Village Creek State Park | |
Arkansas state park | |
Lake Dunn, 2010 | |
Named for:Village Creek | |
Country | United States |
---|---|
State | Arkansas |
Region | Crowley's Ridge |
Counties | Cross County, St. Francis |
City | Wynne |
Location | Visitor Center |
- coordinates | 35°9′48″N90°43′7″W / 35.16333°N 90.71861°W Coordinates: 35°9′48″N90°43′7″W / 35.16333°N 90.71861°W |
Area | 6,909 acres (2,796 ha) [1] |
Geology | Loess |
Plant | Oak and hickory |
Founded | June 27, 1976 [1] |
Management | Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism |
Website: Village Creek State Park | |
Village Creek State Park is a 6,909-acre (2,796 ha) Arkansas state park in Cross and St. Francis counties, Arkansas in the United States. The park was formed as a result of a study commissioned by the Arkansas General Assembly to form a large park in east Arkansas. Segments of the Old Military Road, later used as the Trail of Tears run through the park, which also features two lakes and 27 holes of golf. [2]
Cross County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,870. The county seat is Wynne. Cross County is Arkansas's 53rd county, formed on 15 November 1862 and named for Confederate Colonel David C. Cross, a political leader in the area.
St. Francis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,258. The county seat is Forrest City.
Arkansas is a state in the southern region of the United States, home to over 3 million people as of 2018. Its name is of Siouan derivation from the language of the Osage denoting their related kin, the Quapaw Indians. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta.
The Arkansas General Assembly authorized a study in 1967 in the interests of forming a recreational area in eastern Arkansas. In addition to the natural value, the Village Creek area contained the historically significant Old Military Road, later used as the Trail of Tears, and parts of William Strong's mid-1800s plantation. Land acquisition began in 1972, and the park was dedicated on June 27, 1976 in a large ceremony including David Pryor and Charlie Rich. [1]
The Memphis to Little Rock Road-Village Creek Segment is a historic military road in Cross County, Arkansas. Located entirely within Village Creek State Park, this 1.5-mile (2.4 km) segment of roadway is one of the best-preserved portions of the military road built between Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas in 1828. This road is notable for the large numbers of westward-traveling pioneers who used it en route to settling the American Plains, and for its use in the forced migration of several Native American tribes in the 1830s. The roadway portion, in parts set in dramatically deep cuts in the hills, extends from Village Creek in the east to the western boundary of the park, and is accessible today as a hiking trail.
David Hampton Pryor is an American politician and former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966. He served as the interim chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, following Bill Gwatney's assassination.
Charles Allan Rich was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, soul, and gospel genres.
Village Creek State Park offers two lakes for boating and fishing, Lake Austell and Lake Dunn. Fishers will find bass, bream, catfish, and crappie, and boat rentals are available between Memorial Day and Labor Day. [2] There are 10 modern cabins, ranging from one to three bedrooms in addition to 96 campsites (24 premium class A, 5 standard class A, 67 Class B). [3] Campers also have access to five modern bathhouses, a swimming beach, boat dock, and playground.
Bass is a name shared by many species of fish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species, all belonging to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes. The word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch".
The common bream, freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream or carp bream, is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is now considered to be the only species in the genus Abramis.
Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia and the piraíba of South America, to detritivores, and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa. There are armour-plated types and there are also naked types, neither having scales. Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbels. Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder. Catfish are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus Corydoras, are important in the aquarium hobby. Many catfish are nocturnal, but others are crepuscular or diurnal.
Picnic tables, grills, and bathhouses are available at Lake Austell Day Use Area, and four pavilions are available for rent. The visitor center includes interpretive displays about the culture, history, and wildlife of Crowley's Ridge and information on the four tribes forced to use the Trail of Tears. An auditorium, grocery store and gift shop are also housed in the visitor's complex. The 27 hole Ridges at Village Creek golf course is accessible from the pro shop. Seven trails, including Big Ben Nature Trail and Austell Hiking Trail are available for hiking or walking, in addition to the Military Road Trail, a part of the Congressionally-designated Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. [2]
Crowley's Ridge is an unusual geological formation that rises 250 to 550 feet (170 m) above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a 150-mile (240 km) line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It is the most prominent feature in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain between Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal Government of the United States. The legislature consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Four other state parks accompany Village Creek State Park atop Crowley's Ridge: Crowley's Ridge State Park, Lake Frierson State Park, Parkin Archeological State Park, and Lake Poinsett State Park are all nearby.
Crowley's Ridge State Park is a 291-acre (118 ha) Arkansas state park in Greene County, Arkansas in the United States atop Crowley's Ridge. Located on the former homesite of pioneer Benjamin Crowley, the park contains many excellent examples of the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. One of Arkansas's most popular state parks, the parks is bisected by Crowley's Ridge Parkway, a National Scenic Byway. The site became a state park in 1933 in an effort to honor Crowley and the heritage of the Crowley's Ridge area.
Lake Frierson State Park is a 114-acre (46 ha) Arkansas state park on Crowley's Ridge in Greene County, eastern Arkansas.
Parkin Archeological State Park, also known as Parkin Indian Mound, is an archeological site and state park in Parkin, Cross County, Arkansas. Around 1350–1650 CE an aboriginal palisaded village existed at the site, at the confluence of the St. Francis and Tyronza rivers. Artifacts from this site are on display at the site museum. The Parkin Site is the type site for the Parkin phase, an expression of the Mississippian culture from the Late Mississippian period. Many archeologists believe it to be part of the province of Casqui, documented as visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1542. Archeological artifacts from the village of the Parkin people are dated to 1400–1650 CE.
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The Ozark – St. Francis National Forest is a United States National Forest that is located in the state of Arkansas. It is composed of two separate forests, Ozark National Forest in the Ozark Mountains; and St. Francis National Forest on Crowley's Ridge. Each forest has distinct biological, topographical, and geological differences.
Petit Jean State Park is a 3,471-acre park in Conway County, Arkansas managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. It is located atop Petit Jean Mountain adjacent to the Arkansas River in the area between the Ouachita Mountains and Ozark Plateaus.
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