277 As more pioneers came into the community and good farms began to multiply Billy Rowland, a leader and a man of vision, saw the need for a river landing nearer home than the distant ones at Caryville and Pigeon Hill. With roads what they were and the oxcart the main vehicle for hauling, it was slow work to transport freight to and from a-not-too-near river port. Therefore, although the community was still sparcely settled Rowland built for his own convenience and the convenience of his neighbors a floating landing at the nearest point on the Ouachita River. It was known as Rowland's Raft. At first this dock was merely a sort of flag station where passing river craft occasionally stopped but as time went on and the business of the community increased it developed into a regular steamboat landing and became the shipping and receiving point for a large area. Rowland's Raft did much to advance the interests of that portion of the county. There was no semblance of a village in the scattered group of settlements that formed Dark Corner but there were citizens in the group who felt an interest in the welfare through the medium of the ballot (2). The nearest point at which this ballot must be cast was far too distant to suit the average voter: therefore the court was petitioned to create a more convenient voting place. the petition was granted in 1846. Then the lines of Harrison and Johnson Townships were shifted to give territory to a new township. The new unit was given the French name Lapile (sometimes spelled Lapeal) which means "the heap" or the "the pile." There is no explanation for the name unless it was reminiscent of some French trapper who had passed that way. Lapile Township is bounded on the north by Harrison Township, on the west by Johnson Township, the long southern boundary line lies along the Louisiana State line, and on the east the border is marked by the curves of the Ouachita River. ___________________ 2. Until the Township was created and called Lapile, this particular corner of the county had been called Dark Corner. Nobody seems to know the reason because the pioneers who settled here were of a fine type.           Contents  Words  Study Questions  Related Sites Next