 The Hunter-Dunbar Expedition struggled to navigate the rapids here on December 3, 1804, recording their experience in a travel diary.During the 1830s, the development of the Military Road (also called the Southwest Trail) used the boulders as a ford to cross the river.Around 1847, a bridge was completed across the Ouachita River at Rockport, which is said to be the first toll bridge built in Arkansas.