In the fall of 2005 a drought in northwest Arkansas caused the level of Beaver Lake to drop drastically. By early 2006, the level had dropped to about 1105 feet above sea level when the upper photo was taken. This view of the amphitheater (or pyramid), which was to have served as the foyer to the pyramid (or obelisk) which he was never able to build, was taken from the northwest side of the Oklahoma Row tower. The top of the wall around the pyramid is about 1113 feet above sea level. The large retaining wall behind the pyramid goes up to about 1115' above sea level. The lake water level was about 1105 feet when the upper photo was taken and about 1124 feet when the lower photo was made.
The photos below show the little point of land on the other side from the amphitheater. All that's visible in this photo is top of the big wall at the end of the point of land on the edge of the water. The "pyramid" is on the opposite side of the point from this vantage point. About 1/3 of the pyramid's west wall was above water as shown on previous pages. The photograph was made from the parking area on the lake side of Canal Dr. at Summit Dr. The location was under water by the time the second photo was made in February 2007.
| THE INDEX OF PAGES FOR THIS ARTICLE |
| PAGE 1 - The story of Coin Harvey and Monte Ne with photos of the amphitheater. |
| PAGE 2 - Concrete Bank Block Building and Views of the Lagoon |
| PAGE 3 - Lodge, Burial Vault, and Photos with the Lake at Three Levels |
| PAGE 4 - 1977 Lake Level marked on Old Photos, Views into the Water, Checking the Time Capsule, Related Links |
| PAGE 5 - Lissa Myer's Current photos of the ruins at Monte Ne: the Tower Windows, old foundations, and crowds at the amphitheater. |
| PAGE 6 - 2005 Views of Oklahoma Row foundation and tower with a new summary of the events of William Hope "Coin" Harvey's involvement with his Monte Ne Resort and the good roads movement. This page includes many links to other informative web sites related to Coin Harvey and Monte Ne. |
| PAGE 7 - Photo and map of the old townsite with a panoramic photo of some of the foundation ruins on the lake shore and across the lake to the amphitheater. There is a photo that shows the new location of Harvey's tomb. The text includes some comments from a U.S. Corps of Engineers employee who toured the Monte Ne site for the Corps in the early 60s. |
| PAGE 8 - Coin Harvey's Amphitheater around the Big Spring at Monte Ne. Harvey planned this to be the foyer for his pyramid or obelisk in which he planned to place a"time capsule" or museum room to hold all the important documents and marvels of civilization. However, that was never to be because he was unable to obtain financing. The photos on this page show the upper parts of the amphitheater now exposed by the dropping waters of Beaver Lake. Old photos from before the lake was built and at other times when the lake was low are included for comparison. |
| PAGE 9 - This page continues the amphitheater description with the south wall. Most of the south wall is under water even with the lake level at 1106 feet above sea level. The south wall may have been the planned entrance to the pyramid and time capsule that Coin Harvey wanted to build. In any case, he probably planned to build the pyramid, or obelisk, on the little hill behind the amphitheater. That little hill is an island when the lake level gets to the 1120 to 1125 range as shown in the photo posted on the previous page. |
| PAGE 10 - On the side of the hill behind the south wall is a tall retaining wall. The area was so covered in brush in 1961 and I was so hesitant about the possibility of trespassing that I didn't find that wall. There is a paved driveway leading from the east of the amphitheater up to the area above the wall where the railroad depot used to be. There are also panoramice photos of the view from the amphitheater back toward the old Monte Ne town site. |
| PAGE 11 - Selected Monte Ne Resort photos from the Rogers Historical Museum used by permission. Photo of old Monte Ne in great detail. Photos of the Bank Block when new and years later after it had been gutted by fire or weather. Photos of the amphitheater from its unfinished construction in 1928 and when that part of Beaver Lake was dry in the winter of 1977. |
| PAGE 12 - 2006 Wedding in the Monte Ne amphitheater. First wedding there in more than 40 years? Photo of Ann in the amphitheater in 2006 compared to a similar photo from 1977. |
| PAGE 13 - Photos comparing the low lake level in January 2006 with the same areas in January 2007 after the lake level rose about 20 feet. |
| See bottom of this page for LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES RELATED TO MONTE NE AND COIN HARVEY |
| Skipper Family Magazine SITE INDEX PAGE |
Friends of Monte Ne!Can the Friends of Monte Ne be reorganized now that there is such great interest in the lost resort? With proper organization, planning, and fund raising, some nice things could be done in the area by the Lake at old Monte Ne.
It would help to have someone with connections to the local district of the Army Corps of Engineers, the State Parks Department, and maybe some of the local politicians. If you're interested, e-mail me at jamesmskipper1141@att.net and I will pass it on to the interested people who live in the area. |
 For a definitive picture album/history of the resort at Monte Ne, purchase Allyn Lord's - "Historic Monte Ne" published by Arcadia Publishing in its Images of America series.
|
|
SUPPORT Pearland Meals on Wheels A Ministry of Pearland Churches |
|---|
| Originally Posted: 3/28/07 |
|---|