Jacksonport State Park

205 Avenue Street, Newport, AR 72112

In the 1800s steamboats made Jacksonport a thriving river port. During the Civil War, the town was occupied by both Confederate and Union forces because of its crucial locale. Jacksonport became county seat in 1854, and constuction of a stately, two-story brick courthouse began in 1869. The town began to decline in the 1880s when bypassed by the railroad. The county seat was moved in 1891 to nearby Newport, and Jacksonport's stores, wharves and saloons soon vanished. Today, exhibits in the park's 1872 courthouse and programs by park interpreters share the story of this historic river port.