It is best known as the area in which explorer Hernando de Soto and his forces clashed with the Native AmericanTula tribe in 1541, a band loosely affiliated with the Caddo Confederacy. The expedition described the Tula Indians as the fiercest they had faced during their inward journey into North America.[4] After this, the expedition turned back east, making it as far as the Mississippi River, where de Soto died. It is contested as to whether he died of fever, or from a wound received during the fighting. There the expedition had a secret burial ceremony and sent his body into the river. A monument to this event stands in the heart of the small community.[4]
During the night of June 10–11, 2010, a flash flood along Little Missouri River killed at least 20 people in the campgrounds of the Albert Pike Recreation Area near Caddo Gap.[5] In a matter of less than four hours water rose from 3 feet (0.91 m) to over 23 feet (7.0 m).
Caddo Gap CDP, Arkansas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.