Exploration

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White man in suit and tie with walking cane
Antoine Barraque (1773–1858)
Antoine Barraque established the settlement called New Gascony, one of the earliest settlements in what is now...
Front page of book written in French
Jean Bernard Bossu (1720–1792)
Jean Bernard Bossu was a French captain and adventurer who explored the region of the Mississippi River while ...
Statue of Native American man on stone pedestal in flower bed with historical markers surrounding it and gazebo on hill in the background
Route of the De Soto Expedition
When the Spanish expedition of Hernando de Soto crossed the Mississippi River on June 28, 1541 (June 18 on the...
White man wearing a suit of armor with a sword
Hernando de Soto (1500?–1542)
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition into the southern United States. He and his sold...
White man with long hair in military uniform and cravat
Henri de Tonti (1649–1704)
aka: Henry de Tonty
Henri de Tonti helped establish the first permanent European settle...
Don Juan Filhiol (1740–1821)
aka: Jean de Filhiol
aka: Baptiste Filhiol
aka: Jean Baptiste Filhiol
Present-day Camden (Ouachita County) has its origins in a 1782 sett...
Freeman and Custis Red River Expedition
aka: Freeman Red River Expedition
aka: The Grand Excursion
Perhaps the most forgotten expedition to explore the southwest terr...
White man with long hair in military uniform and cravat
French Explorers and Settlers
The French settlers’ experience in colonial Arkansas was vital to the history of the French presence in the ...
Hunter-Dunbar Expedition
aka: Dunbar-Hunter Expedition
The Hunter-Dunbar expedition was one of only four ventures into the...
Bearded white man wearing hat with large white feather
Jean Laffite's Espionage Mission
Jean Laffite was a well-known smuggler and privateer (considered a pirate by some) who operated in the Gulf of...
Henri Joutel (1643?–1735?)
Henri Joutel was a French soldier and explorer who served in the last expedition commanded by French explorer ...
Map of the mid-South, in color
Jean-Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe (1683–1765)
Jean-Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe was a French officer, trader, and explorer. He was the first European explor...
Engraving of white man with long hair in button up coat
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643–1687)
In 1682, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle journeyed down the Mississippi River in sear...
Pierre Laclède (1729–1778)
Frenchman Pierre Laclède, credited with co-founding the city of St. Louis, Missouri, died aboard his trading ...
Stone marker with text situated in swamp
Louisiana Purchase Survey
The purchase of the vast Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 practically doubled the size of the United St...
Mallet Expeditions
French-Canadian brothers Pierre (1704–1751?) and Paul Mallet (1706?–1753?) participated in three expeditio...
Statue of man in robes standing on a pedestal with plaque on street corner in residential neighborhood
Marquette-Joliet Expedition
In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Joliet (or Jolliet), a fur trader, undertook...
Portrait painting white man in suit cravat solemn expression
Thomas Nuttall (1786–1859)
Thomas Nuttall, a preeminent and far-ranging field naturalist, participated in the early scientific exploratio...
White man in suit and cravat
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793–1864)
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft published the first written description of the Arkansas Ozarks’ geography, vegetation...
White man wearing a suit of armor with a sword
Spanish Explorers and Settlers
The only Spanish expedition into present-day Arkansas began when Hernando de Soto led his party across the Mis...
Spanish Land Grants
Arkansas inherited a complex legacy of land grants from its time as part of Spanish Louisiana. Beginning in 17...