Mound City, Arkansas
History
Pre-European Civilization
The community was named to honor the numerous prehistoric Native American earthen mounds which are found in the surrounding area. The mounds have not been thoroughly investigated and are threatened by the expansion of the city of West Memphis, Arkansas. The mounds may be a manifestation of the Marksville culture dating between 500 BCE and 500 CE.
Antebellum Period
According to Goodspeed's History of eastern Arkansas, Mound City was an important trading post in the 1850's and 1860, with many stores and hotels. However, by the 1890's, all of this commerce was gone from the area.
On June 5, 1862, Federal troops disembarked on the Mississippi River at Mound City and captured the area. The First Battle of Memphis was fought on June 6. On February 13, 1863, Federal troops burned communities in the area in retaliation for a Confederate raid on a steamboat and barges plying the Mississippi River. Racial tensions in Mound City were high between former African-American slaves and whites after the war.
21st Century
A former plantation known as Mound City and dating from about 1900 has been renovated and the existing sharecropper houses and commissary are vacation rentals and an events facility.
References
- ^ "Mound City township, Crittenden County, Arkansas (AR)". City-Data.com. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
- ^ Childress, Mitchell R. (1990). "Analysis and Interpretation of Artifact Collections" (PDF). Memphis District Corps of Engineers. Department of the Army. p. 12. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- ^ Biographical and historical memoirs of eastern Arkansas. Chicago, St. Louis: Goodspeed Publishing Co. 1890.
- ^ Childress 1990, p. 17.
- ^ "Mound City sharecropper houses invite visitors to explore area's rural roots". The Daily Memphian. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- ^ "Visit Mound City | Delta Farm Resort & Events". Retrieved December 11, 2018.