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Explore the Heritage Trail The historic trails of Northwest Arkansas
are a combination of the Butterfield Stage Coach route, Civil War
troop trails and the northern route of the Trail of Tears. These
three main historic trails are linked together and intertwined with
a system of community trails including walking and bike paths allowing
residents and visitors a unique opportunity to explore the heritage
of the area.
Butterfield Stage Coach Route The Butterfield Overland Mail route was
the nation’s first attempt to establish an organized passage
of mail from the established population of the East to the quickly
developing areas out West, especially in California where gold had
been discovered in 1849. The Butterfield stage line ran from St.
Louis to San Francisco for just two and a half years, being cut
short by the Civil War.
Civil War Troop Trails The principal Civil War troop trails followed
the telegraph road down from Springfield Missouri, through Pea Ridge
and across the area today covered by the cities of Bentonville,
Rogers, Lowell, Springdale and Fayetteville. The Confederate army
moved up from the Arkansas River area near Fort Smith and Van Buren
across the Boston Mountains and into the Fayetteville area. The
two best known points of Civil War interest are the Battlefield
Parks at Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge.
Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail,
a part of the National Trails System, includes the over 800 mile
“Northern Route”, of which approximately 59 miles passes
through northwest Arkansas. Research is still being done on the
route west of Fayetteville but an auto tour does exist starting
at the Arkansas – Missouri state line near Gateway and following
Highway 62 to Fayetteville and on to Westville, Oklahoma. The trail
can also be explored along this route at Pea Ridge National Battlefield
Park.
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