The History of the Buffalo National River

"The Buffalo National River, which runs through Newton, Searcy, Marion, and Baxter counties, became the first national river in the United States on March 1, 1972. It is one of the few remaining free-flowing rivers in the lower forty-eight states. The Buffalo National River, administered by the National Park Service, encompasses 135 miles of the 150-mile long river.

President Richard M. Nixon signed Public Law 92-237 to put the river under the protection of the National Park Service 100 years after the establishment of Yellowstone National Park, the first national park. The law begins, “That for the purposes of conserving and interpreting an area containing unique scenic and scientific features, and preserving as a free-flowing stream an important segment of the Buffalo River in Arkansas for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations, the Secretary of the Interior… may establish and administer the Buffalo National River.” Behind that sentence, which set the mission for the park, were decades of debate and discussion regarding the use, ownership and management of the Buffalo River.

The Buffalo River originates in the Boston Mountains of the Ozark Plateau. Flowing generally from west to east, the river traverses Newton, Searcy, and Marion counties before flowing into the White River just inside the border of Baxter County. Although termed a national river, the park includes lands (such as private lands under easement) surrounding the river, as well as the river itself, for a total acreage of 94,293.

The river was an attraction for the area’s inhabitants from prehistoric times to the first European and American settlements of the late 1820s, and many of their cultural sites are located in the park. These sites range from terrace village sites, to bluff shelters once occupied by Archaic Period Indians, to cabins built by early settlers." EncyclopediaOfArkansas