Most of this information came from "The Doctrine of Creative Destruction: Ferry and Bridge Law in Arkansas" by Michael B. Dougan, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 1980 #2, and the Bovay Folder at Powhatan SP Archives.

More research needed.

Harry E. Bovay (1882-1952) was a businessman and industrialist. He made a career out of financing various bridge projects in Arkansas.

Bovay was born in Canada in 1882, but raised in Michigan. He served on the Panama Canal project as secretary to General William C. Gorgas. After ten years, he relocated to Stuttgart, Arkansas where he sold farm machinery. Toll bridges held a particular fascination for him, and he was granted Congressional approval to have bridge franchises in DeValls Bluff, Des Arc, and Powhatan. He founded the White and Black Rivers Bridge Company to carry out his plans. By 1940, however, changing state politics, competition from ferry operators, and public opposition to the high rates led to the complete removal of all toll bridges and ferries in Arkansas. Bovay died in Memphis in 1952.