The eccentric William Hope "Coin" Harvey built an amazing amphitheater -- or Pyramid as known to local folks -- at Monte Ne in the late 1920s.
The saga of the Pyramid began when Harvey arrived in Rogers in 1900 and opened his office in the Golden Rule building. He bought 320 acres of the lush valley southeast of Rogers and designed his resort of Monte Ne. Harvey dammed the creek flowing through his property to create a small lake or lagoon. Around the lagoon, he built three large hotels, a bank, stores, a post office and the first heated indoor swimming pool in Arkansas.
The resort boasted a bowling alley and billiard hall, a golf course and a railroad spur from Lowell. The train brought people from all over the country to the station on the side of the lagoon, where they disembarked and walked the short distance to the hotels. Or they could be transported by a 50-foot gondola, imported from Venice, Italy. Harvey established his own newspaper, The Monte Ne Herald, to publicize the wonders and grandeur of his resort and to attract investors to his business ventures.
By 1920, Harvey's resort had declined. The bank, newspaper and railroad had closed. Harvey was depressed and disillusioned. He was convinced a catastrophic end of civilization was near, with the mountains around Monte Ne crumbling and covering the valley. He decided to build a 130-foot-high concrete pyramid with special sealed vaults (a time capsule) to contain his books, encyclopedias, newspapers, an automobile, a Victrola and numerous other common household and industrial items that would be preserved. After the disastrous end of civilization, the top of the pyramid would protrude above the silt and rubble. On the capstone, a plaque with directions would lead members of a future civilization to the treasures inside. His purpose for the pyramid was to provide a record of the errors that caused the downfall of the previous civilization, so the future populace would not make the same mistakes.
Harvey's plans began in 1923 with the construction of a huge concrete amphitheater -- or foyer -- to serve as an entrance to the pyramid. The concrete and stone amphitheater would serve as a base to help support and stabilize the ground for the tall and heavy pyramid to be built immediately adjacent.
Harvey put all of his remaining funds into the construction of the amphitheater and made pleas for the public to donate to it. The construction went on and off for five years, as money became available. When some potential investor or news media came to tour the construction, Harvey would round up friends and neighbors and have them pretend to be working on the structure. As soon as the visitor was gone, they would put down their tools and go home. Finally, in 1928, the giant concrete and stone amphitheater was completed. Unfortunately, the Great Depression came in 1929, and the dream of building the great pyramid above the amphitheater was gone forever.
The semi-circular amphitheater was built around a big spring, had a concrete stage in the middle of a reflecting pool and would seat 1,000 people. The amphitheater had seats and a stage, but also had mysterious rooms and vaults underneath the structure that had no apparent function -- unless they were designed to hold something. Many people believed Harvey hid artifacts and valuables in vaults underneath the amphitheater.
Even though Harvey's Monte Ne resort and his great pyramid project failed, at age 82, he was still active in politics. Harvey had been working to form a new political party for several years. According to Harvey, the goal of the Liberty Party was to save the country and the world from the rich men, who were trying hard to destroy it for their own gain. The Liberty Party presidential convention was planned by Harvey and held in the amphitheater at Monte Ne in 1931.
Harvey expected 10,000 delegates from all of the 48 states. At the time, the entire population of Rogers was only 3,500. In anticipation of the huge influx of visitors, the railroads offered special excursion rates, and the winding country road from Rogers was put in good condition. The telephone company put in extra facilities for the press, and concessions were set up to provide food and drink for the visitors. All of the space in the hotels in Monte Ne was reserved, and additional tents and cots were set up for the delegates. Harvey put out a plea to all of the citizens of Rogers to take in boarders for the event. In anticipation of bad weather, Harvey had the entire amphitheater covered with a huge, lighted circus tent. To make room inside for the vast anticipated crowd, the water surrounding the stage was floored over and lined with rows of chairs. Loudspeakers were set up, so the huge anticipated overflow crowd outside could hear the proceedings.
When the big day came for the convention, only 786 delegates showed up. The crowd and delegates were made of a sprinkling of Reformers, Socialists, Populists and disgruntled Democrats and Republicans. There was much confusion, and the only person the delegates could agree to nominate for president was 82-year-old Coin Harvey. William Hope Harvey came in sixth out of the six candidates who ran for president, with Franklin Roosevelt being elected. Harvey had only 53,425 votes nationwide, with only 1,049 votes in the state of Arkansas and only two votes in Rogers.
Harvey died shortly after on Feb. 11, 1936, and still rests in his tomb not far from the Pyramid at Monte Ne.
W.T. McWhorter bought 140 acres in 1948 for a cattle ranch, and it included the amphitheater. The Pyramid was a popular attraction for locals and visitors alike, and people came from all across the country to witness Harvey's amazing creation.
During the 1950s, McWhorter's son, Jim, was in high school and college at the University of Arkansas. He and his siblings established a thriving business during the summer by taking advantage of the popular location and the visitors. They opened a concession stand and rented tables and canoes. The McWhorters also produced a pamphlet that told the story of Coin Harvey and the pyramid. They sold thousands of the pamphlets at 35 cents each over the 15 years they owned the property.
In the early 1960s, the U.S. Corps of Engineers acquired McWhorter's land and the Pyramid for the creation of Beaver Lake. McWhorter wanted to determine if there really were hidden vaults with treasure in the amphitheater before it was submerged under the water forever. He had the structure rigged with dynamite and was going to explode the structure on the last day before turning it over to the government. On May 14, 1963, hundreds of people gathered to witness the event. Thirty minutes before the scheduled explosion, the Corps of Engineers stopped the dynamiting, and the Pyramid is still intact today.
McWhorter said, "I am certain there were items buried in a vault ... I've talked to people who helped seal it up" (Rogers Daily News, May 15, 1963).
Most expert and witness testimony from that era maintain there was never any treasure or artifacts sealed in the amphitheater. However, even recently, folks insist they have personal knowledge that historical objects are sealed inside the Pyramid.
Today, the Pyramid still rests intact on the bottom of Beaver Lake, occasionally peeking out when the lake level is very low. The secrets of the Pyramid are protected by the cold, dark water, and we might never know the truth about the treasure.
Data from various articles in the Rogers Daily News and the book, The Lost Town of Monte Ne by Hales
NAN Our Town on 09/13/2018