Last updated: October 29, 2023
Place
Rising Star Park
Photo/USACE
Quick Facts
Location:
11200 Rising Star Rd Grady Arkansas located south of Pine Bluff in the Arkansas River Delta.
Significance:
Rising Start Park is located on the banks of the Arkansas River where the flat boats likely stopped to take on wood for the boilers. During this time there would have been many mounds visible near the river.
MANAGED BY:
"The Smelter appears to be a very good boat, over 150 Tuns Burthen, a fat vessel, and well adapted to the business of the removal of Indians. The Keel in tow is commodious and appears convenient for the Indians. Temporary cooking-hearths are constructed on the top of it, and there is also a cooking stove in the after part of the Steam Boat." - Lieut. Edward Deas, April 6, 1838, about passage for 250 Cherokee on one steamer and one keel boat
Rising Star Park is on the Arkansas River in the Delta near rolling fields of cotton farms. Only a short drive from Pine Bluff and the Arkansas Railroad Museum, Delta Rivers Nature Center, Martha Mitchell Home and the Saracen Casino.
The Trail of Tears exhibit at this site focuses on how the development of steam technology made Indian Removal by water possible and looks at how boats were utilized to carry the Cherokee west.
Rising Star Park is 255 miles by water from Indian Territory, the end of the Trail of Tears Water Route.
Site Information
Location (11200 Rising Star Rd Grady Arkansas located south of Pine Bluff in the Arkansas River Delta.)
Amenities
25 Class A Campsites, Restrooms/Showers, Picnic Sites/Group Shelters, Playground, Boat Launch, Sightseeing, ADA accessible
Safety Considerations
More Site Information
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Trail of Tears: Arkansas River Water Route Itinerary
You can visit multiple Water Route sites on the Arkansas River by following the Trail of Tears: Arkansas River Water Route Itinerary. Each site features one aspect or story about the Cherokee and Creek experience traveling the Trail of Tears by water, highlighting the challenges and complexities that arose daily on the Arkansas River.