Land Clearing in Lepanto, AR

What Kind of Land Surrounds Lepanto?

Lepanto is located within the sunken lands of northeast Arkansas. That ground shifted and sank in the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. Lepanto, Marked Tree, Trumann and Tyronza are the Poinsett County towns of the sunken lands.

Before levees and drainage ditches came, the town site was merely a high spot in the canebrake swamp. The area was heavily forested, too. Improved drainage was completed by 1907. Lepanto grew up as a product of the timber industry and the railroads.

Over time, Lepanto changed from a logging community into an agricultural center. East of Crowley's Ridge, Poinsett County is rich, alluvial Delta land, mostly farmed in cotton. Soybeans and rice were added to area farms later. Poinsett County has more acres in rice than any other county in Arkansas.

On ground this flat, brush moves in wherever the field work stops. Bush hogging with the brush cutter on the skid steer takes down tall grass, weeds, briars and light brush. Where saplings have taken hold, the drum mulcher grinds them into mulch in place.

Ditch Banks, Turn Rows and Wooded Bottoms Near Lepanto

Levees and drainage ditches opened this swamp up for farming. A ditch bank never sees a planter, so saplings, vines and briars get a start there. Turn rows and field corners fill in the same way when nobody cuts them.

Some brush is hard to keep out. Arkansas Extension lists Chinese privet as widespread and aggressive in the state. In one Extension demonstration, privet had taken over an abandoned field. A fall pass with the brush cutter helps keep a cleared edge open.

Wooded tracts and sloughs in the bottoms grow up in thickets and saplings. The drum mulcher grinds brush, saplings and small trees and leaves the mulch on the ground. We look at the larger timber with you on the estimate. Pasture and fence line clearing opens a grown-up fence row so a new fence can go in.

The Little River is part of the Lepanto story, too. The bridge over the Little River collapsed in 1957, and a new bridge was dedicated in 1963. Low ground near the river bottoms can stay soft after a rain. We plan that work for a dry stretch.

Town Lots, Main Street and the Terrapin Derby

Lepanto had 1,732 people at the 2020 Census, and it is part of the Jonesboro metro area. The town's ZIP code is 72354. Lepanto was incorporated on February 25, 1909.

The town is named for the Greek seaport of Lepanto, the site of a great sea battle in 1571. Settlers chose the name when the post office request was granted in 1894. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas says no other community in the United States is named Lepanto.

The Lepanto Terrapin Derby began as a fundraiser for the American Legion. It runs on the first Saturday in October on Main Street and draws several thousand people. The turtles raced down a sixty-foot course toward a finish line lined with slices of watermelon. Lepanto was also a filming site for the TV movie of John Grisham's A Painted House.

An empty town lot can fill in with vines, saplings and brush. Brush clearing takes thickets and vines out from around a house, a shed or a back fence. For a new house or shop site, lot clearing takes out the brush and small trees. Then we rough grade the ground. The builder's excavator digs the foundation after we finish.

How Do We Get From Monette to Lepanto?

From Monette, we take AR 18 to Black Oak. There, AR 135 runs south through Caraway to Lepanto. AR 135 meets AR 14 and AR 140 in Lepanto.

From town, AR 140 continues east to Osceola and passes Etowah on the way. AR 140 and AR 14 run together between Lepanto and Marked Tree. South on AR 135 is Tyronza. We also work in Marked Tree and Osceola, and in Trumann.

Harrisburg is the county seat of Poinsett County. Arkansas counties post burn bans through the state Forestry Division. Check the burn ban map before you burn a pile. For a flood zone or fill question on low ground, start with the city or the county offices in Harrisburg. We can point you to the right office.

For a gravel driveway, we grade the base, then spread and crown the gravel so rain runs off. A new entrance onto AR 135 or AR 140 may need an ARDOT permit, and the county handles county roads. Dirt work with the skid steer levels a yard, spreads fill dirt or topsoil and smooths ground after clearing.

After high wind or an ice storm, limbs and downed trees can block a field road or a driveway. Storm cleanup means cutting them up, grappling them into piles and hauling them off on the dump trailer.