The Jonesboro, Lake City and Eastern Railroad (JLC&E) was a short line railroad that operated in Mississippi and Craighead

Craighead County, Arkansas

Craighead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 96,443. It is included in the Jonesboro, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Craighead County is Arkansas's 58th county, formed on February 19, 1859, and named for state Senator Thomas...

 Counties of northeast Arkansas. This railroad received a charter from the State of Arkansas on April 7, 1897, and track construction between Jonesboro

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Jonesboro is a city in and one of the two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 US Census, the population of the city was 67,263. A college town, Jonesboro is the largest city in northeastern Arkansas and the fifth most populous city in the state...

 and Blytheville

Blytheville, Arkansas

Blytheville is the largest city in and one of the two county seats of Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 15,620 at the 2010 census....

 began soon thereafter.

Early history

The initial push to construct the JLC&E came from timber owners and land speculators in northeast Arkansas, all of whom saw the availability of railroad transportation as a necessary ingredient to harvesting timber. By the time the railroad was completed in the summer of 1901, several large sawmills were either in operation or being built along the tracks. In early 1911, the JLC&E was purchased by R.E. Lee Wilson a prominent landowner who resided in Wilson, Arkansas

Wilson, Arkansas

Wilson is a town in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 939 at the 2000 census.The town was named after Robert E. Lee Wilson, a landowner and logging business owner in the area in the late 19th century....

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The JLC&E railroad was purchased by the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway (Frisco) in 1924, and operated as a Frisco branch line into the 1970s. All of the former JLC&E tracks have been dismantled, except for a short segment between Blytheville

Blytheville, Arkansas

Blytheville is the largest city in and one of the two county seats of Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 15,620 at the 2010 census....

 and Armorel, Arkansas

Armorel, Arkansas

Armorel is an unincorporated township located in Mississippi County, Arkansas. A largely rural area with most of its land devoted to forests and farms, population estimates are variously given as between 300 and 500 people. Most of the town lies between U.S. Highway 18 and U.S. Highway 312.The...

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