Camden, Arkansas

== History ==

=== European exploration ===
The explorers Father [[Jacques Marquette]] and [[Louis Joliet]] in 1673 and [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]], in 1682 established French claims to the land they called [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]], which included what would become Camden, and found the [[Quapaw]] living at the confluence of the [[Arkansas River|Arkansas]] and [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] rivers. The Quapaw claimed the territory that included this part of the Ouachita basin, but it was also influenced by both [[Caddo]] trade and culture. The old Indian trail called the Caddo Trace, leading from the Quapaw villages on the Arkansas River to those of the Caddo on the [[Red River of the South|Red River]], crossed the Ouachita River at what is now Camden. French hunters, trappers, and traders, who were drawn to the area by the abundant game, later established a rendezvous point on the high bluff above the crossing. The place became known as Ecore a Fabri or Fabri's Bluff (later spelled Fabre).<ref name="EoA">{{cite web |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/camden-947/ |title=Camden (Ouachita County) |last=Milam |first=Daniel A. |publisher=[[Central Arkansas Library System]] |date=April 30, 2005 |website=[[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture|Encyclopedia of Arkansas]] |access-date=June 16, 2019}}</ref>

In late 1762, France ceded Louisiana to [[Spain]]. In 1782, the Spanish governor sent a Frenchman named Jean Baptiste Filhiol, known to him as Don Juan Filhiol, to establish a civil and military post in the Ouachita district. Filhiol first chose to locate his headquarters at Ecore a Fabri with the expectation of creating a settlement there. After about two years, he decided to move downriver to the more central site of Prairie des Canots, present-day [[Monroe, Louisiana]]. These locations were noted in 1804 by the Hunter-Dunbar Expedition that explored the Ouachita River.<ref name="EoA" />

=== Early statehood ===
By 1819, Jesse Bowman, of future [[Alamo Mission in San Antonio|Alamo]] fame, was living at Ecore a Fabri, while the Tate brothers—Andrew, Richard, and George—came up the Ouachita on keelboats. Unable to go farther, they settled up river at a place now called [[Tates Bluff, Arkansas|Tate's Bluff]]. In 1824, John Nunn moved to Ecore a Fabri and became one of the early permanent settlers. The Nunn brothers planned to pole freight and passengers upriver toward [[Washington, Arkansas]]. Steamboats arrived at Ecore a Fabri in the 1820s and provided it with a direct link to the cotton and commercial markets in [[New Orleans]]. Because it was located at the head of practical navigation, Ecore a Fabri became a commercial center and began to grow. Residents of [[Hempstead County, Arkansas|Hempstead County]] began petitioning for a new road in 1821, and by 1828, the Camden to Washington Road was having additional work and maintenance done. By 1829, a large portion of Hempstead County, including Ecore a Fabri, was broken off by the [[Arkansas General Assembly|legislature]] to form an expanded [[Union County, Arkansas|Union County]]. In 1842, Ouachita County, named for the river, was formed from the northwest portion of Union. Ecore a Fabri was chosen as the county seat, and its name was changed to Camden at the suggestion of one of the commissioners, Thomas Woodward.<ref name="EoA" />

Camden soon became the second-largest city in Arkansas. It was a mercantile center and a bustling river port served by frequent scheduled steamboats carrying passengers and freight. Most traveled between Camden and [[New Orleans]]. Camden was also the headquarters for John T. Chidester's stagecoach line that served [[Arkansas]], [[Louisiana]] and [[Texas]]. Chidester's company carried the United States Mail from [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] to [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]] for the Butterfield stage line.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Chidester Stage Lines|last=Dillard|first=Tom|date=December 20, 2015|work=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette}}</ref>

