NPS Form 10‑900 OMB No. 1024‑0018

(Rev. 8‑86)

**United States Department of the Interior**

National Park Service

**NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES**

**REGISTRATION FORM**

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**1. Name of Property**

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Historic Name: [Memphis to Little Rock Road -- Village Creek
Segment]{.underline}

Other Name/Site Number: [CS0039]{.underline}

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**2. Location**

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Street & Number: [East of Lake Austell within Village Creek State
Park]{.underline}

Not for Publication: [NA]{.underline}

City/Town: [Newcastle]{.underline} Vicinity: [X]{.underline}

State: [AR]{.underline} County: [Cross/St. Francis]{.underline} Code:
[AR037/AR123]{.underline} Zip Code: [72396]{.underline}

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**3. Classification**

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Ownership of Property: [Public-state]{.underline}

Category of Property: [Structure]{.underline}

Number of Resources within Property:

Contributing Noncontributing

buildings

sites

[1]{.underline} [1]{.underline} structures

objects

Total

Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National

Register: [NA]{.underline}

Name of related multiple property listing: [Historic and Archeological
Resources Associated with the Cherokee Trail of Tears]{.underline}

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**4. State/Federal Agency Certification**

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As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act

of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this [X]{.underline}
nomination

request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation

standards for registering properties in the National Register of

Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements

set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property [X]{.underline}
meets

does not meet the National Register Criteria. See continuation

sheet.

Signature of certifying official Date

[Arkansas Historic Preservation Program]{.underline}

State or Federal agency and bureau

In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National

Register criteria. See continuation sheet.

Signature of commenting or other official Date

State or Federal agency and bureau

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**5. National Park Service Certification**

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I, hereby certify that this property is:

entered in the National Register

See continuation sheet.

determined eligible for the

National Register

See continuation sheet.

determined not eligible for the

National Register

removed from the National Register

other (explain):

Signature of Keeper Date of Action

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**6. Function or Use**

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Historic: [TRANSPORTATION]{.underline} Sub: [road-related]{.underline}

Current : [RECREATION AND CULTURE]{.underline} Sub: [outdoor
recreation]{.underline} [TRANSPORATION pedestrian-related]{.underline}

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**7. Description**

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Architectural Classification: [No style]{.underline}

Materials: foundation [Earth]{.underline} roof [NA]{.underline}

walls [NA]{.underline} other [NA]{.underline}

Describe present and historic physical appearance:

Summary:

The Memphis to Little Rock Road Segment -- Village Creek State Park is a
remnant of the early nineteenth century road built to connect Little
Rock with the Mississippi River through the vast swamps of eastern
Arkansas. The 1.5-mile segment running through Village Creek State Park
is the best surviving stretch of that road and, with its towering
earthen borders, one of the most dramatic.

Elaboration:

A 1.5-mile segment of the Memphis to Little Rock Road traverses the
loess soil of Crowley's Ridge at Village Creek State Park; the entire
segment is within park boundaries. Its eastern terminus lies on the west
bank of Village Creek at the site of a modern suspension footbridge in
Section 18, Township 6 North, Range 4 East. It goes northwest, cuts
sharply south, then follows a gentle northeasterly course through the
southwest corner of Section 7, Township 6 North, Range 4 East and the
southeast corner of Section 12, Township 6 North, Range 4 East to its
terminus in the north central section of Section 13, Township 6 North,
Range 4 East at the park boundary at the edge of a deep ravine east of
the area where State Road 306 and State Road 284 form a junction.

The road segment is unsurfaced, though parts travel through mown grass
segments between dramatic areas where the loess soil is cut to depths of
approximately 30 feet. The road is between 20 and 25 feet wide
throughout its length. With the exception of the modern footbridge and a
railroad tie stairway where a hiking trail enters the road segment,
there are no modern intrusions. Most of the roadbed is included in the
Military Road Trail, including those sections with the most dramatically
eroded banks, but after the trail cuts north the Memphis to Little Rock
Road segment continues westerly into an area that includes other
sections with steep bank cuts. An intensive survey of the entire route
of the Bell Detachment of the Cherokee Trail of Tears conducted by the
Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and Dr. Duane King of the Museum
of the Southwest utilizing historic maps, historical accounts and modern
quad maps concludes that the Village Creek State Park section of the
Memphis to Little Rock Road is the most-intact extant section of the
road in the entire state.

The Memphis to Little Rock Road Segment -- Village Creek State Park
conforms to the route of the original road built to connect Little Rock
with the Mississippi River as built by A. Carr in 1828 and thus has
excellent integrity of location. It retains the physical characteristics
of an early nineteenth-century roadbed, including its original widths
and embankments and unimproved surface materials, giving excellent
integrity of design, materials and workmanship. Its location in an
unimproved area atop Crowley's Ridge in east Arkansas provides for
unsurpassed integrity of feeling, setting and association. The Memphis
to Little Rock Road Segment -- Village Creek State Park is in a class of
its own among identified extant sections of the Cherokee Trail of Tears
in Arkansas.

