May 6, 1822

The Factory System, a government-authorized series of trading posts designed to serve Native Americans and to develop and maintain their friendship and allegiance through government control of trading on the frontiers, was ended by Congress; the factories (or trading posts) soon closed. Within the present borders of the state of Arkansas, three factories had been established: Arkansas Post (1805–1810), Spadra Bayou near present-day Clarksville (Johnson County) (1817–1822), and Sulphur Fork (1818–1822). The Sulphur Fork factory had been started at Natchitoches, Louisiana, to serve the Indians living in the Red River valley and to check Spanish influence in Texas, but John Fowler decided to relocate the factory at the confluence of the Sulphur Fork and Red River in Miller County after facing hostility from the community.