Davidsonville Historic State Park

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Davidsonville Historic State Park is a 163acre Arkansas state park in Randolph County, Arkansas in the United States. Situated on a border between The Ozarks and the Arkansas Delta, the park preserves the remains of the abandoned frontier town of Davidsonville. The town was one of Arkansaw Territory's first settlements when founded in 1815, serving as an important river port town on the Black River. The former townsite was made into a state park in 1957 and a monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.HistoryDavidsonvilleThere is evidence that the site was occupied by French colonists prior to the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Archeologists have discovered evidence of Native American use of the site as early as 4,000 BC. The 1822 courthouse was apparently built on top of an Indian mound which was built before 1,100 AD.Davidsonville was founded in 1815 and rapidly became the most important town in northeast Arkansaw Territory, but was abandoned by the 1830s. The community served as a river port town on the west bank of the Black River, near the confluence of the Spring River and Eleven Point River with the Black River. The town was on important stop on the Southwest Trail and featured several important frontier establishments. In 1817 the first post office of Arkansas Territory opened in the town, followed in 1820 by the first federal land office of the territory. In 1822, the first courthouse of Arkansas Territory was built in Davidsonville. The town became the county seat of Lawrence County, which at the time comprised roughly the northern third of Arkansas.