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**8. Statement of Significance**

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Certifying official has considered the significance of this property in

relation to other properties: [National]{.underline} .

Applicable National Register Criteria: [A]{.underline}

Criteria Considerations (Exceptions): [NA]{.underline}

Areas of Significance: [Ethnic Heritage: Native American]{.underline}

[Exploration/Settlement]{.underline}

[Transportation]{.underline}

Period(s) of Significance: [1828-1838]{.underline}

Significant Dates: [NA]{.underline}

Significant Person(s): [NA]{.underline}

Cultural Affiliation: [NA]{.underline}

Architect/Builder: [Anderson B. Carr, builder]{.underline}

State significance of property, and justify criteria, criteria
considerations, and areas and periods of significance noted above:

**SUMMARY:**

The Memphis to Little Rock Road Segment -- Village Creek State Park is
eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under
Criterion A with National significance by virtue of its status as one of
the most-intact surviving segments of the roads traversed by the Bell
Detachment during the Cherokee Removal. Its association with the earlier
Choctaw, Creek and Chickasaw Removals augment its importance, as does
its role in the opening of eastern Arkansas as a means of westward
emigration. The property is being submitted for National Register
recognition under the multiple-property listing "Historic and
Archeological Resources Associated with the Cherokee Trail of Tears."

**ELABORATION:**

**Construction of the Military Road**

The Memphis to Little Rock Road, also known as the Military Road, was
authorized on January 31, 1824, when the U.S. Congress passed an act for
construction of a road opposite Memphis, Tennessee, through the swamps
of east Arkansas to the territorial capital of Arkansas at Little
Rock.[^1] Surveyors Joseph Paxton and Thomas Mathers and Memphis
contractor Anderson B. Carr were hired to lay out a route for the
proposed road.[^2] Paxton and Mathers (Carr resigned from the team amid
disagreement with the others about the best route to follow in crossing
the White River) reported to Secretary of War John C. Calhoun on
February 12, 1825, that they had selected the best possible route
through eastern Arkansas, including the point where it would cross
Crowley's Ridge, a loess soil ridge towering over the miasmal swamps of
east Arkansas:

> "Passing up the valley of Village Creek, this road rises the hills of
> St. Francis on a fine Slope and passes without any difficulties
> through the rich, Military lands to the river Languelle."[^3]

Lt. Frederick L. Griffith was appointed superintendent of the Memphis to
Little Rock Road on January 27, 1826, with instructions to make a road
"at least twenty four feet wide throughout" with all timber and brush
removed and stumps cut as low as possible, marshes and swamps to be
"causewayed with poles or split timber," and ditches four feet wide and
three feet deep to be dug on either side of the road. "The hills on the
route are to be dug down and wound round in such a manner as to make
them practicable for carriages or loaded wagons," Griffith was
instructed.[^4]

Griffith advertised for contractors for the first section of the road,
receiving criticism that Arkansas citizens were not informed and given
an opportunity to bid on the road project.[^5] The *Arkansas Gazette*
reported on July 25, 1826, that Griffith "entered into private contracts
with Messrs. A. Carr, N. Anderson and W. Irwin of Memphis, for opening
60 miles of the road, commencing at the point where the road leaves the
Mississippi, four miles above Memphis, at the rate of \$160 per mile,
with considerable deviation from the original proposals; and for the
four miles immediately above Memphis, with a Mr. Hunt, also of
Tennessee. The 64 miles which have thus been contracted for will open
the road nearly to Bayou de View. The work is to be commenced in
September, and completed in January next."[^6] This contract also spent
everything remaining from the Congressional appropriation for building
the entire Memphis to Little Rock Road. The first section of the road
was finished and the second section started by September 14, 1826. Lt.
Charles Thomas replaced Griffith as superintendent on the project in
October 1826.[^7]

Despite problems with the health of workers in swampy eastern Arkansas,
Thomas reported to Quartermaster General Thomas S. Jesup on January 17,
1827, that Carr was making good progress on his road contract, which was
to continue to the 64^th^ mile from the Mississippi River, located west
of the Languille River.[^8] The lieutenant complained bitterly of the
Paxton and Mathers report, reporting inaccuracies in both their blazing
of the trail and their description of the land through which it passed.
"For instance," Thomas complained, "they 'positively aver' after
crossing the Saint Francis 'that the road will no where be subject to
inundation from any river &c' when they were informed by persons well
acquainted with the country & it is also evident from the water marks on
the trees, that the county is subject to be overflowed in some places as
much as eight feet and by the Mississippi & St. Francis Rivers."[^9]
While Blackfish and Shell Lakes could be traversed by ferries, Thomas
concluded that the areas west of the ridge around Bayou de View and the
Cache River were impenetrable and that a new route would be needed to
reach the crossing of the White River.[^10]

While seeking approval for the change in the route, Thomas went ahead
and contracted for 15 miles of road to be built between Little Rock and
Bayou Two Prairie near present-day Lonoke.[^11] After the route change
was approved, Thomas contracted with William Strong to bridge the
Languille River and build the road from the 64^th^ mile to the White
River ferry at present-day Clarendon.[^12] Strong had established a home
at the eastern base of Crowley's Ridge in 1827, constructing a house
that was "four stories high, contained 20 rooms, with a veranda
extending entirely around it, supported by red cedar posts, eight inches
in diameter ... It was the largest and most costly of any structure in
the State at that time."[^13] The pioneer obviously planned to profit
from the traffic that would traverse the only road between the
territorial capital at Little Rock and Memphis.

