Shirley is located about 100 miles north of Little Rock in the Ozark Mountains. It has a population of 337 and is known for growing mushrooms. These photos were taken on Thursday, November 6, 2008. A strong cold front had passed early in the day.
From Lisa, who lives in Shirley, AR: "I live in Shirley and just wanted to let you know that the first two pictures shown are not of the old jail. The old jail is on the left as you are driving down the dirt road towards the train bridge and it is still there. The pictures you have are of an old cafe and then it was used for a school. It has been purchased by an individual who began tearing it down this past summer, (2008)."
Greater downtown area of the Shirley metroplex. That's Arkansas Highway 9 at the stop sign. Most of the businesses are on the outskirts of town.
Looking northwest along the old M&NA roadbed. The bridge can be seen straight ahead. This road is called River Road.
I walked on the southeast end of the bridge to get this shot. This is the Little Red River.
View looking northwest.
Standing on the bridge.
Looking back at my car. I then got in the car and drove across.
Before I drove across, I took this photo of the roadbed, looking southeast toward Shirley.
Just after I drove across, looking toward Shirley from the northwest side of the bridge.
Looking to the northwest. A dirt road continues on the old M&NA roadbed, but I didn't go any further.
Walking down to the river, I took this photo from below.
The roadbed has been graded downward on the northwest side of the bridge.
From inside the car, heading back to Shirley.
Taken from the car, looking generally northeast.
Looks like my car interior needs dusting!
Here's the bridge from a satellite.
