Arkansas Post National Memorial

Arkansas Post National Memorial
National Register of Historic Places
National Memorial
Arkansas Post National Memorial, top view
location	Arkansas County in Arkansas (USA)
Coordinates	34 ° 1 '25 "  N , 91 ° 20' 37"  W Coordinates: 34 ° 1 '25 "  N , 91 ° 20' 37"  W.
surface	3.07 km²
NRHP number	66000198
The NRHP added	October 15, 1966

The Arkansas Post National Memorial , eight miles southeast of Gillett, Arkansas, commemorates important events that took place on site and nearby: the first European settlement in the lower Mississippi Valley (1686); one skirmish in the American War of Independence (1783); the first capital of the Arkansas Territory (1819-1821); and a battle in the Civil War (Battle of Fort Hindman) (1863).

history

Henri de Tonti

Arkansas Post was founded in 1686 by Henri de Tonti at Osotouy , a Quapaw Indian village near the confluence of the Arkansas River and the Mississippi River . This place is believed to be the first Christian institution in what is now Arkansas. It became, at different times, a strategic location for the French, Spanish, United States, and the Confederate States of America .

On April 17, 1783 , British Colonel James Colbert attacked the Spanish forces that controlled the Arkansas Post as part of a campaign against the Spanish on the Mississippi River . Colbert's attack was the only one in the American Revolutionary War that occurred west of the Mississippi.

In 1803, Arkansas Post became part of the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase . It was elected the first capital of the new Arkansas Territory on July 4, 1819, and became the center of Arkansas' economic and political life. In 1821 Little Rock became the capital and the Arkansas Post lost its importance.

Battle for Fort Hindman

During the Civil War , the Arkansas Post Office became an important strategic location because it was at the confluence of two major rivers. In 1862, the Confederate States Army built Fort Hindman , a massive earth wall named after General Thomas C. Hindman. From January 9-11, 1863, Union forces attacked the fort with armored gunboats, destroying both the fort and the Arkansas Post site.

Administrative history

The former City of Arkansas Post was designated a State Park in 1929. It is located on a peninsula in the Arkansas River in Arkansas County . On July 6, 1960, the site was named a National Memorial and on October 9, 1960 a National Historic Landmark .

Like all National Historic Landmarks, Arkansas Post was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Arkansas. National Park Service , accessed July 20, 2019.
2. ^ John H. House: Arkansas Post ( PDF ; 635 kB) In: National Register of Historic Places Registration . National Park Service. December 3, 1998. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
3. ^ Arkansas Post — Accompanying 1 photo, exterior, undated. (PDF; 84 kB) In: National Register of Historic Places Registration . National Park Service. December 3, 1998. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
4. ^ Arkansas Post National Memorial in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed July 29, 2017.

• The National Parks: Index 2001-2003 . Washington: US Department of the Interior .

Web links

Commons : Arkansas Post National Memorial  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

• Arkansas Post Museum, on Arkansas State Park
• Official NPS website: Arkansas Post National Memorial
• Arkansas Post National Memorial in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas