by Dale Cox

Created on: August 23, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

Natural scenery and cultural history abound at national parks in Arkansas. From colonial outposts and Civil War battlefields to one of America's most scenic wild rivers and a civil rights landmark, the National Park Serves preserves a series of sites in Arkansas that may be unparalleled.

Near the small community of Gillett in the Delta region, the Arkansas Post National Memorial preserves the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Mississippi River Valley. The site of an outpost founded by the French in 1686, Arkansas Post was occupied over time by the France, Spain, the Confederacy and the United States. One of only two battles of the American Revolution fought west of the Mississippi took place here, as did an important Civil War battle. The memorial includes the ruins of the old town of Arkansas Post, an interpretive center with exhibits on the rich history of the park and the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the 1864 Battle of Fort Hindman or Arkansas Post.

If you want to experience the real "Old West," then a trip to Fort Smith National Historic Site on the Oklahoma border is in store. The site of two important frontier forts, Fort Smith is perhaps best known as the headquarters of the "Hanging Judge" of the Old West. It was here that U.S. District Judge Isaac C. Parker sent more than 70 outlaws to the gallows during the rough and tumble days following the Civil War. Parker's deputy marshals provided the inspiration for such Hollywood classics as "True Grit," "Rooster Cogburn" and "Hang Em High." Ironically, Parker opposed the death penalty but in cases of murder and rape, U.S. law allowed him only one sentence - death. The National Historic Site features ruins and buildings from the original fort, the notorious "Hell on the Border" jail, Parker's courtroom, exhibits on the deputy marshals and outlaws of Fort Smith and the reconstructed gallows where so many outlaws met their fates.

In Northwest Arkansas can be found two important national park areas. Pea Ridge National Military Park, with its miles of tour roads, reconstructed tavern and scores of cannon, preserves the scene of one of the largest Civil War battles fought west of the Mississippi River. Tens of thousands of men fought a bloody battle here in 1862 for control of northern Arkansas and Missouri. Union troops won the dramatic two-day fighting, ending Confederate General Earl Van Dorn's dreams of conquering St. Louis.

Nearby, the Buffalo National River preserves the 123

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