Background of Arkansas Land Records

The Missouri Territory, established in 1812, which encompassed present-day Arkansas, agreed to honor private land granted previously by Spain and Mexico, and also awarded two grants to prior French claims. A substantial portion of these Spanish and Mexican grants were situated in current Arkansas and Desha counties. Land claim issues arose frequently due to non-compliance with regulations and fraudulent activities such as forgeries of governor’s signatures on land grants. The term ‘arpents’, a French measurement unit used in some Spanish grants, is roughly equivalent to four-fifths of an acre. Most early land grants to heads of households were for about … Read more

Arkansas Soldiers Interred at Finn’s Point National Cemetery

Finn's Point National Cemetery

Finn’s Point National Cemetery is located about six miles northwest of Salem, N.J., at the north end of what was Fort Mott Military Reservation. Originally, the United States purchased the land for the construction of the Finn’s Point Battery to protect the Port of Philadelphia. By 1863, however, the grounds increasingly served as a burial site for Confederate prisoners of war who died while imprisoned at Fort Delaware. An estimated 2,502 men died while imprisoned at Fort Delaware. Even prior to its designation as a national cemetery, the remains of POWs were transported to Finn’s Point across the river for … Read more

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