An elevated wooden boardwalk leads to a granite monument marking the beginning of a survey: at Louisiana Purchase State Park, the history of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase comes to life in a tangible place. The survey of all the land acquired through the purchase began here. The park also offers insights into the lowlands and their native flora and fauna.
Experience Surveying and Landscape
The boardwalk leads to the monument; the Louisiana Purchase Boardwalk is designated a National Recreation Trail. The state park is a day-use park, and restrooms are located at the trailhead. This places the historical significance of the survey’s starting point alongside the lowland landscape in the same park. If you’re interested in both, you can plan your visit around these two themes.
The Monroe County Loop also includes the Louisiana Purchase State Park Monument. The official route runs off the Great River Road National Scenic Byway and passes through historic railroad and river towns. It also includes the Fargo Agricultural School, founded in 1919 to educate African American students. The loop thus brings together several historical perspectives, though not all of its stops tell the same story.
Bayous, Wetlands and Waterways
The natural areas offer a variety of ways to explore. Robe Bayou is usually a flatwater paddling destination. The focus at Benson Creek Natural Area WMA is on swamp landscapes: the area covers 610 acres along Bayou DeView, with swamps of bald cypress and tupelo trees. It is suitable for canoeing and birdwatching. Parking and a boat access point are available south of the bridge.
Sheffield Nelson Dagmar WMA is described as a floodplain with hardwood forests, as well as numerous lakes, ponds, swamp sloughs and bayous. You can fish here for crappie, bass, bream and catfish. The area also has 14 primitive campsites and five concrete boat ramps. In comparison, Benson Creek Natural Area WMA is especially known for its swamp areas and the opportunities it offers for canoeing and birdwatching. Apple Lake Waterfowl Rest Area adds another dimension, with an area of 400 acres used by numerous ducks and shorebirds.
At Maddox Bay, there is a boat access point to an oxbow of the White River in Monroe County. This access also provides entry to part of the Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge. An AGFC report dated December 22, 2021, gives the Maddox Bay project’s concrete ramp as 250 feet long. If you plan to rely on this access point, check conditions before setting out.
Traces of Education, Railroads and Early Roads
The Fargo Training School Historic District covers about 15 acres in Greenfield Township in Monroe County. Its nomination to the National Register of Historic Places describes it as nationally significant because of its association with ethnic heritage and African American education. The Brown-Fargo Agricultural School Museum, built in 1960, offers a distinct point of reference in time. Brinkley’s origins are also linked to the construction of the railroad lines between Memphis and Little Rock.
Another chapter in the story of early transportation routes is told by the section along Henard Cemetery Road. It is a 650-meter-long remnant of an early 19th-century road, about 24 feet wide and surfaced with gravel. The section is considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and is deemed nationally significant. Its historical importance is connected to the Cherokee Removal and earlier relocations of the Choctaw, Creek and Chickasaw. Its measurements and preserved road surface give this historical context a tangible form.
The Central Delta Depot Museum also offers a look at history from several angles. It is housed in a restored 1912 railroad depot listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The museum presents the natural, social, agricultural and cultural history of the Arkansas Delta. Its exhibits include a permanent display about Louis Jordan, as well as topics relating to the 1815 Louisiana Purchase survey and the region’s railroads. After the Civil War, Clarendon once again took shape as an important industrial port for cotton and other goods. Along with the historic roads and railroads, these stories show the variety of the area’s history.
Discover more destinations: Brinkley, Pike, Saline County, Dallas County, Lonoke County, Van Buren County, Drew, Polk County.
For the broader travel overview: Arkansas.