Strong bid \$1,600 to "open the road from the sixty fourth mile to White
River in 93 ½ mile" in January 1828 and Thomas reported that he had
completed the rugged stretch by June 1, 1828.[^14] Carr also finished
his contracts by mid-1828, including the section that traversed
Crowley's Ridge above Strong's place.[^15] By the end of August, the
remaining sections between White River and Little Rock were completed
and Little Rock and Memphis were connected.[^16] Thomas, tired of the
heat and swamps of Arkansas, requested transfer to a northern post;
instead, he was posted to fight Seminole Indians in Florida.[^17]

Though finished, the road faced harsh treatment, particularly in its
eastern reaches, which were subject to severe flooding and were indeed
impassable for several months each year. In 1832, Samuel Dickins and six
other Arkansians petitioned Congress to repair the road, which would
encourage settlement and protect local residents from Indian
attack.[^18] On July 3, 1832, Congress appropriated \$20,000 for repairs
to the Memphis to Little Rock Road, with Territorial Governor John Pope
using the money to improve the road between Little Rock and Strong's.
More congressional funding was sought for the more extensive work needed
on the eastern reaches of the road, and Congress appropriated \$100,000
and ordered a new survey of the road from Memphis to Strong's.[^19]

Lt. Alexander H. Bowman was the third subaltern to tackle the difficult
route through east Arkansas, arriving in Memphis in June 1834 with
instructions to make contracts for improvements on the road between "a
point on the Mississippi River, opposite Memphis, and terminat\[ing\] at
the house of Wm Strong on St. Francis." Bowman requested and in late
1835 received permission to construct an embankment "twenty four feet
wide at the top, with suitable slopes, which shall be three feet above
highest water" in the first four miles of the road, "creating a
continuous levee, from the bank opposite Memphis to the highlands on the
South Side of Grandee lake." After one contractor abandoned the project
after three-quarters of his 300-man crew fell ill in the July heat,
Bowman hired a second contractor who used oxen and scrapers to create
the embankment.[^20] Though the initial miles opposite Memphis proved
difficult, 23 miles of the road were completed by November 1834. After
Arkansas became a state on June 15, 1836, Bowman was transferred to
other duties as maintenance of the road became a local, as opposed to a
federal, concern. During the years of federal involvement, it should be
noted, Congress spent \$267,000 of the \$660,000 appropriated for
territorial Arkansas's transportation needs on construction of the
Memphis to Little Rock Road.[^21] The eastern section of the road would
continue to suffer the effects of persistent flooding for years to come,
with the *Arkansas Gazette* observing in 1837 that "Emigrants continue
to flock to this part of the country but they do so at the risk and cost
of passing the most disgraceful bogs, wilderness, and swamps that can be
found." The newspaper also advertised on May 23, 1837, that "the
contractor on the Memphis and Little Rock Road (Wm. Strong, Esq.)
advertises for [one thousand]{.underline} laborers to go on that road
for purposes of its completion."[^22] For all intents and purposes,
however, the road that would later become part of the Cherokee Trail of
Tears between Memphis and Little Rock was complete.

Though this study focuses on the road's importance to the Cherokee
Removal, the building of the Memphis to Little Rock Road also opened an
overland route between the Mississippi River and the state capital, the
importance of which led the *Gazette* to observe: "We venture to assert
that that there is no one single subject of so much importance to
Arkansas as the having of good roads from the interior of the country,
to the Mississippi river."[^23] Fifty-three years later, the writers of
*The Goodspeed Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas*
acknowledged the road's impact:

