YEARS YOUNG!

By JOE DAVID RICE, Photos provided

From the outset, 1923 proved to be quite an interesting year, beginning with the emergence on January 1 of a brand-new country, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. On February 16, British archaeologist Howard Carter opened a sealed doorway deep in an Egyptian tomb and revealed the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun to an astonished world. Late February found Briton Hadden and Henry Luce in New York City frantically putting final touches on their new weekly publication, initially to be titled FACTS but released as TIME magazine.

In Little Rock, Gov. Thomas McRae was sworn in for his second term on January 9, 1923. Members of the Arkansas General Assembly began discussing the idea of making the sale or use of marijuana illegal, a proposal soon to become law. When proponents of an unsuccessful effort to relocate the University of Arkansas refused to admit defeat, State Rep. Joel C. Belote threatened to introduce legislation moving the State Capitol from Little Rock to Hot Springs.

Meanwhile, a freshman legislator from Conway County named W.R. Webb filed a bill that would set the stage for one of Arkansas’s great success stories—an institution attracting nearly 10 million guests a year and generating a $1 billion annual economic impact.

But first, a bit of background. We’ll begin with the Fort Smith Lumber Company, a business established in 1892, with mills in western Arkansas and across the border in what was then Indian Territory. Business was good, and in 1899 the company bought 76,400 acres of timberlands along the northern edge of the Ouachita Mountains. In April of 1907, company officials inspected a ruggedly scenic tract of this property in extreme southwestern Conway County, an area known locally as Seven Hollows. Among those on this field trip was Dr. T.W. Hardison, the young company doctor (he was 24 at the time) and a relative newcomer with only five months on the job. After debating the pros and cons of cutting timber in the rough terrain, they agreed to forego logging. But Hardison had bigger thoughts.

“While listening to the discussion,” he recalled, “the idea occurred to me 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.”

Hardison reached out to Congressman Henderson M. Jacoway, a graduate of nearby Dardanelle High School, who introduced legislation in 1921 in the U.S. House of Representatives for the federal government to accept a 1,540-acre donation for an area to be known as Petit Jean National Park. In addition to the Fort Smith Lumber Company parcel it included several adjacent properties, the owners of which had been induced by Hardison to support the national park idea.

After a team from the National Park Service visited the property, Dr. Hardison had a cordial hour-long meeting with Stephen Mather, NPS director, about the proposal. Although Mather agreed the land was beautiful, he noted it wasn’t really unique from a national perspective. And it was entirely too small. Mather suggested it was better suited to becoming a state park.

Enter State Rep. W.R. Webb. On February 24, 1923, Webb submitted House Bill 873 to “authorize the Commissioner of State Lands to accept lands donated to the state for parks and state reservations.” Section 1 included legal descriptions of Conway County properties to be donated, and Section 3 specified the park “shall be designated Petit Jean State Park.” Unfortunately, some of the landowners who’d agreed to contribute land for a national park opted out when the state park idea was proposed, reducing its size to a modest 80 acres.

Webb’s bill passed the House two days later and was referred to the Arkansas Senate where it received final approval on March 1 with nary a dissenting vote in either chamber. Gov. McRae signed the legislation that same day, making it Act 276 of the Forty-Fourth General Assembly—and creating the Arkansas State Park system.

The momentous legislation garnered no front-page coverage in Little Rock’s newspapers. In fact, the only mentions were a tiny blurb hidden in a “Bills signed by the Governor” listing on page 3 of the Arkansas Gazette on Friday, March 2, and a similar announcement buried on page 17 of the Arkansas Democrat.

While Act 276 of 1923 was indeed historic, not a single dollar was appropriated for building Petit Jean State Park. Nor were any positions established. The next big step forward occurred in 1927 when the Arkansas legislature established the State Parks Commission. The first chairman? None other than Dr. T.W. Hardison. The commission was mandated to select and acquire areas of natural and scenic beauty and historical interest and “to protect and preserve in its original habitat and native beauty the flora, fauna and wildlife therein, and preserve the same for all future generations.” But funding and staffing problems remained.

Help came in the form of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the federal jobs program birthed during the Great Depression. While many CCC enrollees were 20 years old or younger, the 200-man crew assigned to Petit Jean included many World War I veterans, older and more skilled. Working under a contract with the State Parks Commission, the National Park Service staff designed and supervised park projects with the CCC men building culverts, dams, trails, boat docks (and boats), a bathhouse, cabins and a lodge. They produced some amazing work and now, 90 years later, a dozen or so of their structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A favorite with many Petit Jean visitors today is the Davies Bridge spanning Cedar Creek. Designed by Ladd Davies, a 19-year-old engineering student at the time and son of Sam Davies, supervising engineer of the park and later the first director of Arkansas State Parks, it features a graceful 20-foot arch. Built of local fieldstone, it was completed in 1934. Although the 15- to 20-man CCC team building the bridge had limited machinery, they reportedly had an excellent stone mason, a man “who could cut rock just like it was a piece of cheese.”

