Last updated: April 22, 2026
Place
Aux Arc Park ACE
USACE
Quick Facts
Location:
1.3 miles south of Ozark, Arkansas on Aux Arc Park Road.
Significance:
The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations all passed this way on the Arkansas River while being forcibly removed to Indian Territory.
Designation:
Historic site on the Trail of Tears NHT.
MANAGED BY:
US Army Corps of Engineers
Amenities
16 listed
Accessible Sites, Benches/Seating, Boat Ramp, Electrical Hookup - Boat/RV, Fire Pit, Grill, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Parking - Auto, Parking - Boat Trailer, Parking - Bus/RV, Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Picnic Table, Playground, Restroom, Sewage Dump Station - Boat/RV
The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations all passed this way on the Arkansas River while being forcibly removed to Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma. Some passed over land and others traveled by water. All experienced many hardships along the way and thousands lost their lives.
Principal Chief Holahte Emathla and Chief Fuke-Luste-Hadjo, also known as Black Dirt, left Florida by boat in April 1836 with about 400 Seminole Nation citizens. Low water levels in the Arkansas River forced the forced the group to unload at McLean’s Bottoms (Roseville) and continue overland.
Safety Considerations
Seminole Nation
Principal Chief Holahte Emathla and Chief Fuke-Luste-Hadjo, also known as Black Dirt, left Florida by boat in April 1836 with about 400 Seminole Nation citizens. Low water levels in the Arkansas River forced the forced the group to unload at McLean’s Bottoms (Roseville) and continue overland.
Muscogee Nation
Major Daniel Boyd started with a party of 34 Muscogee and about 250 Apalachicola (Muscogee language speakers) from Florida by water to New Orleans. They faced low water on the Arkansas River and were forced to land at Arbuckle Island, upriver from McLean’s Bottoms, then continue to Indian Territory.Cherokee Voluntary Removal
In April 1838, a group of 250 Treaty Party members voluntarily removed to Indian Territory, bringing with them an equal number of enslaved people. They left their steamboat at the shallows near McLean's Bottoms and continued their journey to Indian Territory by land.Site Information
Location (1.3 miles south of Ozark, Arkansas, on Aux Arc Park Road)Safety Considerations