> In 1832, the United States Government constructed a road west from
> Memphis to Little Rock, over which they moved the Indians from the
> States east of the Mississippi River. . . and immediately after its
> construction \[it\] became the grand highway for emigration for
> western points. This was the only passage through the Wilderness, as
> the Mississippi bottoms were called at that time, and Texas received
> its flood of pioneers from over this highway, as did Kansas, Nebraska
> and Western Missouri; so from the time of its completion till 1860
> there was hardly a day of any month in all those years, but what, from
> any point along its path, long trains of wagons could be seen slowly
> wending their way beneath the overhanging trees, and through the
> swamps that often lay for many miles along their track.[^24]
>
> **Choctaw Removal Along the Memphis to Little Rock Road**
>
> Between 1786 and 1825, the Choctaw Nation and the United States
> government negotiated eight different treaties in which the Choctaws
> ceded rights to their ancestral lands in what is now the State of
> Mississippi. On October 27, 1830, a ninth treaty, the Treaty of
> Dancing Rabbit Creek, surrendered remaining Choctaw claims in
> Mississippi, setting the stage for the tribe's removal to Indian
> Territory.[^25] The first contingents of some 4,000 Choctaws set out
> under civilian leadership in November 1831, generally following land
> and/or water routes beginning from Memphis, Tennessee, or Vicksburg,
> Mississippi. None of these apparently utilized the Memphis to Little
> Rock Road in their travels. By March of 1832, 3,749 Choctaws were
> registered at four stations in Indian Territory.[^26]
>
> In an effort to cut costs and increase efficiency, the next removal
> contingents were placed under the authority of the U.S. Army. While
> they would again depart from Memphis and Vicksburg, at least part of
> the emigrating Choctaws would travel by the Memphis to Little Rock
> Road.[^27] On September 26, 1832, the *Arkansas Gazette* ran an
> advertisement for sealed proposals for prospective suppliers of
> rations and forage for the removal parties, stating that some would
> move "from Memphis, Tennessee, via Strong's to Mouth of Cache on White
> River, A.T.", a route that would take them through the road section in
> what is now Village Creek State Park. "The calculation at present,"
> the *Gazette* article notes, "is that the Indians will reach the
> Mississippi by the 1^st^ of November next."[^28]
>
> The Choctaws who rendezvoused at Memphis were split into two parties
> who would meet their fellow emigrants at Rock Roe on the White River.
> Though steamboats were available, many of the Indians were fearful of
> cholera and chose to travel overland under the command of Capt.
> William Armstrong. Following the Memphis to Little Rock Road, they
> entered a nightmarish landscape where fall flooding caused them to
> travel through knee- to waist-deep water for more than 30 miles. The
> parties consolidated at Rock Roe and by December 2, 1832, the last of
> the emigrants passed Little Rock. On December 5 the *Gazette* reported
> that "about 1200 Indians and 80 wagons ... who came through the
> Mississippi swamp from Memphis, and who design locating in the
> vicinity of the Arkansas, are probably now within about 75 miles of
> Fort Smith." By February 5, 1832, around 5,000 Choctaws were in Indian
> Territory at the conclusion of the second phase of removal. The final
> phase of removal in 1833 would not involve the use of the Memphis to
> Little Rock Road.[^29]

# 

> **Creek Removal Along the Memphis to Little Rock Road**
>
> Seven Creek chiefs signed a treaty in Washington, D.C. in March 1832,
> ceding all of the traditional Creek lands east of the Mississippi
> River to the U.S. government, thus culminating decades of negotiations
> and intratribal factionalism regarding ownership of the Creek
> homelands.[^30] It was reported that year that 2,500 members of the
> Creek tribe moved west, leaving 20,000 more to be removed.[^31]
>
> The first major contingent to move through Arkansas was a party of 630
> Creeks under the command of Capt. John Page in 1834. The party
> originated in Alabama, but split in January at Memphis, with the
> majority boarding steamboats for transport via the Mississippi,
> Arkansas and White rivers while another party drove the group's pony
> herd along the Memphis to Little Rock Road. Poor boating conditions
> caused the riverine travelers to take almost three weeks to reach
> Little Rock, where they stopped on February 24, 1835. They camped
> north of the Arkansas River to await the overland group under William
> Beattie of the Sanford Emigrating Company. The reunited party left the
> Little Rock area on March 1. Only 469 of the 630 Creeks in the Page
> party were alive when it reached Fort Gibson on March 28, 1835.[^32]
>
> A second party of 511 Creeks, conducted by Beattie but accompanied by
> Lt. Edward Deas of the U.S. Army, who sought to ensure the emigrants
> were properly supplied, left Alabama in December 1835. They reached
> Memphis and crossed the Mississippi on December 31. Again, the party
> split, with most traveling by boat as, Deas reported on January 1,
> 1836, "the Party with the Ponies were ... assembled opposite the town
> ... to proceed west through the Mississippi Swamp." The Indians
> traveled by boat arrived near Little Rock on January 8 and five days
> later Deas reported that "the Party with the Ponies ... arrived within
> a quarter of a mile of this place this afternoon in good condition.
> This is the first time we have heard of them since leaving Memphis."
> The group proceeded westward, arriving at Fort Smith on January 22
> after delays caused by low water on the Arkansas River.[^33]

Several parties of Creeks headed west in Fall 1836, and a lack of
transport led to some 13,000 Creeks bottlenecked at Memphis in October.
These groups were led by Capt. M.W. Batman, Lt. R. B. Screven, Marine
Lt. John T. Sprague, Deas, and John A. Campbell. Sprague sought to steal
a march on Batman and Screven, who had arrived at Memphis before him, to
ensure his party received adequate measures of the scanty supplies set
out for the Creek emigrants. Sprague put 1,300 people, mostly women and
children, aboard the steamboat *John Nelson* and two flat boats and sent
between 600 and 700 men with the group's horses along the Memphis to
Little Rock Road through the Mississippi Swamp. Most of the overland
group joined their river-borne companions opposite Little Rock on
November 4, though many of the men stayed in the swamp to hunt bear.
Sprague sent agents after these stragglers and brought them to the camps
opposite Little Rock in mid-November. The Sprague party reached Fort
Gibson on December 7, having lost only 29 people during the
journey.[^34]

