calsfoundation@cals.org
January 4, 1892
The town of Blytheville (Mississippi County) was incorporated. Blytheville (or Blythesville, as it was once called) was designed and formally launched by the Reverend Henry T. Blythe, a Methodist Episcopal minister, on 160 acres of land between two other established communities in Mississippi County. Blytheville’s first surge of success came from the lumber industry. Once the trees were cut, the remaining fertile soil afforded great agricultural advantages, and Mississippi County is still number one in cotton production in the state. In addition to agriculture, the steel industry and barge traffic on the Mississippi River support the economic health of Blytheville.