History

Arkansas Post was founded in 1686 by Henri de Tonti at the site of a Quapaw Indian village named Osotouy near where the Arkansas River enters the Mississippi River. This place is where the first recorded Christian services occurred in what is now present-day Arkansas. The site became a strategic point for France, Spain, the United States, and the Confederate States at different times during its history.

On 17 April 1783, British Colonel James Colbert conducted a raid against Spanish forces controlling Arkansas Post as part of a small campaign against the Spanish on the Mississippi River. Colbert's Raid was the only American Revolutionary War battle fought anywhere west of the Mississippi.

In 1803 Arkansas Post became a part of the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The post was selected as the first capital of the new Arkansas Territory, and became the center of commercial and political life in Arkansas. Prior to statehood the territorial capital was moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, and Arkansas Post lost much of its importance.

During the American Civil War, the Post became an important strategic site, as it was the confluence of two major rivers. In 1862, the Confederate Army constructed a massive earthwork known as Fort Hindman, named after Confederate General Thomas C. Hindman. On January 9–11 of 1863, Union forces conducted an amphibious assault on the fortress backed by ironclad gunboats, and destroyed both the fort and the civilian areas of Arkansas Post.

Administrative history

As with all National Historic Landmarks, Arkansas Post was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

It is located at 1741 Old Post Road, in Gillett, Arkansas.

References

• The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

External links

• Arkansas Post Museum, at Arkansas State Parks
• Official NPS website: Arkansas Post National Memorial