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The Sloan-Hendrix Greyhound
September 10, 2012
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The Sloan-Hendrix Greyhound
Territorial Arkansas (1803-1836)
Picture in your mind what Arkansas may
have looked like in the early 1800’s: thick
forests, abundant wildlife and relatively few
settlers.
The land that would become Arkansas
was acquired in 1803 as part of the Louisiana
Purchase, one of the largest land deals in
American history. Hoping to protect American
interests and security, President Thomas
Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James
Monroe, to purchase New Orleans and parts
of the “Floridas” in 1802. Negotiations
appeared to be failing when suddenly French
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charles Maurice
de Talleyrand, offered the U.S. government
the entire Louisiana colony or nothing. Even
though Livingston and Monroe had not been
given permission to purchase the entire colony
and had been given a budget of $5 million,
they agreed to the sale. For $15 million,
approximately 828,000 square miles were
purchased from France. This amounted to
a little less than three cents an acre. This
important acquisition included all or part of
what would eventually become 15 states.
The treaty was dated April 30, 1803, and
was signed May 2. In October 1803, it was
ratified by the U.S. Senate and in December
1803 France turned over authority to the U.S.
The Louisiana Purchase
Map of Arkansas Post, 1863.
Map from Wikipedia; History of Arkansas,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Arkansas
Map depicting the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 which included the present-day
state of Arkansas. Map from The Monticello Classroom image gallery.
http://classroom.monticello.org/teachers/gallery/
Arkansas Territory
July 4, 1819 - June 15, 1836
Important Dates
Territorial Arkansas History
1541
Hernando de Soto explores Arkansas
1686
Henri de Tonti establishes Arkansas Post
April 30, 1803
Louisiana Purchase Treaty
December 16, 1811
New Madrid earthquake
July 4, 1819
Arkansas Territory organized
June 15, 1836
Arkansas becomes 25th state
Michigan
Arkansas' Sister State
Map from Wikipedia; Arkansas Territory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas_Territory
The original Arkansas Territory was created July 4, 1819, and included most of present
day Oklahoma. Portions of the territory were removed on November 15, 1824, and again on
May 6, 1828, reducing the territory to what is now the state of Arkansas.
Arkansas Post was the first territorial capital (1819–1821) and Little Rock was the
second (1821–1836).
Arkansas first became a territory, then a
state. It was, however, not immediately allowed
to join the United States because it was a slave
state. Politicians wanted to preserve a balance
of power in the Senate between slave states and
free states, Arkansas couldn't join until another
free state joined. Arkansas’ sister state was
Michigan.
References for the Territorial Arkansas
spread can be found on page 8.
Arkansas Post was the first
settlement established in Arkansas
in 1686 by Henri de Tonti. It was
located upriver from the confluence of the Arkansas River and the
Mississippi River, but was relocated
four times due to attacks and flooding. Arkansas Post provided a base
for fur trappers and was a center of
trade. It was also the location of the
only Revolutionary War action in
Arkansas, the 1783 Colbert Raid.
The site of the second Post became
an Arkansas Park in 1929 and a
National Memorial in 1960.
In 1819, when Arkansas
became a territory, Arkansas Post
was named as the territorial capital.
As settlers moved north, west, and
southwest of the Post, however, its
importance dwindled and the capitol
was moved to Little Rock in 1821.
Arkansas Counties - 1819
This map depicts the counties of
territorial Arkansas in 1819. Notice there
were only five with Lawrence being the
largest. Lawrence County was often
referred to as the Mother of Counties,
because from it 31 counties were created.
Note the four western counties
extended into present-day Oklahoma.
Map from The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture:
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/media-detail.
aspx?mediaID=6337
September 10, 2012
Arkansas
Post
Depiction of Arkansas Post in 1689, copied
from the original by Annie Hatley in 1904.
Courtesy of the Arkansas History
Commission
Lawrence County
Lawrence County was created on January 15, 1815, by the Legislative Act of Missouri
Territory. It was formed from New Madrid
County, Missouri. From the original Lawrence County, 31 other counties were formed.
Lawrence County was the second Arkansas
county to be formed; Arkansas County was the
first. The county was named for Captain James
Lawrence, a naval commander who was killed
in the War of 1812.
County Seats
1818 - Davidsonville - Known now as
Old Davidsonville - First named Lawrence
1829 - Jackson
1837 - Smithville
1869 - Powhatan
1963 - Walnut Ridge
The Arkansas Traveler
The Arkansas Traveler has its origins in an 1840 trip by Colonel
Sanford Faulkner of Little Rock. Colonel Faulkner lost his way and
asked directions of an Arkansas squatter in a humble log home. Evidently there was some difficulty in communication between the two
and a fiddle tune became the bond between Faulkner and the squatter.
Faulkner turned the experience into a humourous story for his friends.
At about the same time that Faulkner was presenting his performance, similar renditions were appearing outside the state. Many of
these did not portray the state of Arkansas in a favorable light.
The tune, "The Arkansas Traveler", has become one of the most
recorded tunes in American history. The 1922 version by native-Arkansan "Eck" Robertson was among the first fifty recordings named to
the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. It has also
been featured in many jazz and symphonic arrangements, including a
recording by the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Currier & Ives print of Edward Payson Washbourne’s painting
Arkansas Traveler; circa 1870.
Lithograph of painting by Edward Payson Washbourne, courtesy of
the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library