ARKANSAS

A STATE OF DIVERSITY, ARKANSAS AND ITS SIX distinct regions attracted a variety of travelers, settlers, developers and economic mainstays. For those with ancestors from Arkansas, genealogical adventures await.

NATURAL (STATE) HISTORY

Spaniard Hernando de Soto led the first European voyage into modern Arkansas in 1541. His party meandered through Arkansas’ savannas and forests seeking gold, but they weren’t traversing uninhabited land: The area supported a number of indigenous peoples. They lived in all six major geographic regions: the Ozark Plateau, the Arkansas River Valley, the Ouachita Mountains, the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, the Gulf Coastal Plain, and Crowley’s Ridge.

After De Soto, few Europeans visited the area until French missionary Jacques Marquette and fur trader Louis Jolliet explored the mouth of the Arkansas River in 1673. They were followed in 1681–82 by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who claimed the region for France.

By that time, the region was home to