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The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism (ADPHT) held an event today at Lake Sylvia Recreation Area to officially mark the beginning of operating and managing the area as a unit of Pinnacle Mountain State Park. ADPHT has signed a historic property lease with the United States Forest Service (USFS) to do so. The USFS will continue to partner with ADPHT and Arkansas State Parks (ASP) in the environmental management of the area.
This plan was made public last month when Gov. Asa Hutchinson included it as part of the announcement that a new Office of Outdoor Recreation would be housed within the Secretary’s Office of ADPHT. At that time, Gov. Hutchinson emphasized the push to expand recreational opportunities in Arkansas that contribute to the state’s tourism value.
Officials gathered at Petit Jean State Park today for a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the Dr. T.W. Hardison Visitor Center in Morrilton. The newly constructed building, which provides space for camper registration, interpretive exhibits, meetings, special events, and staff offices, is named for the man whose vision for Petit Jean State Park brought about its creation as the cornerstone in the system of Arkansas State Parks.
In 1907, Dr. T.W. Hardison was a contract physician for the Fort Smith Lumber Company when he accompanied lumbermen on their inspection of the area surrounding the Natural Bridge in Petit Jean’s Seven Hollows area. As they debated the cost of logging such a remote and rugged area, Dr. Hardison later recounted that it occurred to him that “the trees might as well be left to live out their lifespan unmolested by axe and saw, and the area converted into a park.” By 1919, he and his wife had made their home on Petit Jean Mountain, and his leadershi
KTOY Hardison Center/ AR State Parks Officials gathered at Petit Jean State Park Thursday for a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the Dr. T.W. Hardison Visitor Center.
The newly constructed building, which provides space for camper registration, interpretive exhibits, meetings, special events, and staff offices, is named for the man whose vision for Petit Jean State Park brought about its creation as the cornerstone in the system of Arkansas State Parks.
In 1907, Dr. T.W. Hardison was a contract physician for the Fort Smith Lumber Company when he accompanied lumbermen on their inspection of the area surrounding the Natural Bridge in Petit Jean’s Seven Hollows area. As they debated the cost of logging such a remote and rugged area, Dr. Hardison later recounted that it occurred to him that “the trees might as well be left to live out their lifespan unmolested by axe and saw, and the area converted
Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park, located near Brinkley, is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, April 7
th after renovations to preserve this National Historic Landmark. While smaller than most Arkansas state parks, the site is of major significance. The park protects the initial point of the Louisiana Purchase Survey of 1815, which is a vital, fixed coordinate for land surveying across the western United States.
Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park
The initial point was later rediscovered by land surveyors in 1921 and then in 1926, the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a granite monument commemorating its significance. The nearly 40-acre plot that surrounds the granite monument was acquired by Arkansas State Parks in 1961.