Our Arklahoma Heritage: Before Van Buren was named for the president, the town was originally called Phillips Landing

The Arkansas River's north bank in Crawford County hums with history, where the early settlement of Phillips Landing laid the foundation for modern Van Buren.

Established in 1818 by David E. Boyd under Thomas Martin’s claim, the site became a bustling steamboat hub after Revolutionary War veteran James Phillips and his sons, Thomas and Daniel David Phillips, acquired it in the early 1820s.

Their lumber and wood yards fueled river commerce, serving flatboats carrying cotton, timber, and goods to New Orleans and Cincinnati. Phillips Landing, named for the family, was a vital trade post, supporting merchants and settlers moving west into Indian Territory and Texas until its rebranding as Van Buren in 1838

The Phillips family’s early ventures at Phillips Landing catalyzed Van Buren’s growth into a county seat by 1845, with John Drennen and David A. Thompson building on the site’s docks and trade networks after purchasing it in 1836.

The landing’s strategic position--elevated against floods and linked to stagecoach and mail routes--made it a linchpin for Crawford County’s economy. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Van Buren had weathered the Civil War’s devastation and transitioned into a rail hub with the arrival of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad in the 1870s.

Today, Van Buren’s historic Main Street, the Drennen-Scott Historic Site, and the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad draw visitors to the riverfront where Phillips Landing once thrived.

While the Phillips name no longer dominates local commerce, its echo lingers in community landmarks like the Phillips Landing Trading Company and the stories preserved by the Crawford County Historical Society.