Screven's party of 3,142 Creeks also split at Memphis, with most going
to Rock Roe by boat while the horse herd followed the Memphis to Little
Rock Road, arriving opposite Little Rock on November 20.[^35]

Deas party, which numbered 2,320 when it left Alabama, set out from
Memphis on November 5, 1836, intending to split as had the earlier
groups. A sizeable group of Creeks refused to board the boats, choosing
instead to follow the horse herd along the Memphis to Little Rock Road
under the leadership of a conductor who Deas appointed. The water-borne
party waited at Rock Roe, but only a portion of the overland party
arrived with the conductor. After waiting two weeks, Deas set back
toward Strong's place on the St. Francis River to round up the
stragglers. He found 300-400 starving, stranded Creeks, some of whom had
been with the parties of Batman and Screven, scattered along the route
and arranged for their escort to join the rest of his band. Deas's main
group arrived opposite Little Rock on November 27 and stayed there until
December 9, allowing most of the stragglers to rejoin them. After moving
three miles, he learned that another large group was still a few days
behind him, so he again encamped until December 17. The Deas party
finally arrived at Fort Gibson on January 23, 1837. His was the last
major Creek removal party to travel the Memphis to Little Rock
Road.[^36]

# Chickasaw Removal Along the Memphis to Little Rock Road

On October 20, 1832, representatives of the Chickasaw Nation, under
pressure from the U.S. government and white settlers anxious to move
into the Chickasaw homelands in northern Mississippi and Alabama, signed
the Treaty of Pontotoc in which the tribe ceded its property for sale as
public land. The government would hold proceeds while tribe members
decided where they wanted to move in the West.[^37] An exploring party
of 21 chiefs left Tuscumbia on October 16, 1833, crossing the
Mississippi River at Memphis and then heading to Little Rock and on to
Fort Towson -- a journey that would have traversed the newly constructed
Memphis to Little Rock Road.[^38] Negotiations with the Choctaw Nation
to procure western Choctaw land failed, as did similar parleys in
November 1835. Finally, in January 1837 the Choctaw Nation sold a large
strip in the western part of Choctaw lands in the Indian Territory for
the use of the Chickasaw, also allowing the tribe to enjoy most of the
privileges of Choctaw citizenship.[^39]

On March 9, 1837, A. M. M. Upshaw of Pulaski, Tennessee, was appointed
superintendent of the Chickasaw removal. Upshaw established three camps
in the Chickasaw Nation, and on July 4 he led a party of some 500
emigrants to Memphis.[^40] John M. Millard, assisted by W.R. Guy, Capt.
Joe A. Phillips and Dr. C. G. Keenan, took over as the conductor of the
party and crossed the Mississippi River to Arkansas.[^41] Millard,
expecting additional Chickasaws to join his group and awaiting
anticipated rations, tarried on the Arkansas side for three days before
heading west on the Memphis to Little Rock Road. By the 9^th^ of July
they had crossed Blackfish Lake and by the 11^th^ had traversed the
section of road that now runs through Village Creek State Park.
Millard's journal entry for the 11^th^ reads:

## Camp Marietta 3 Miles West of St. Francis --

This has been a laborious drive today, but a good fortune has taken us
through the great Mississippi Swamp, without any serious accident or ill
luck but some slight injury to the wagons, which, as we remain here
tomorrow can be easily repaired. The Sick who were sent by water to this
place are convalescent -- one yet remains on the sick report. All are
doing well.[^42]

The party remained at "Camp Marietta" on the 12^th^, with Millard
reporting:

We did not move today, but passed the time adjusting the baggage,
examining the rolls and attending to other indispensable business.[^43]

The Millard Party set out on the 13^th^ and apparently followed the
Memphis to Little Rock Road to the crossing of the White River, though
they might have deviated somewhat in heading further south to the Rock
Roe bridge. They apparently rejoined the road, however, as they arrived
at Mrs. Black's public house in modern-day Monroe County on July 22.
Traveling some nine miles per day, the party of 516 Indians, 551 ponies
and 13 wagons arrived at modern-day North Little Rock on July 24. The
party split up there, with Millard, Morris and Keenan taking 150
Chickasaws and all of the baggage on board the steamer *Indian* for
transport to Fort Coffee in the Indian Territory, Guy leading a party of
30 Chickasaws, 100 horses and two wagons by land for the same
destination, and the remaining Chickasaws, led by chief Sealy, headed
southwest, "determined to go by Red River and stop, when and where they
pleased."[^44]

