Arkansas Colonial Records

History
French traders established the Arkansas Post in 1686. This area (known as Upper Louisiana) was ceded to the Spanish in 1763 but was return to the French in 1800. In 1803, it was purchased by the United States. This area was part of the Missouri Territory from 1812 to 1819, when it became a separate territory.

Additional Readings

 * Arkansas Colonials, a Collection of French and Spanish Records Listing Early Europeans in the Arkansas, 1686-1804 by Morris S. Arnold. Fillett, AR: Grand Prairie Historical Society, 1986.
 * Unequal Laws unto a Savage Race: European Legal Traditions in Arkansas, 1686-1836 by Morris Arnold. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1985.
 * A Baptismal Records of the Parishes Along the Arkansas River: August 5, 1796 to July 16, 1802. Pine Bluff, AR: Pine Bluff Jefferson County Historical Society, 1982.
 * Arkansas Pioneers and Allied Families by Mrs. Larry P. Clark. Little Rock: The Author, fiche 6051363
 * Abstract of the Catholic Register of Arkansas (1764-1858) by Dorothy Jones Core. Gillett, AR: Grand Prairie Historical Society, 1976.
 * "Arkansas Post in the American Revolution" by Gilbert C. Dinn. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 40 (Spring 1981): 3-10.
 * A Documentary History of Arkansas by Fred C. Williams. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1984.