Thomas Todd Tunstall laid out the town of Jacksonport in the mid 1830s and built a hotel and several businesses along the river front. By 1840, several buildings had been added. The town grew and was incorporated on December 17, 1852. In 1853 the county seat was moved there from Augusta, Arkansas. Jacksonport reached its peak in the decades just before and after the Civil War, then declined as rail transportation increased and the river's importance diminished.