Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park

Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park preserves the initial point from which land surveys of the Arkansas area began in 1815. The park consists of 37.5 acres of headwater swamp that is representative of a vanishing natural environment in eastern Arkansas.

A 950-foot barrier-free boardwalk has been constructed to provide access to the granite monument that marks the initial point of the survey. Wayside exhibits are located along the boardwalk.

NOTE: Please remember these regulations so that others may enjoy the park as much as you do.

• Stay on the boardwalk.
• It is unlawful to collect, deface or destroy any plants, wildlife, or public property.
• Cans, bottles, or littering are not permitted on the boardwalk.
• Horses, motorcycles, and bicycles are not allowed.

Spain was one of the first European powers to send explorers into the vast territory west of the Mississippi River. Hernando de Soto led the first Spanish expedition in 1541. The Spanish came as treasure seekers rather than colonizers.

In 1682, La Salle discovered the mouth of the Mississippi at the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed all the lands drained by the river in the name of King Louis, XIV, of France. The French held and colonized this territory until 1762 when it was returned to Spain in exchange for services rendered against England during the French and Indian War.

In 1800, King Charles IV of Spain agreed to return the territory to France under pressure from Napoleon Bonaparte. Then, in 1803, Napoleon sold New Orleans and the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15,000,000. The Louisiana Purchase added 830,000 square miles to the United States, at less than 3 cents an acre! President Thomas Jefferson was interested in the new land and instructed Lewis and Clark to explore the area in 1804. The team collected specimens and recorded their observations. The results of their findings stimulated interest in the region and its wildlife.

The movement of settlers to the Mississippi River and farther west increased in momentum after the War of 1812. The official land survey was begun in 1815 to facilitate distribution of the land to war veterans. Prospect K. Robbins and Joseph C. Brown were commissioned by the United States government to begin the survey by establishing a point from which other surveys would originate. The point established by Robbins and Brown was located in what is now eastern Arkansas.

For more than 100 years, this site went unnoticed until discovered by Tom Jacks and Eldridge P. Douglass when they were resurveying the Phillips and Lee county lines in 1921. The two surveyors found the pair of large trees that had been marked as "witness trees" by Robbins and Brown in 1815.

The historic significance of this find was recognized by the L'Anguille Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Marianna, Arkansas. On October 27, 1926, the DAR dedicated a monument in commemoration of the United States' acquisition of the Louisiana Territory. The General Assembly passed legislation in 1961 designating the area a state park.

Though no state monies were initially legislated for land acquisition or development, the construction of a boardwalk from high ground to the monument was made possible by the Green Thumb Program and the aid of local groups. (Though the original boardwalk no longer exists, visitors may still view the monument and natural scenery from a new, barrier-free boardwalk.)

Actual development of the area as a state park began in 1977 when the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission recognized the area's special natural quality by adding it to the Registry of Natural Areas and supplying acquisition funds for the purchase of the park. Arkansas State Parks, in turn, granted the Natural Heritage Commission a land easement that provided additional legal protection for the natural and historical features of the site.

Along the boardwalk, you will see a variety of animal and plant life. The prothonotary warbler is likely to be the most visible bird. Others that might be spotted or heard include: pileated woodpecker, green heron, and wood duck. The swamp cottonwood tree is found at several points along the boardwalk; it is rarely found elsewhere in Arkansas. Two of the most common trees in the park are bald cypress and water tupelo. These are indicator species of a true swamp. Several species of reptiles can sometimes be spotted from the boardwalk.

The park is located in a tract of headwater swamp, an area that seldom floods deeply, yet rarely dries up. Because of the conditions, unusual plant and animal populations have developed. This habitat was once common in eastern Arkansas before the days of intensive land reclamation when swamps were drained and cleared. Such swamps have become rare in Arkansas, making it important to preserve this ecological system for both present and future generations.

Location
It is located in Lee, Monroe, and Phillips Counties, 22 miles south of Brinkley off US Highway 49, then east on State Highway 362 just two miles to the park.

For information on Arkansas' other fine state parks, contact:

Arkansas State Parks
One Capitol Mall 4A-900
Little Rock, AR 72201
Telephone: (501) 682-1191

All park services are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis. Arkansas State Parks is an Equal Opportunity Employer.