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In the
later seventeenth century, French
explorers traveled up the mighty
Mississippi River all the way to the
Arkansas River delta where they turned
back after threats by Arkansas's Quapaw
tribe. Two decades later, land from a
Quapaw village was claimed on behalf of
King Louis XIV and later still, Arkansas
Post was founded by Henri de Tonti at
the lowest part of the Mississippi
River. Significant Arkansas history
throughout the eighteenth century is
fairly brief. Arkansas Post was
abandoned after an intense scheme to
take over the Mississippi Valley
backfired. Forty years later both
Arkansas and the Louisiana Territory was
surrendered by France, yet French
soldiers stay on at the Arkansas Post,
the capital of the region.
During the nineteenth century there are
many interesting facts about Arkansas
and several events that helped shape the
state into modern times. At the turn of
the century, the United States acquired
the Louisiana Purchase and not two
decades later Arkansas was officially a
territory. In 1821, the territory's
capital was transferred to Little Rock
from the original capital at Arkansas
Post. The history of Arkansas denotes
more than 60,000 people resided in
Arkansas by 1836 throughout the
prairies, mountains, and by the lakes.
After a noteworthy constitution was
drafted and accepted by the people,
Arkansas became the 25th state of
America. Growing by leaps and bounds,
Arkansas was home to almost half a
million people by 1860, a quarter of
which were slaves.
Arkansas Map
The Civil War came into play in Arkansas
history in May of 1861 because of the
state's decision to withdraw from the
Union. Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge were
two of the most significant Civil War
battles fought in Arkansas during the
war. In 1863, the Confederate government
relocated its headquarters to Washington
and the Union government was founded in
Little Rock. There are so many
interesting facts about Arkansas around
this period in history that it's worth a
trip to some of the region's museums for
a broader illustration of the most
notable events. With the conclusion of
the Civil War in 1865, the onslaught of
the Reconstruction days, as they were
called, commenced and many prominent
changes occurred. The next three decades
in the history of Arkansas saw great
steps forward in industry, inventions,
city utilities, transportation, and most
importantly, the establishment of the
railroad. Both public schools and
universities were built, opening the
doors to more opportunity while the
population soared to more than one
million strong.
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