Thursday, April 12, 2018

ARKANSAS #3



Evolution from the Territory of Arkansaw to State of Arkansas, 1819–1836








"Napoleon Bonaparte sold French Louisiana to the United States in 1803, including all of Arkansas, in a transaction known today as the Louisiana Purchase. French soldiers remained as a garrison at Arkansas Post. Following the purchase, the balanced give-and-take relationship between settlers and Native Americans began to change all along the frontier, including in Arkansas.[54] Following a controversy over allowing slavery in the territory, the Territory of Arkansas was organized on July 4, 1819.[c] Gradual emancipation in Arkansas was struck down by one vote, the Speaker of the House Henry Clay, allowing Arkansas to organize as a slave territory.[55]".....Wikipedia

There was a town called Napoleon in Arkansas near the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi river.  However due to poor planning on somebody's part in 1863 a channel was cut through the soft land that inadvertently directed the river waters toward the town.  It was finally submerged in 1874 when the banks of the Mississippi River burst through and destroyed the last of the once-thriving port.  I imagine we will be seeing a lot more of that sort of thing in the near future.