Helena, Arkansas

City: Helena

County: Phillips

State: Arkansas

Lat/Long: 34.4833, -90.6000

Located on the Mississippi River seven and a half miles below the mouth of the St. Francis River, Helena was first occupied by white settlers in 1815. In December 1820, the town was platted, and became the county seat of the newly-created Phillips County. In 1833, the state legislature incorporated the town and locals named it Helena after Helena Phillips, daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, one of the town's founders. Up to the Civil War, Helena was the largest Arkansas town on the Mississippi and a prosperous center of cotton production and export. During the war, Union forces occupied Helena, allowing the town to escape the physical destruction other Arkansas towns experienced.

Stephen Teske, s.v. "Helena-West Helena (Phillips County)," The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=950 (accessed September 5, 2018).