:Chalk Bluff, Arkansas
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Chalk Bluff
| nrhp_type =
| image = Chalk Bluff.jpg
| caption =
| nearest_city = St. Francis, Arkansas
| coordinates = {{coord|36|28|41|N|90|9|32|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Arkansas#USA
| built = {{Start date|1840}}
| added = October 29, 1974
| area = {{convert|9.5|acre}}
| refnum = 74000470{{NRISref|version=2010a}}
}}
Chalk Bluff was an unincorporated community in Clay County, Arkansas, United States, approximately two miles (3 km) northwest of St. Francis. The town was formed in the 1820s at the point where the St. Francis River cuts through Crowley's Ridge from west to east. The name of the community was derived from the white clay bluff created by this crossing. The founder of the community was Abraham Seitz, who established and operated a ferry crossing and general store in the area from the 1830 until it was destroyed during the Civil War. The community occupied a strategic location and was often referred to in the reports of Union and Confederate forces vying for control of Northeast Arkansas during the war. Several skirmishes occurred near the ferry crossing, one of which was significant it enough to become known as the Battle of Chalk Bluff, which took place in early May 1863.Wright, V.C., & Laud Payne, "The Battle of Chalk Bluff..." Piggott, Arkansas: 1953. The town was abandoned following the Civil War and most residents moved to the new railroad town, St. Francis, Arkansas.Webb, Robert T.; History & Traditions of Clay County. Little Rock, Arkansas: Parke-Harper Co., 1933 (reprinted in the Piggott Times, April 29, 1982.) The location was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The site is now home to the Chalk Bluff Battlefield Park which commemorates the May 1863 battle{{Cite web|url=https://www.arkansas.com/historic/chalk-bluff-battlefield-park|title=Chalk Bluff Battlefield Park {{!}} Arkansas.com|website=www.arkansas.com|access-date=2019-03-25}} and to the Chalk Bluff Natural Area.{{cite web
| url = http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-areas/chalk-bluff-natural-area
| title = Chalk Bluff Natural Area
| website = Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
| access-date = 2015-10-05
}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web
|url ={{GNIS 3|47670}}
|title =Chalk Bluff
|work =Geographic Names Information System
|publisher =United States Geological Survey
|accessdate =2014-01-11}}
{{Clay County, Arkansas}}
{{portal bar|American Civil War|Arkansas|Geography|National Register of Historic Places}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalk Bluff, Arkansas}}
Category:1820s establishments in Arkansas Territory
Category:American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places
Category:Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
Category:Former populated places in Arkansas
Category:Geography of Clay County, Arkansas
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Clay County, Arkansas
Category:Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
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