History & Heritage Trail Guide
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Arkansas Post Museum State Park
Gillett 5530 U.S. 165 South
A complex of five buildings houses exhibits on the history of the Arkansas Grand Prairie and the Delta. The 1877 Refeld-Hinman Log House and the 1933 Carnes-Bonner Playhouse are original to the Grand Prairie.
Arkansas Post National Memorial
Gillett 1741 Old Post Road, Ark. 169
The first semi-permanent European settlement in the lower Mississippi Valley region, Arkansas Post became part of the United States during the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
By 1819, the post was a thriving river port and the largest city in the region and selected the capital of the Arkansas Territory. The park contains the January 11, 1863 Arkansas Post battlefield where vastly superior numbers of Union troops under major General John McClernand defeated Confederate defenders under Brigadier General Thomas Churchill. While Fort Hindman now lies beneath the Arkansas River, there are still remnants of Confederate trenches.
The battle, as well as the rest of Arkansas Post's rich history, is interpreted at the park museum. Tour guides are available but must be requested for in advance.