After arriving at Fort Coffee on August 2, Millard returned to Little
Rock and set out in pursuit of Sealy's detachment, finding "many of them
very sick" only 35 miles from Little Rock. After battling a lack of
provender and the depredations of horse thieves, the frustrated Millard
finally threatened the slow-moving Chickasaws with the prospect of a
full military escort if they did not follow his instructions. After much
hardship, the remaining Chickasaws finally arrived in the Indian
Territory and Millard left the party on September 10, 1837.[^45]

Millard rejoined Upshaw in Memphis, where the latter had assembled some
4,000 additional Chickasaw emigrants, most of whom would travel west by
steamboat. Millard led another party along the Memphis to Little Rock
Road, leaving Memphis around December 3.[^46] The winter journey was
more difficult as the Millard Party encountered the same difficulties
that had bested the road's builders 10 years earlier. A correspondent to
the *Arkansas Gazette* wrote the newspaper on December 11, 1837, that:

> Capt. John Millard, conductor of a party of Chickasaw Indians, reached
> Strong's last evening, with almost 300 Indians, 38 wagons, and 1100
> Indian ponies. -- The balance of his party, supposed to be from 700 to
> 800 in number, is still in the swamp, and will not reach here for some
> days owing to the desperate condition of the road. Capt. Millard
> thinks that not less than 70 or 80 Indian ponies have been bogged and
> left dead in the mud. This party will remain at this place for several
> days---indeed until the balance of the party comes up. The whole party
> of Indians, we understand, will come by the way of this place \[Little
> Rock\] -- or rather, the opposite bank of the river."[^47]

This party apparently followed the Military Road to Little Rock and
would have traversed the section through today's Village Creek State
Park. After arriving at Little Rock, Millard convinced some of his
charges to take steamboats the rest of the way to the Choctaw Nation,
while the remainder traveled overland with their horses and oxen.[^48]

# Cherokee Removal on the Memphis to Little Rock Road

The Cherokees who had signed the Treaty of New Echota traveled
separately from their fellow tribesmen in a detachment that mixed-blood
Cherokee John Bell conducted and for which U.S. Army Lt. Edward Deas was
chief administrator. This detachment of some 660 Indians left the
emigrating depot at Fort Cass near Charleston, Tennessee, on October 10,
1838. It was the only Cherokee Removal detachment that would take the
Military Road from the Mississippi River to Little Rock and beyond.[^49]

Deas reported that the Bell Detachment had crossed the Mississippi by
November 24, 1838, noting that he "shipped up the Arkansas River a
considerable quantity of the Baggage, Potware &c. &c, on very low terms,
which I think will result in a good deal of saving in time and
expense."[^50] This report is the last known to survive from Deas during
his travels with the Bell Detachment, but historian Duane King has
assembled Deas's expense vouchers from the National Archives, providing
an account of where and when the Bell Detachment traveled along the
Memphis to Little Rock Road.

Deas's vouchers show that the party crossed Blackfish Lake on November
28, when he paid H.N. Ferguson to ferry the Cherokee across. Four
vouchers show that the party purchased supplies from William Strong.
Voucher #98 shows that on November 29 & 30, Strong ferried 650 Cherokees
across the St. Francis River. Voucher #34 shows that on November 30,
1838, Deas purchased 50.5 bushels of cornmeal at \$1 per bushel and
1,776 pounds of beef at 4 ½ cents per pound for at total of \$130.42.
Voucher #99, also dated November 30, shows Strong sold Deas 59 bushels
of corn at \$1 per bushel and 1,016 bundles of fodder at \$4 per hundred
bundles for at total of \$99.64. Each of these vouchers was paid off on
December 2. An unnumbered voucher dated December 1, 1838 reads: "Recd of
Dr Eddington Four dollars for 1 gallon of French Brandy for the Cherokee
Emigration." Based on these vouchers, it probably was between November
30 and December 4 (the date of the last voucher paid in St. Francis
County) that the Bell Detachment traveled the well-established Memphis
to Little Rock Road segment that now traverses Village Creek State
Park.[^51]

The Bell Detachment traveled 707 miles in 89 days and disbanded at
Vinyard Post Office (present-day Evansville) in Washington County,
Arkansas, on January 7, 1839. Twenty-one of the 660 Cherokee Indians who
began the journey in Tennessee died en route.[^52]

The Memphis to Little Rock Road Segment -- Village Creek State Park is
eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under
Criterion A with National significance by virtue of its status as what
is probably the most-intact surviving segment of the roads traversed on
the Bell Detachment during the Cherokee Removal. Its association with
the earlier Choctaw, Creek and Chickasaw Removals and its role in
opening eastern Arkansas to west-bound migration augments its
importance. The property is being submitted for National Register
recognition under the multiple-property listing "Historic and
Archeological Resources Associated with the Cherokee Trail of Tears."

========================================================================

**9. Major Bibliographical References**

========================================================================

American Native Press Archives, University of Arkansas at Little Rock,
http://www.anpa.ualr.edu/.

