Cadron Blockhouse a replica of long-standing edifice dating to 1700s

Log Cabin Democrat

In a sublime setting along the Arkansas River sits the Cadron Blockhouse, a structure that is steeped in history. Only a few miles from the outskirts of Conway, the blockhouse is a replica of an edifice that was built in the late 18th century. Its authenticity is based on many references to it in old French and Spanish documents.

There is no gain in saying that the history of the place owns a sorry reputation that is linked to the infamous Trail of Tears when thousands of American Indians were summarily ejected from their homes in the east and moved to the vast territory in the southwest.

The blockhouse that stands today was raised from the ashes of a disastrous fire in 1992. It was a replica of the building constructed in 1978. The original dated to the 1700s.

Many Indians died and were buried along the route in the vicinity of the Cadron Blockhouse during the Trail of Tears.

The blockhouse of yore was a multiple use structure. It was used as a trading post, a residence and a public meeting place, as well as for defense purposes.

When French trappers and other early settlers were in the area, the Osage Indians occupied the land north of the Arkansas River. When the Osage were on the warpath, the settlers used the blockhouse as a place of refuge.

When the blockhouse reconstruction was begun, archeologists uncovered what appeared to be a stone foundation. They also found color stains in the soil that indicated what could have been a foundation log. Numerous artifacts were found at the blockhouse site, including trade beads, metal buttons, gun flints, musket lock, shot, square cut nails, tableware and fragments of china.

The blockhouse is made of Arkansas cypress. The logs are rough sawed 6-by2 inches, some measuring 24 feet in length. The overhead beams, which serve as the floor joists for the second floor, are 22 feet long. The corner notching is a half dovetail or weather notch designed to “shed” water.

The first floor measures 18-by-36 feet. The second floor is 22-by-40 feet, which provides a two foot overhang around the building. This feature allowed a defender to fire down on an attacking enemy.

The roof has a 45-degree pitch. There are four fireplaces, two on each floor.

The hardware for the doors and shutters and also fireplace cranes were handmade from an early pattern. The chimney stones were obtained from numerous old home sites in the area.

Cadron Settlement Park’s link with history is immutable. Many Indians are buried in the park in the shadow of the blockhouse.

The concept of moving southern Indians westward was first proposed by Thomas Jefferson in the early 1800s, but it was not until 1830 that Congress, with the support of President Andrew Jackson, passed the Indian Removal Act.

The rigors of the journey accounted for untold numbers of deaths among the Indians.

Men, women and children perished on those fateful forced marches. During their travels across the lands from the Smoky Mountains to the west, simple shallow graves mark the long trail.

Cadron Settlement Park’s place in the Trail of Tears is well-established. Markers near the blockhouse are dedicated to the Cherokee Indians who died there.

“It was here that many of our youngsters and families passed away,” John Catcher, deputy chief of the Cherokee Nations said at the dedication of the Cadron memorials marking the burial grounds near the Cadron Blockhouse.

“It is here that the body of the Cherokee is forever mixed with the soil of Arkansas. But we must be ever mindful that this not happen again to any group of people no matter where they come from.”

The blockhouse was rebuilt after the 1992 fire by the Faulkner County Historical Society, public donations and volunteers.