=== American Civil War ===
{{Main|Camden Expedition}}
During the Civil War, Camden was the focus of [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] general [[Frederick Steele]]’s Red River Campaign of 1864. Steele moved south of Little Rock toward [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], but got only as far as Camden, which he occupied while the [[Confederate States Army|Confederates]] pulled back to defend Washington, Arkansas. Forts [[Fort Lookout (Arkansas)|Lookout]] and [[Fort Southerland|Southerland]] were built early in 1864, and the [[Camden Water Battery]] was built later in the same year, all to protect Camden from attack. After losing the [[Battle of Poison Spring|engagement at Poison Spring]] and the [[Battle of Marks' Mills|action at Marks’ Mill]], Steele had little choice but to retreat toward Little Rock. Camden and south Arkansas remained in Confederate hands until the end of the war.<ref name="EoA" />

=== 20th century to present ===
Before the steamboat era faded, Camden had become a railroad town—served by the mainline of the [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway|St Louis-Southwestern Railroad]] (Cotton Belt) and by branch lines of the [[Missouri Pacific Railroad|Missouri Pacific]] and the [[Rock Island Railroad|Rock Island]] railroads. The town remained an important cotton shipping depot through the early decades of the twentieth century. The South Arkansas oil boom of the 1920s resulted in a thriving economy.

[[File:Camden News, Camden, AR IMG 2233.JPG|thumb|left|''The Camden News'' headquarters 113 Madison Avenue, Northeast]]
In 1927, the [[International Paper]] Company built a processing mill at Camden, following development of south Arkansas' lumber industry. For several decades, Camden was the headquarters of the [[Clyde E. Palmer]] newspaper chain, which included ''[[The Camden News]]'', the ''[[Texarkana Gazette]]'', the ''Hot Springs Sentinel-Record'', and the ''Magnolia Banner News''. The daily newspaper in Camden is the original flagship publication of [[WEHCO Media]].

During [[World War II]], Camden was home to one of Arkansas's three contract training fields for primary pilots in the [[United States Army Air Forces]]. The base was named [[Harrell Field]]; ground was broken for it in 1942.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/camden-army-air-field-5760/|title = Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref>  The site became surplus to the Army's needs in 1944 and was handed over to the US Navy for the [[Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot]].
Thousands of new jobs were created. The [[Korean War]] generated new jobs and activity at the depot, which closed after war's end. The city and county redeveloped its facilities and grounds into an extensive industrial area. This was the site of some major defense establishments and multiple smaller industries. [[Southern Arkansas University Tech|A technical campus]] of [[Southern Arkansas University]] is also located there.

In the 1990s, post [[Cold War]] downsizing of the defense industry brought severe job losses—and resulting population decline—to the Camden area.  The International Paper Company mill closed a few years later, resulting in more job losses. In recent years, however, a partial resurgence of defense contracts and the development of a diversified mixture of small business and professional activity have stabilized the town's economy.

Camden is the home of Buckshot Smith (born 1929) who was America's oldest active duty police officer from 2020 until he retired in 2023, 2 months before his 94th birthday.<ref>[https://face2faceafrica.com/article/meet-the-91-year-old-who-is-the-oldest-cop-in-the-us-and-has-been-protecting-arkansas-for-nearly-60-years Face to Face Africa]</ref><ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/im-91-still-working-police-officer-1575653 News Week]</ref><ref>[https://www.police1.com/police-heroes/articles/arkansas-oldest-officer-retires-at-93-after-nearly-65-year-career-E5xa3ZWzxC8EnR5v/ Buckshot Smith retires]</ref>

Ukraine has a significant demand for all of the rockets and missiles made at the [[Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control]] facility in neighboring [[East Camden, Arkansas|East Camden]], including those used by the Army's Patriot missile system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-is-burning-through-ammunition-faster-than-the-us-and-nato-can-produce-it-inside-the-pentagon-s-plan-to-close-the-gap/ar-AA17AIYF|title=Ukraine is burning through ammunition faster than the US and NATO can produce it. Inside the Pentagon's plan to close the gap. Story by Haley Britzky, Feb 16, 2023 11:01 PM|website=[[MSN]] }}</ref>