Exploring the Red | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“Exploring the Red” recounts the early-1800s “Great Excursion,” an expedition ordered by President Thomas Jefferson to map the Red River and Arkansas River after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. About 180 miles of the Red River flows through Arkansas, but its influence on the state’s southwest region is framed as lasting and foundational. Jefferson tasked Thomas Freeman, a 1784 immigrant from Ireland working as a surveyor in Philadelphia, and Peter Custis, a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, to document coordinates, climate and ecological findings. Congress funded the mission with $5,000, making it among the most costly and well-equipped of the decade. The 24-man party departed Fort Adams near Natchez on April 19, 1806, reached Natchitoches on May 19, and expanded by acquiring soldiers, boats and French guides. After delays from the “Great Raft” obstruction, it neared the current Arkansas border, where Custis described potential for the region. Spanish forces and the presence of Caddo and Creek communities shaped the route.