Louisiana Purchase State Park

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Louisiana Purchase State Park
Memorial stone at the intersection of the measurements (2013)

Memorial stone at the intersection of the measurements (2013)

location Lee , Monroe and Phillips Counties in Arkansas (USA)
surface 15 ha
Geographical location 34 ° 39 '  N , 91 ° 3'  W Coordinates: 34 ° 38 '48 "  N , 91 ° 3' 5"  W.
Louisiana Purchase State Park, Arkansas
Louisiana Purchase State Park
Setup date State Park since 1961;
since 1993 National Historic Landmark
administration Division of State Parks, Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism
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Territory increase through the Louisiana Purchase (marked in red)

The Louisiana Purchase State Park is located in the US state of Arkansas at the intersection of the county borders of Lee County , Monroe County and Phillips County . The state park is accessible via Interstate 40 from Brinkley , US Highway 49, and then Arkansas State Route 362 .

In 1803, as part of the Louisiana Purchase, the former French colony Louisiana was acquired by the USA for 15 million US dollars. The territory of the USA at that time between the east coast and the Mississippi River was expanded by 2,144,476 km² to the Rocky Mountains and thus almost doubled. The Lewis and Clark Expedition began exploring the Missouri River upstream in 1804 . President James Monroe ordered the new areas to be surveyed in 1815. As a starting point for the surveys, a point was set at which the longitude of the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers and the latitude of the junction of the Saint Francis River with the Mississippi River intersect.

The surveys in Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and parts of South Dakota were based on this intersection. Over time, the exact point was forgotten and was not rediscovered until 1921 when surveying the county boundaries. In place of the rubber trees that had been planted in 1815 for identification, a 2 m high granite memorial stone was set in 1926 and the Louisiana Purchase State Park was established in 1961.

Through the swampy forest in the headwaters of the Little Cypress Creek one was Bohlenweg built leads past the memorial stone and is equipped with display boards about the history and ecology. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary celebrations in 2002, the path was renovated and the display boards added. Louisiana Purchase State Park was recognized as a National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1993 . Since February 23, 1972, it was already listed as a site on the National Register of Historic Places.

The 15 hectare state park is located in the intact swamps of a headwaters area, making it a rare type of biotope. There are hardly any areas with deep water and only rarely dried out sections. With the exception of the 300 m long boardwalk, the wetland is largely in the same condition as it was in the early 1800s . The bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum ), tupelo trees ( Nyssa aquatica ), American black willow ( Salix nigra ) and American persimmon ( Diospyros virginiana ) grow there ; Basket oak ( Quercus michauxii ) and poplar complement the tree population.

Beaver , raccoon , American mink , opossums and marsh rabbits inhabit water and trees as well as the Bird-voiced Treefrog ( Hyla avivoca ) while prothonotary warbler , belted kingfisher , Pileated Woodpecker , Barred can also be found in the air. Before snapping turtle and American alligator , one should be careful as well as from the toxic Diamond swimming snakes ( nerodia rhombifer ) and Wassermokassinottern .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/louisianapurchase/
  2. ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Arkansas. National Park Service , accessed July 20, 2019.
  3. ^ Louisiana Purchase Survey Marker on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed July 29, 2017.
  4. ↑ http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/samples/ar/beginningpointlouisianalandsurvey.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.lapurchase.org/resources_photos/la_pur_book.pdf

Web links

Commons : Louisiana Purchase State Park  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files