Toad Suck
Toad Suck is historic ferry crossing on the Arkansas River west of Conway on the border between Faulkner County and Perry County. Toad Suck was also the location of an historic nineteenth-century Butterfield Stage Landing. Today the area is home to Toad Suck Lock and Dam and Toad Suck Park. Arkansas Highway 60 crosses the river at the lock and dam.
There are two stories about how the area got its distinctive name. In the first account, it is said that steamboat captains plying the waters of the Arkansas regularly stopped here and drank at a local tavern nearby. Supposedly residents commented on the propensity of these captains to "suck on the bottle 'til they swelled up like toads." Bolstering this explanation, the term taudis sucre' is also said to be a corrupted French expression meaning "sweet water" and possibly referring to rum drink. The second, and more likely, account explains the name as a common name for a protected eddy in the river where boats might be tied up. A map of the river dating to 1853 also purportedly shows a Bear Suck and a Cow Suck.
The annual Toad Suck Daze festival in Conway takes its name from the ferry crossing.
References
- Patty Delano, Off the Beaten Path Arkansas: A Guide to Unique Places, (Globe Pequot, 2006), 211.
