Editing Clarksville, Arkansas (section)

==History==
The community began as settlers arrived to the [[Arkansas Territory]]. After the [[Osage tribe]] was relocated by treaty,<ref name=ea911>[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=911 The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture: Clarksville (Johnson County)], accessed January 2019.</ref> [[Cherokee]] settlers came to Arkansas by 1800 and primarily lived along the Arkansas River. A [[United States Government Fur Trade Factory System|federal Indian trading factory]] under [[Matthew Lyon]] was established at Spadra in 1818,<ref name=ea3510>[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3510 The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture: Spadra (Johnson County)], accessed January 2019.</ref><ref>Wesley, Edgar Bruce (1935). Guarding the Frontier. University of Minnesota Press, p. 40.</ref> now at the west end of [[Lake Dardanelle]] on the [[Arkansas River]], a Clarksville location now occupied by Spadra Marina.<ref>[https://www.spadramarina.com] Spadra Marina website, accessed January 2019.</ref> A historical marker, dedicated in 1984, sits on Spadra Bluff, near the original river town of Spadra. The area was reserved for the Cherokee, so most early settlers of Johnson County did not move into the area until after 1828, the year the Cherokee gave up their land.

Spadra was the first county seat of Johnson County, convenient to steamboat lines. However, when stagecoach and train transportation became more common, land routes from [[Little Rock]] to [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]] were directed along higher elevations through Clarksville.<ref name=ea911 /> As Clarksville grew, it became the ''de facto'' location for the county seat circa 1833,<ref name=ea5148>[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5148 The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture: Floods], accessed January 2019.</ref> probably due to severe flooding at Spadra.<ref name=USGS>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015053334168;view=1up;seq=236 1833 Arkansas River Flood Stage at Murray Dam near Little Rock], Magnitude and frequency of floods in Arkansas, by Scott A. Hodge and Gary D. Tasker; prepared in cooperation with the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, 1995; accessed January 2019.</ref> Clarksville was established by survey in November 1836 after Johnson County was formed from part of [[Pope County, Arkansas|Pope County]].<ref name=ea911 /> The first court session was held in 1837 in a private building.<ref name=ea911 />

By July 1853 the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad opted to go through Clarksville instead of Spadra, due to financial incentives provided by the county commissioners based in Clarksville.<ref name=ea911 /> Almost twenty miles of track toward Spadra were removed during the realignment.<ref name=ea3510 /> Regular rail service began following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]],<ref name=ea911 /> aiding in Clarksville's growth, while the hamlet of New Spadra began beside the new tracks.<ref name=ea3510 /> Fewer settlers arrived by river transportation so Spadra was less useful, so its major buildings deteriorated or were moved, while Clarksville became the destination of many new settlers arriving by train.