In 1719, Bernard de la Harpe led a group of French explorers through this area and gave the river its present name. The present day city was founded in 1885, its name derived from the nearby Poteau River . During the late 1700s, there was a large French outpost at Belle Point (Ft. Smith). From there, they would travel up the Poteau River to a secondary post at the base of Cavanal Mountain. Because of this, the river was named the "Post River", or Poteau River, and the outpost was simply called the post, or "Poteau". A group of French explorers gave the river its present name during the early 18th Century. Poteau is a French word meaning post.