# *Arkansas Gazette*, July 25, 1826; May 23, 1837; December 19, 1837.

*Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas* (Chicago: The
Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1890)

Bolton, S. Charles. *Arkansas 1800-1860, Remote and Restless*
(Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1998)

Carter, Clarence E., comp. and ed., *Territorial Papers of the United
States, Arkansas Territory, 1825-1829* (Washington, D.C., 1954)

Chowing, Robert W. *History of St. Francis County* (Forrest City, AR:
Times-Herald Publishing Co., 1954)

DeRosier, Arthur H. Jr. "The Choctaw Removal of 1831: A Civilian Effort"
*Journal of the West* Vol. 6, April 1967.

Dougan, Michael B. *Arkansas Odyssey* (Little Rock, AR: Rose Publishing
Co., 1994)

Foreman, Grant. *Indian Removal: The Emigration of the Five Civilized
Tribes of Indians* (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972)

Glenn, Jordan H. "Choctaw Colonization in Oklahoma" *Chronicles of
Oklahoma*, Vol. 54, Spring, 1976.

King, Duane. "The Emigration Route of the John A. Bell Detachment of
Treaty Party Cherokees within the State of Arkansas, November 25, 1838
-- January 7, 1839," Research Paper, 2001

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_., e-mail correspondence, July 8, 2002

Litton, Gaston, ed. "The Journal of a Party of Emigrating Creek Indians,
1835-36," The Journal of Southern History, vol. 7, May 1941.

Longnecker, Julia Ward. "A Road Divided: From Memphis to Little Rock
Through the Great Mississippi Swamp." *Arkansas Historical Quarterly*,
Vol. XLIV, No. 3 (Autumn, 1985)

Meals, Jennova. "Paths of the Past: The Old Military Road in East
Arkansas." Research Paper.

Millard, J.M., Journal, September 23, 1837, copy supplied by Dr. Dan
Littlefield, University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Savage, William J. Jr. "Creek Colonization in Oklahoma," *Chronicles of
Oklahoma*, vol. 54, Spring 1976.

Previous documentation on file (NPS):

\_ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been

requested.

\_ previously listed in the National Register

\_ previously determined eligible by the National Register

\_ designated a National Historic Landmark

\_ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey \#

\_ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record \#

Primary Location of Additional Data:

[X]{.underline} State historic preservation office

\_ Other state agency

\_ Federal agency

\_ Local government

\_ University

\_ Other ‑‑ Specify Repository:

========================================================================

**10. Geographical Data**

========================================================================

Acreage of Property:

The roadbed runs through approximately 27 acres, but the physical
acreage of the road itself is less than 10 acres.

UTM References: Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing

A [15]{.underline} [708650]{.underline} [3891228]{.underline} B
[15]{.underline} 708461 [3891179]{.underline}

C [15]{.underline} [708298]{.underline} [3891409]{.underline} D
[15]{.underline} [708135 3891501]{.underline}

E [15]{.underline} [707992]{.underline} [3891750]{.underline} F
[15]{.underline} [707945]{.underline} [3891635]{.underline}

G [15]{.underline} [707856]{.underline} [3891621]{.underline} H
[15]{.underline} [707754]{.underline} [3891683]{.underline}

I [15]{.underline} [707623]{.underline} [3891685]{.underline} J
[15]{.underline} [707323]{.underline} [3891827]{.underline}

K [15]{.underline} [707235]{.underline} [3891772]{.underline} L
[15]{.underline} [707117]{.underline} [3891780]{.underline}

M [15]{.underline} [707080]{.underline} [3891731]{.underline}

Verbal Boundary Description:

The property consists of a 30-foot wide strip of land connecting the
following UTM points on the Wittsburg, Arkansas, quad map: A
15/708650/3891228; B 15/708461/3891179; C 15/708298/3891409; D
15/708135/3891501; E 15/707992/3891750; F 15/707945/3891635; G
15/707856/3891621; H 15/707754/3891683; I 15/707623/3891685; J
15/707323/3891827; K 15/707235/3891772; L 15/707117/3891780;
M15/707080/3891731.

Boundary Justification:

The property boundaries encompass the visible roadway as determined
through field survey and GPS documentation on February 23, 2001, by Mark
Christ, Holly Hope, Jim Files and Zac Cothren of the AHPP staff.

========================================================================

**11. Form Prepared By**

========================================================================

Name/Title: [Mark Christ/Community Outreach Director]{.underline}

Organization:[Arkansas Historic Preservation Program]{.underline} Date:
[February 21, 2003]{.underline}

Street & Number:[1500 Tower Bldg., 323 Center St.]{.underline}
Telephone:[(501) 324-9880]{.underline}

City or Town: [Little Rock]{.underline} State:[AR]{.underline} ZIP:
[72201]{.underline}

[^1]: Jennova Meals, "Paths of the Past: The Old Military Road in East
    Arkansas." Research Paper, 2.

[^2]: Julia Ward Longnecker, "A Road Divided: From Memphis to Little
    Rock Through the Great Mississippi Swamp." *Arkansas Historical
    Quarterly*, Vol. XLIV, No. 3 (Autumn, 1985) 205.

