White Oak Lake State Park in Bluff City, Ark., is hosting the Seventh Annual French Colonial Day free event Saturday, March 4, 2017. Discover our rich history by meeting reenactors representing French and other European colonials, giving insight into life in the Camden area during the 1780s.
In 1783, a French trader named Fabre settled on a bluff above the Ouachita River and called the settlement Ecore Fabre (Fabre’s Bluff), which is the present city of Camden, Ark. According to Arkansas State Tourism travel writer, Zoie Clift, the French trading post’s history has been closely tied to the Ouachita River and was called the “Queen City” of the Ouachita during the steamboat era.