It commemorates the Battle of Poison Spring in the American Civil War, which was part of the 1864 Camden Expedition, an element of a Union Army initiative to gain control of Shreveport, Louisiana and get a foothold in Texas.

In the battle, which was fought on April 18, 1864, Confederates and Choctaw Indians attacked and overcame a supply wagon of Union soldiers.

The battle hastened the failure of the Camden expedition, and garnered notoriety for the slaughter of black Union soldiers from Kansas by the Confederate forces, which took no prisoners.

Highway 76 was constructed along the historic road that was used by the Union supply train when it was roadblocked and attacked by the Confederate force during the battle.

The improved portion of the park, with a picnic area and interpretive signs, is located on the north side of the highway.