October 7, 2007

Settled on the banks of the White River about 1810, Des Arc (Prairie County) became a typical prosperous river town. With connection to the Butterfield Overland Mail route, the town was an important crossroads by the time of the outbreak of the Civil War. Steamboats, such as the ones shown here, brought soldiers and supplies to the town to be shipped to action in other parts of the state. The population, which numbered approximately 2,000 at the war’s beginning, had dropped to 400 by war’s end.