The French Period

The Regent of France authorized a settlement at the Post of Arkansas in 1722. These early settlers were on good terms with the Quapaw Indians, who exhibited a great spirit of friendliness and hospitality toward the French. Cotton was introduced in 1740. In 1751 the settlement was strengthened when the French government sent a number of girls as wives for the settlers, with a dowry of a cow and calf, cock and five hens, gun and ammunition, axe and hoe, and a supply of garden seed.

Gillett, Arkansas · United States