BEACHES OF REELFOOT LAKE
by
Al Hutchison, Sr.
I was born in 1920 and some of my first memories are Sunday afternoon trips to Reelfoot Lake. My Dad was an avid hunter and fisherman and usually we headed for Samburg or the spillway. In the summer we would go to Edgewater or Sunkist Beach on the Washout. I do not know when they were first called beaches because the sandy shorelines had been along the Washout since Reelfoot Lake was formed by the New Madrid Earthquake in 1811-12. The story of the earthquake is well covered in history books. When the land under the lake sunk, water from the Mississippi ran east through the Washout area into the lake and washed out a deep channel. Even in the early 60's there were places in the east end of the Washout 50 feet deep. When Highway 21 was built across the east end it cut the washout off from Reelfoot Lake and left a clean, deep channel which was ideal for boating. The north shore of the Washout is steep and drops off into deep water but the south shore has several reaches with sloping shoreline and sand deposits. The natural sand areas were at the east and west ends of the Washout which became Sunkist Beach, at the west end, and Edgewater Beach at the east end. These two beach areas were in use long before I was born. Even then, Reelfoot was the most popular spot for family picnics, fishfries and political gatherings.
In 1936, when I was 16, my family sent me to Tiptonville to work on the Highway 78 construction project which extended from about a mile north of Tiptonville to the Kentucky state line. We had our office in a trailer at New Markham. We were limited to 40 hours a week and at my wage of 30 cents an hour, my biggest pay check was $11.88. One percent deducted for Social Security. I paid $7.00 a week for room and board and this left almost $5.00 to spend. I was rich. Cokes or ice cream were a nickel, double dip was a dime. The picture show cost 15 cents. I was off on Saturday and Sunday and on the weekends we went to Sunkist Beach, Lakeview Dining Room or the Roundhouse. Afternoons were spent at the soda fountain in Markham's Drug Store.
For some reason, unknown to me, the beaches lost popularity during WWII. Edgewater was shut down, as a beach, and someone built a large Dancehall at the east end next to Highway 22.. There were several cabins and summer houses on the property. I suppose Sunkist kept operating.
After the war, Lake County boomed along with the rest of the country. Veterans used the GI Bill to go to college or build a house. Businesses,farming related activities and the sawmills were providing plenty of jobs. Sunkist Beach was active and in the early fifties Magnolia Beach was developed on the south side of the washout about halfway between Sunkist and Edgewater. Magnolia Beach became very popular as it was well maintained and operated.
During the war, the dancehall at Edgewater was the place to go on Saturday night. Reelfoot was the focus of soldiers, sailors and airmen from all over west Tennessee who came to Reelfoot on weekends to eat, fish, swim or party. But, after the war, the dancehall attraction faded and bowling lanes were installed on top of the dance floor. The bowling was never very successful.
In 1956, the Edgewater property was purchased and rebuilt. The dancehall was torn down, all the cottages were moved to a circle at the west end of the property. One of the larger houses was converted into a dining room. The beach area was completely rebuilt with new dressing rooms and basket house. A new pier with diving tower was constructed and a concrete boat launching ramp next to a skiing area was built. The facility was renamed Edgewater Beach Resort and the new beach was scheduled to open on July 4th, 1957.
The rains came in June. By the first of July, the Mississippi River was flooding the sweet corn fields in Kentucky Bend and on Sheep Ridge. Reelfoot was overflowing and the water in the Washout was rising. The water was up on the beach and almost to the concrete floor of the new bath house. The owner of Edgewater, who also owned a lumber yard, brought a truckload of 2x10s and several carpenters to the beach. The 2x10s were turned on edge about two feet apart on the floor of the dressing rooms and other 2x10s were laid flat as flooring. This raised the floor about one foot. The beach opened as scheduled on July 4th and about 1800 swimmers enjoyed the Fourth of July at Edgewater.
Business was very good at all three beaches for the next several years. Boating, skiing, fishing and swimming plus the parks, good food and lodging facilities attracted people from as far away as Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis. Then a funny thing happened.
A farmer who farmed south of Sunkist Beach dug a drainage ditch from his farm along side the east side of the county road that runs north and south and intersects the road on the south side of the Washout about 600 feet east of Sunkist. He then cut across the Washout road and installed a large culvert so the ditch would drain into the Washout. The land the farmer drained is low and is what is called "crawfish dirt". It is a stiff, gray clay and when its' particles are suspended in water they take forever to settle out.
When the first rains came that spring the gray water poured into the Washout and discolored the water from Sunkist almost to Magnolia Beach. The water stayed discolored all summer. Swimming and boating were severely curtailed. The Washout had changed from a clear, clean looking body of water to a dingy gray color. This was 1960.
Someone else will have to pick up the story here. I lost track of the beach history after I left Lake County. I do know, from reading the Lake County Banner, that there is an effort underway now to dig a drainage ditch west from the Sunkist Area to divert some of the drainage now flowing into the Washout. This should have been done a long time ago. It should help the water quality.
Maybe someone will write a sequel to this story.
Note from Webmaster: Anyone wanting to take up the story at this place, contact Leslie Moore.