From 1879, Arkansas City grew into a thriving river city for the next forty years. It had a natural harbor for steamboats and two railways, as well as fourteen salons and three sawmills.
An opera house was moved to Arkansas City in 1891. The building was also used as an unofficial "town hall"; at other times it became a ballroom, and citizens danced to music of groups from Memphis, Tennessee. The city then had several churches and two doctors.
Until the flood of 1927, Arkansas City was an important commercial and cultural center and one of the most important ports on the Mississippi River. The flood of 1927 devastated the city. More than 2,000 people had to be rescued. The harbor closed and made the railroads unnecessary. The city never fully recovered from this tragedy.[13]