[^3]: Clarence E. Carter, comp. and ed., *Territorial Papers of the
    United States, XIX, Arkansas Territory, 1825-1829* (Washington,
    D.C., 1954) 769.

[^4]: Carter, *Territorial Papers*, *XX*, 187-8.

[^5]: Meals, 4-6.

[^6]: *Arkansas Gazette*, July 25, 1826, p. 3, col. 2.

[^7]: Meals, 6-7.

[^8]: Carter, *Territorial Papers, XX*, 369; Duane King e-mail, July 8,
    2002.

[^9]: Carter, *Territorial Papers, XX*, 369.

[^10]: Meals, 10.

[^11]: Longnecker, 210.

[^12]: Carter, *Territorial Papers, XX*, 570.

[^13]: Robert W. Chowing, *History of St. Francis County* (Forrest City,
    AR: Times-Herald Publishing Co., 1954), 8.

[^14]: Carter, *Territorial Papers, XX*, 585, 693.

[^15]: Longnecker, 210.

[^16]: Meals, 12.

[^17]: Longnecker, 206.

[^18]: Longnecker, 213.

[^19]: Longnecker, 213-4.

[^20]: Longnecker, 215-217.

[^21]: Meals, 15; S. Charles Bolton *Arkansas 1800-1860, Remote and
    Restless* (Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1998) 43.

[^22]: Michael B. Dougan, *Arkansas Odyssey* (Little Rock, AR: Rose
    Publishing Co., 1994) 119; *Arkansas Gazette*, May 23, 1837, p. 2,
    col. 1.

[^23]: *Arkansas Gazette*, May 23, 1837, p. 2, col. 1.

[^24]: *Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas*
    (Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1890), 396.

[^25]: Arthur H. DeRosier, Jr. "The Choctaw Removal of 1831: A Civilian
    Effort" *Journal of the West* Vol. 6, April 1967, 237.

[^26]: Jordan H. Glenn, "Choctaw Colonization in Oklahoma" *Chronicles
    of Oklahoma*, Vol. 54, Spring, 1976, 27.

[^27]: *Ibid*., 27-29.

[^28]: *Arkansas Gazette*, September 26, 1832, cited at
    <http://www.anpa.ualr.edu/FT_Indian_Removal/Newspapers/FT_IR_Choctaw_3.htm>,
    downloaded October 20, 2002.

[^29]: Glenn, "Choctaw Colonization," 29-30; *Arkansas Gazette*,
    December 5, 1832, cited at
    <http://www.anpa.ualr.edu/FT_Indian_Removal/Newspapers/FT_IR_Choctaw_3.htm>,
    downloaded October 20, 2002.

[^30]: William J. Savage, Jr. "Creek Colonization in Oklahoma,"
    *Chronicles of Oklahoma*, vol. 54, Spring 1976, 39-41.

[^31]: Information from
    [http://www.anpa.ualr.edu/FT_Indian_Removal/Site%20Reports/NLR/nlr_creek.htm
    downloaded January
    16](http://www.anpa.ualr.edu/FT_Indian_Removal/Site Reports/NLR/nlr_creek.htm downloaded January 16),
    2003 (referred to hereafter as ANPA Creek Report).

[^32]: ANPA Creek Report.

[^33]: ANPA Creek Report; Gaston Litton, ed. "The Journal of a Party of
    Emigrating Creek Indians, 1835-36," The Journal of Southern History,
    vol. 7, May 1941, 235,237.

[^34]: ANPA Creek Report.

[^35]: *Ibid*.

[^36]: *Ibid.*

[^37]: Grant Foreman, *Indian Removal: The Emigration of the Five
    Civilized Tribes of Indians* (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma
    Press, 1972), 197.

[^38]: *Ibid.*, 199.

[^39]: *Ibid.*, 202-203.

[^40]: *Ibid.*, 204-6.

[^41]: *Ibid.*, 206.

[^42]: J.M. Millard Journal, September 23, 1837, copy supplied by Dr.
    Dan Littlefield, University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

[^43]: *Ibid.*

[^44]: Foreman, 207-9.

[^45]: *Ibid*, 209-12.

[^46]: *Ibid*, 213-4.

[^47]: *Arkansas Gazette*, December 19, 1837, downloaded June 26, 2002,
    from
    [http://www.anpa.ualr.edu/FT­\_Indian_Removal/Newspapers/FT_IR_Chickasaws.htm](http://www.anpa.ualr.edu/FT%1F_Indian_Removal/Newspapers/FT_IR_Chickasaws.htm)).

[^48]: Foreman, 214.

[^49]: Duane King, "The Emigration Route of the John A. Bell Detachment
    of Treaty Party Cherokees within the State of Arkansas, November 25,
    1838 -- January 7, 1839," Research Paper, 2001, 4.

[^50]: *Ibid*., 7.

[^51]: *Ibid*., 28-9; copies of vouchers from National Archives supplied
    by Duane King.

[^52]: King, "Emigration Route," 4.