Soon the final nail in the White would be driven with the start of construction of Table Rock Dam.
“Cum spring, Table Rock Lake is buryin’ old White”.
Quote from Jim Owen from a 1957 Sports Afield article (March 1957) written by Dan Saults.
At the peak of his float trip business, late 1940’s, Jim Owen owned 40 boats and employed 35 guides. In the 33 years of operation, the Jim Owen Boat Line used up 300 johnboats and floated some 10,000 sportsmen from all over the country.
With the completion of Table Rock dam in 1958, the era of the White River float trip ended. The last Jim Owen trip was in 1958 after 33 years of operation.