County History
Original Inhabitants
What is now St. Francis County was inhabited by Native American Indians for
hundreds of years before the first white man laid any claims. No one knows
when they arrived, but there is evidence of Native American settlements in
Eastern Arkansas as far back as 1000 A.D. Parkin Archeological State Park
preserves and interprets a 17-acre site of a Casqui Village thought to be
the site visited by the expedition of Hernando de Soto.
First White Explorers
Spaniard
Hernando De Soto was probably the first white man to visit what is now
Eastern Arkansas. His expedition crossed the Mississippi River in May of
1541. Some historians put the river crossing near Helena; others say it was
near Memphis. Regardless, De Soto chronicled a meeting with Indians in the
summer of 1541 at a settlement near present-day Parkin. It is believed that
De Soto's men erected a giant cypress cross in the region and were generally
welcomed by the Native Americans. The expedition traveled north and west
for several more weeks, but the Spanish were in search of gold. They found
swamps, mainly between the Cache and White Rivers, and they decided to
return down the St. Francis River, crossing near Madison. De Soto explored
much of Arkansas over the next few months, but never found any gold and
never left the state. He died of a fever and was secretly buried (some
believe near Helena) in May of 1542.
First White Settlements
There
are no more written accounts of Europeans in the region for 130 years after
De Soto. In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, French Catholic
Missionaries, came down the Mississippi River from Illinois and entered the
Arkansas River. In 1682, Chevalier De LaSalle reached Native American
villages on the Arkansas River and took possession of all lands drained by
the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The land was called Louisiana in
honor of the French King. In 1686, Arkansas Post became the first white
settlement in the state.
Switching Countries
The
French were never able to settle the land on a large scale and had trouble
with Native American tribes, especially the Chickasaws. In 1739, the French
built a fort near Wittsburg on the St. Francis River in Cross County. It
was later abandoned. In 1762, the region became a Spanish territory. In
1800, Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to cede the land to France. Then in
1803, the territory became part of the United States with the Louisiana
Purchase. At that time, there were fewer than 500 white settlers in what
would become Arkansas. Most were French Canadians, but many English
immigrants began arriving after 1810.
Becoming A County
St.
Francis County was officially recognized and approved by the Arkansas
Territorial Legislature on October 13, 1827. The county was named for the
river, but no one knows exactly who named the river. Most historians agree
it was probably named by French Catholic missionaries in the late 17th
century. There is evidence of a early Jesuit mission near Helena where the
St. Francis River drains into the Mississippi. The land itself was taken
from part of Phillips County. At the time, St. Francis County included
parts of what are now Cross, Lee, and Poinsett Counties.
County Seat
The
county seat started at the home of William Strong, one of the early settlers
and the county's first sheriff. It was soon moved to the newly-created town
of Franklin near Old Military Road. This location was about two miles from
the St. Francis River - not close enough for some. In 1838, Poinsett County
was formed from part of St. Francis, putting Franklin in the extreme
northern part of the county. So in 1840, the county seat was moved to
Madison near an old Indian village on Crow Creek. In 1855, Mt. Vernon, then
a bustling community, was named the county seat, and a courthouse and jail
were built. These burned in 1856, forcing the county seat back to Madison.
There it remained until 1874, when the county seat was moved to its present
location in Forrest City.
Home |
Dr. J. O. Rush |
Rush-Gates Home |
Perm. Exhibits |
County History
Copyright © 2010 St. Francis County Museum