All Events

Sandwiching in History: Arkansas Post

Arkansas Historic Preservation Program

Learn More

A bookshelf filled with old-looking volumes
  • Free
  • Arkansas Post Museum State Park
    5530 Hwy. 165 South
    Gillett, Arkansas 72055
  • 12:00PM-1:00PM

Join us for a free public history presentation on the topic of Arkansas Post, an early colonial outpost and the only place in Arkansas to experience the Revolutionary War. Founded as a French trading post among the Quapaw in 1686, Arkansas Post was the first European settlement in what is now the state of Arkansas. It was the setting of the only Revolutionary War battle on the soil of our future state. The US acquired it with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The Post became territorial Arkansas’ first seat of government from 1819 until Little Rock was made the capital in 1821. During the Civil War, it was the site of Fort Hindman, which fell to Federal troops in the 1863 Battle of Arkansas Post, and the post settlement faded into history. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. In conjunction with this event, a dedication ceremony for a special Arkansas250 historical marker for Arkansas Post will be held in the morning prior to the tour.