandy brought a copy which I spent some time reading after dinner. The author, Lossie Rainbolt, who moved from an impoverished childhood in Belfast and other southern states where her father worked as a migrant worker during the Great Depression, to become a university professor perhaps gave JD Vance the idea for his Hillbilly Elegy with her autobiographical Flapjacks and Pot Likker, published some 8 years earlier.

After a great night’s sleep, I set out for the next Belfast in Missouri. I was only 24 hours later than planned, but it was time well spent and very much enjoyed. It is experiences like this that make my trip worthwhile and I offer a heartfelt thank you to all who made it such an unexpected and memorable day.