Not long after we started dating, I took my girlfriend — now wife — to the Arkansas Post National Memorial near Gillett (Arkansas County). Some 17 years later, I still haven’t lived it down.
As someone who doesn’t appreciate historical sites like I do, she didn’t — and doesn’t — understand why we made the four-hour round trip to see Arkansas Post. But ’m an Arkansas history buff, and it was well worth it to visit one of the most historically significant places in my home state, even if there wasn’t a lot to see.
Arkansas Post National Memorial is located on land that was part of the original settlement of Arkansas Post, at the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. In 1686, Henri de Tonti established a trading post known as Poste de Arkansea near the Quapaw village of Osotouy. Because of that, de Tonti is known as the “Father of Arkansas.” The post was the first European settlement in the lower Mississippi River area. Over the years, Arkansas Post relocated four times due to flooding.
One of the final actions of the Revolutionary War — "Colbert’s Raid" — took place at Arkansas Post. On April 17, 1873, British sympathizers and native Americans attacked the Spanish fort at the settlement. During the raid, James Colbert, a former captain in the British army, led a group of British soldiers and Chickasaw Indians in a failed attempt to force the Spanish out of Arkansas Post.
Arkansas Post became part of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. By 1819, it was a bustling river port and the largest city in the region. As such, Arkansas Post was chosen as the first capital of the newly-formed Arkansas Territory.
That same year, a young printer from New York named William Woodruff arrived at Arkansas Post and set up a printing shop. In November 1819, he published the first edition of the Arkansas Gazette, which became the oldest continuously published paper west of the Mississippi River. But within a couple of years, settlers moved into the northern and western portions of the territory, and the population center shifted away from Arkansas Post. In 1821, Arkansas’ territorial capital was moved to Little Rock.
During the Civil War, Confederate forces tried to maintain control of the confluence of the Arkansas and White rivers. In 1862, they built the large earthen fortification known as Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post. On Jan. 11, 1863, Union troops destroyed the fort along with all other remaining structures. The 5,000 Confederate troops stationed at Fort Hindman were greatly outnumbered by the Union’s 32,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. The Confederates who survived the battle surrendered and were held as prisoners of war.
In 1929, the fourth location of Arkansas Post became a state park. Thanks to a bill presented in Congress by Rep. William Frank Norrell and signed by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1960, the National Park System established the Arkansas Post National Memorial about 15 miles north of Dumas (Desha County). There, the park service operates a visitors center and museum, which interprets Arkansas Post’s history and significance to the region.
Sadly, due to flooding, war and time, little remains of the original settlement of Arkansas Post, except for a few foundations of buildings constructed during its days as the territorial capital of Arkansas.
And a word of advice to my readers: If you’re a lover of Arkansas history, you definitely must visit Arkansas Post. But if your spouse is not, make sure you leave him or her at home. Trust me.
A proud sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell W. Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He lives in Saline County with his wife, Amy, and their beloved Boston Terrier, Dixie. Find him on Facebook and Instagram at AllAroundArkansas.
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