ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY, Volume 20 (Autumn 1961)), p. 245.   Historic Camden By J. E. G A U G H A N * Camden, Arkansas     MEMBERS OF THE ARKANSAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION   LADIES AND GENTLEMEN-   My assignment on this program is to tell you something about the old Camden, and to describe for you some of the places of interest that you will see while you are here. But before I go into that I want to extend to you a sincere and hearty welcome to Camden---Camden on Ouachita, the best town in Arkansas. Camden and the Ouachita River are as closely related as were Damon and Pythias. In the early days the River provided the only means of transportation into this part of the world and because of the existence of this means of transportation Camden became the trading center of this area. The earliest records go back to the time of Hernando de Soto. After leaving the Hot Springs, he travelled South toward the Red River, but then turned West and reached the Ouachita where he spent the winter of 1541-1542 at an Indian Village called Autiamque. This village is said to have been located in the southeast part of Ouachita County or in the northeast part of Union County. No doubt these explorers during the winter must have come up the River as far as the bluffs where Camden is now located. This region is supposed to have been included in a grant of land by the King of Spain in 1795 known as the Maison Rouge Grant, or in a grant of a million arpents of land on the Ouachita River to the Baron de Bastrop. _________________________ * Address delivered before the Arkansas Historical Association, Camden, Arkansas, April 28, 1961.           Contents  Words  Study Questions  Related Sites Next