Arkansas Post is, literally, where Arkansas began. Located south
of Gillett, the National Park Service facility commemorates the
first permanent European settlement (1686) in the lower
Mississippi River valley. Established by French explorer Henri
de Tonti, the site was the first European colony in the
Mississippi River Valley. Due to the settlement’s proximity to
the Arkansas River, Arkansas Post was an important part of
Arkansas’s history, becoming the first capitol of Arkansas
Territory. By the early 1800s, Arkansas Post was a thriving
river town and selected capital of the Arkansas Territory. The
Post also played an important part in Arkansas’s Civil War
history. Confederates built Fort Hindman, a massive earthen
fort, to help protect their hold on the area and the confluence
of the Arkansas and White Rivers. However, during the January
1863 Battle of Fort Hindman (also known as the Battle of
Arkansas Post), Union forces were able to defeat the Confederate
troops and destroy the fort. The defeat and subse