Victoria Bend/Montgomery Post, Arkansas/Arkansas Post/Concordia Bend

Victoria Bend/Montgomery Post, Arkansas/Arkansas Post/Concordia Bend. Mississippi River Walk. , A) Victoria Bend , Mile 595.0 AHP, The small river community of Victoria once lay on the east bank near the top of this bend, but the river washed it away. In 1852, forty people died when the steamer Rainbow caught fire on Victoria Bend. The incident provoked one of the 19th Century's periodic outbursts of concern over steamboat safety, but the incident was soon after forgotten. In the excitement of the Steamboat Era, the public seemed willing to trade safety for speed. , B) Montgomery Post, Arkansas , Mile 598.1 AHP, Located above the old mouth of the White River, this point was the sited of a French fur trading post as early as 1766. In the 1800s, a small community grew up around a store and inn owned by a Mrs. Montgomery, whose hospitality was highly praised along the river. The mouth of the White River later moved above Montgomery Point. , C) Arkansas Post , Mile 601.0 AHP, The first European settlement in Arkansas, this post was founded by the French in 1682. When Spain took control of the territory in 1763, they re-named it Fort Charles III, but did little to develop the area. The settlement that grew up around the fort was named the first capital of the Arkansas Territory after the U.S. took possession in 1803. The town of Arkansas Post thrived on the river traffic during the antebellum era and its population reached 3,500. Its strategic position on the river made it the key to control of the state during the U.S. Civil War, and it was the site of a major Confederate fortification. In 1863, the 3,000-man garrison was attacked by a Union force of 30,000 and the post fell. Lacking a railroad connection, Arkansas Post declined with steamboat traffic. This area is now the Arkansas Post National Memorial. , D) Concordia Bend , Mile 604.5 AHP, The Mississippi meandered through a number of eastward bends in this area during the 1800s before making this natural cutoff. Concordia Bend was removed from the river, along with Concordia, Mississippi, a tough river town which once lay on the bend. Island No. 71, formerly attached to the Arkansas shore, is now on the east bank with the oxbow lake Concordia Bend curving around it.