Editing Des Arc, Arkansas (section)

==History==
White settlement in the area began in the Lower White River Valley while the area was within [[French Louisiana]], which lasted from 1686-1763. French from Canada and [[South Louisiana]] passed through the area while hunting and trapping bears and other animals. They shipped furs and bear oil downriver to [[Arkansas Post]], which was the only established settlement in the region, then likely onto [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{ cite journal |last= Smith |first= Darlene |title= Arkansas Post |journal= [[Arkansas Historical Quarterly]] |publisher= [[Arkansas Historical Association]] |volume= 13 |date=Spring 1954 |issue= 1 |pages= 119–122 |doi= 10.2307/40037965 |jstor= 40037965 }}</ref> During this period, several places were named by the French, including Des Arc and other places in Prairie County such as [[La Grue, Arkansas|La Grue]].<ref>{{ cite journal |last= Holder |first= Virgil H |title= Historical Geography of the Lower White River |journal= Arkansas Historical Quarterly |publisher= Arkansas Historical Association |volume= 27 |number= 2 |date=Summer 1968 |pages= 133–34 |doi= 10.2307/40018504 |jstor= 40018504 }}</ref>

Des Arc was founded in 1854. A map shows the original town included 80 residential blocks, and two blocks for a commercial district. The gridded street pattern has never been fully developed, though most of the streets and blocks match the 1854 plan. The gridded east-west street pattern began with a street named McNulty Street in the north, near where present-day [[Arkansas Highway 38|Highway 38]] is located along the northern edge of the city. The southernmost east-west street was Barrier Street. The town ran from Foster Street (present-day First Street) on the eastern side, to present-day Eighth Street.<ref name="ot">{{Cite map |first= C. |last= Laugtner |title= Map of the Town of Des Arc, Prairie County, Arkansas |year= 1854 |url= http://ahc.digital-ar.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16790coll5/id/20/rec/45 |via= [[Arkansas State Archives]] |access-date= January 1, 2018 |archive-date= January 2, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073706/http://ahc.digital-ar.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16790coll5/id/20/rec/45 |url-status= dead }}</ref>