April 4, 1849

Frederick Notrebe died in New Orleans, Louisiana. Notrebe was a prominent merchant, planter, and land speculator at Arkansas Post (Arkansas County). One of the wealthiest men in territorial and antebellum Arkansas, he operated a trading house, dealing mostly in furs and peltries. As one of the first cotton factors at Arkansas Post, he was instrumental in establishing cotton as a staple crop in territorial Arkansas. He is credited with founding the town of Napoleon (Desha County). One historian reports that Notrebe was buried at Arkansas Post, but his grave was subsequently washed into the Arkansas River. A Confederate steamboat was named for him, as was Notrebe’s Bend in the southern reaches of the Arkansas River.