Clarksville is the oldest permanent settlement in Red River County with the exception of Jonesboro (which was the county seat of Miller County, Arkansas). James Clark, a Tennessean who had come to Miller County, Arkansas, and lived for a time in Jonesboro, had traded Henry Stout for some land on which the city of Clarksville now stands. In 1833, he moved to this area and laid out the townsite. Isaac Smathers is supposed to have built one of the first houses, a building which later became the home of Charles DeMorse. With the organization of Red River county in 1835, Clarksville defeated LaGrange (laterMadras) for the location of the county seat.

This information was copied from "Red River Recollections," published in 1986 by the Red River County Historical Society. Additional historical information is contained in this book.