The Cadron Settlement was the first permanent settlement by white men in what is now central Arkansas. Archaeological investigation of the area, located on the banks of the Arkansas River, has revealed evidence of prehistoric occupation by Native Americans, and the area is known to have been visited by French explorers in the 18th century. It was settled about 1810 by John McElmurry, and was on the main mail route between the Arkansas Post and Hot Springs. From 1825 to 1828 it was the county seat of Conway County. By 1834 the community had declined in importance, when it was described as virtually abandoned in by an Army soldier leading a band of migrating Cherokees on the Trail of Tears. The camp they established nearby was the site of a cholera outbreak.