As plans for a new Highway 7/67 bridge across the Caddo River at Caddo Valley continue to move forward, it is a good time to take note of the existing bridge and the historical importance of the river crossing there. A quick glance reveals the presence of historical markers at each end of the structure. The monuments have been standing for decades.

Many are aware of the significance of the old Southwest Trail (also called Military Road) that passed through the center of Clark County: the primitive pathway served as a major thoroughfare in Arkansas’s early years, carrying thousands of pioneers, soldiers, and people from all walks of life across Arkansas to Texas and the Southwest. The route crossed the Caddo River at Caddo Valley.

The Military Road was constructed in the 1830s, prior to the time Arkansas became a state. It continued to be used for years, and during the Civil War played an important role in troop movements. A marker in Caddo Valley describing the road reads this way: “The Military Road, following the route of the old Southwest Trail, passed through the heart of Clark County. Both Confederate and Union troops used the road. Gen. Sterling Price’s Confederates retreated down the road after Little Rock fell in September 1863. Gen. Frederick Steele’s Union army took the road during the Camden Expedition and stayed in Arkadelphia March 29 to April 1, 1864, before heading southwest. Confederate troops skirmished with Steele at Terre Noire Creek and Okolona before the Union Army left the county at Elkins’ Ferry on the Little Missouri.”

While the Military Road marker stands on Highways 7/67 in Caddo Valley, the monument at the northeast end of the Caddo River bridge commemorates the visit of explorer Hernando DeSoto, who came in the mid-1500s. DeSoto was the first European to come to what is now Arkansas. Some believe he and his men camped in the area, but many scholars say historical and archeological evidence does not confirm such a visit to Clark County. Nonetheless, the marker at the bridge reads this way: “Trail used by DeSoto, October 1541; Old Military Road used by U. S. troops; Marked by Arkadelphia Chapter; Daughters of the American Revolution.”

At the southwest end of the Caddo River bridge stands yet another marker. It reads: “Morgan Cryer, Sr.; South Carolina; Pvt. 6 Regt. SC Militia; Revolutionary War; Feb. 22 1753 — Nov. 27 1833.” Morgan Cryer was born in South Carolina in 1753 and served for three years in that state’s militia. After the war he moved around a bit, making his way to Clark County about 1815. When he died in 1833 he was buried near the Military Road, with the words “A Soldier of the Revolution” on his tombstone, which helped preserve his gravesite. Road construction destroyed the site, so in 1968 the Arkansas Highway Department moved the marker to the southwest end of the bridge to commemorate his service. Cryer is one of only three Revolutionary War soldiers known to be buried in Clark County.