HISTORY MINUTE

The early years of the United States includes tales of many daring explorers. One of these figures was Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville, a Frenchmen by birth who immigrated to the United States and eventually made Arkansas his home. Bonneville gave Americans a much clearer view of the Rocky Mountain West thanks to his travels in the 1830s.

Benjamin Bonneville was the son of a publisher and born in Paris, France, in 1796. In 1803, the family immigrated to New York. The family was close friends with Thomas Paine, the outspoken essayist who inspired countless Americans during the Revolutionary War. Paine had encouraged the family to come to the United States and paid for their voyage to their new home. Upon his death in 1809, Paine established a trust fund for Bonneville and his sister for their education.

Bonneville graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1815. He served at various army posts, including Fort Smith. In 1824, he was transferred to Fort Gibson, which was at that time in the Arkansas Territory but now located in northeastern Oklahoma.

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