Southeast Missouri was once known as the Great Southeast Missouri Swamp but in 1928, after eight years of planning and 14 years of backbreaking work, it became the world's largest drainage project, moving more earth than the construction of the Panama Canal. It is known as the The Little River Drainage Project and a local filmmaker is working to make a documentary about the project.
Steve E. Turner, a producer and director, grew up near St. Louis and moved to Jackson in 1994 and got the idea for "Little River" after he heard someone mention the Sikeston Ridge.
"I've been to Sikeston many times, but I had never seen any sort of ridge," Turner said. "Natural curiosity led to some basic research, and I was just stunned. Reading about the Great Southeast Missouri Swamp and the immense engineering feat of the Little River Project set me off on considering a documentary.
"More and more research convinced me more and more that the Little River Project ranked very high among engineering achievements, not to mention a much larger place in U.S. history."
"The Little River" is the story of the reclaiming of close to 1 million acres of swampland and charging into the 20th century that features national politicians, railroad tycoons, bankers, military engineers and timber companies to local politicians and businessmen, carpetbaggers, labor leaders, squatters, homesteaders and river traders.
As flooding made the area an uninhabitable swamp, the Swam Land Act of 1850 reverted federally owned swampland to states that agreed to drain the land for agricultural use. Missouri then granted the Swamp to the counties in which it was located. But counties found it difficult to title the land, even after timber companies removed the prime lumber from the area.
Landowners realized if they could drain and clear the land they would have very fertile farmland but the job was large and not even the government had undertaken anything of that size.
After a legal fight with the railroads and an example from the Panama Canal, plans for draining the swamp began in 1907 and were finalized by the end of 1909 with work beginning in 1913. Through World War I, disease outbreaks, 24-hour work schedules, floods and equipment disasters and even the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 work continued until it was finished in 1928. Now the Little River Drainage Project consists of 1,000 miles of ditches, 300 miles of levees, and covers 550,000 acres and drains two million acres and is maintained by the Little River Drainage District, based in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
"'Little River' will fill a hole in the American historical record," according to Turner. "Through vivid cinematography and well-informed interview subjects, viewers will come to understand a new level of human endeavor and spirit. Almost unimaginable in scope, the Little River Drainage Project proved almost anything was possible. It was, and is, a foundation stone of the United States."
In striving to make sure the film meets the highest standard of historical accuracy, Turner has enlisted the help of retired SEMO history professor Frank Nickell to act as an historical advisor. In addition, the board of the Little River Drainage District (www.thelrdd.org) is cooperating in the process and will serve as a resource.
Turner is currently looking for people to interview for the documentary, like current political figures, landowners, civil engineers, historians and curators, business owners, local historians, librarians, farmers and descendants of historical figures.
"What's most important immediately is to find older individuals who have first- and second-hand knowledge of the drainage project and/or life in the Bootheel pre-1930," Turner said.
Besides subjects to interview, Turner is also seeking financial sponsors. Pre-production on "Little River" began Jan. 2, as Turner's production company, Big Prairie Films, partnered with non-profit International Documentary Association (www.documentary.org). All the sponsorships and contributions to "Little River" are payable to IDA and are tax deductible. The IDA has also approved the production proposal and will monitor the financial expenditures.
"This film will have a lasting legacy for SEMO, and every advisor I've spoken with feels strongly that sponsorships and donations should come from Southeast Missouri. That credit for the film's creation stays here in SEMO. So my hope is to complete the process without having to look to out-of-state interests, the coasts or multinational sponsors.
"This film will have a lasting legacy for SEMO, and every advisor I've spoken with feels strongly that sponsorships and donations should come from Southeast Missouri. That credit for the film's creation stays here in SEMO. So my hope is to complete the process without having to look to out-of-state interests, the coasts or multinational sponsors," Turner said.
Research and ongoing development will continue into the spring when Turner hopes to begin the subject interviews, which said should be completed by June. He added the second phase of filming should begin in September and continue through November. After editing, previews and retouches, Turner said he hopes the film should be ready for release by Sept. 1, 2019.
All contributions to "Little River" are made payable to the IDA, who will monitor Big Prairie Films' financial expenditures. Credit card contributions can be made through a link on the www.LittleRiverDoc.org website that takes you to a secure IDA webpage.
Check contributions can be made by following the instructions on the www.LittleRiverDoc.org website. The "Little River" facebook page, www.facebook.com/littleriverdoc, will have ongoing updates and announcements.