A second state park, Mount Nebo, was acquired in 1927 as tax delinquent land. Two more, Crowley’s Ridge and Devil’s Den, were added in 1933, and Buffalo River and Lake Catherine state parks entered the system in 1935, all of which benefited from the work of CCC crews. Meanwhile, several key land donations substantially increased the size of Petit Jean.

Legislation passed in 1937 finally added a Director of State Parks. But disbanding of the CCC and the eventual outbreak of World War II brought the fledgling Arkansas State Park system to a virtual standstill. The 1950s saw the establishment of several new parks to include Bull Shoals, Queen Wilhelmina and Lake Chicot. Among those added in the 1960s were Moro Bay, Lake Fort Smith and Withrow Springs.

A new wave of federal financial assistance arrived in the mid-1960s with creation of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation and the Economic Development Administration. But getting the Arkansas General Assembly to set aside dollars for routine maintenance costs was a never-ending battle. Legislators were not above creating a new state park while failing to appropriate money for staffing or operating the facility, expecting the agency to absorb the additional expenses from its already stressed budget.

Richard W. Davies was appointed Arkansas State Parks Director in 1976, a position his grandfather had held decades earlier. He was at that time the youngest such appointee in the nation and perhaps the most challenged given the desperate financial plight facing his agency. In response to a question about the proudest accomplishment during his 14-year tenure, Davies said, “Simply holding things together when we didn’t have any money. Times were pretty tough.”

But a solution was in the works. State officials had noticed the launch of a conservation funding program in Missouri and proposed something similar for Arkansas: a constitutional amendment that would establish a one-eighth cent sales tax with the proceeds going to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (45%), Arkansas State Parks (45%), Department of Arkansas Heritage (9%) and Keep Arkansas Beautiful (1%).

Convincing the public to vote for a tax increase is never an easy job, but the amendment’s proponents got an unexpected bonus when Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife Janet volunteered their help. With the governor in his bass boat and the First Lady on a jet ski, they embarked on a promotional trip down the Arkansas River where they spoke time and again on the proposal’s behalf weeks before the general election. With the Huckabees’ active support, Arkansas voters approved Amendment 75, known as the Conservation Amendment, in November of 1996.

“I felt very strongly that Arkansas needed to preserve its natural resources that could not be restored if destroyed,” Huckabee said, “and that the small amount of tax would return to us many fold from increased visitors to the state who would see the value of our assets. It’s one of my most gratifying efforts in my tenure as governor. Our parks are now the envy of the nation.”

When asked what would have happened had the amendment failed, Huckabee minces no words.

“I think some of our parks would have closed or would been almost unusable,” he said. “There would be far fewer recreational opportunities for working-class families.”

Over a quarter of a century has passed since that successful campaign, of which Huckabee has fond recollections.

“There is a spectacular beauty of Arkansas that can only be seen from the river,” he said. “One memory was a heavy fog that settled in Little Rock on the river and we got lost in the fog. I thought we were filming a sequel to Gilligan’s Island.”

Arkansas State Parks got off to a rough start 100 years ago. But the system is in good shape today with 52 parks covering 55,006 acres; 4 lodges; 214 guest rooms; 204 cabins; 471 miles of trails; 6 restaurants; 1,751 campsites; 41 playgrounds; 1,085 picnic sites; 15 swimming beaches; 10 marinas; 11 swimming pools; 4 tennis courts; 2 golf courses; 48 gift shops; 190 historic structures; an airport and, of course, 1 diamond mine.

The Conservation Amendment has allowed Arkansas State Parks to thrive after decades of struggle, attracting nearly 10 million guests a year whose collective economic impact is estimated at $1 billion annually.

But Arkansas State Parks is much more than a collection of impressive numbers. It’s a family of some 700 full-time employees (increasing to 1,200 in peak season) who are committed to offering opportunities for their customers to create lasting memories. One of my state park friends proudly mentions that he’s now serving the third generation of a family at his park.

Let me share some interesting observations from the four (three former; one current) directors I have known:

Richard W. Davies (1974-1990): “Arkansas State Parks offer so many different things to so many different people. They’re diverse enough to provide a little bit of something to almost everybody.”

Greg Butts (1990-2015): “If you look at the Arkansas State Park system, it’s about special places, history and culture. The parks really define Arkansas.”

Grady Spann (2015-2021): “Our state parks are the best-maintained and protected special places in Arkansas that need to be preserved in perpetuity.”

Shea Lewis (2021-present): “Recreation is a key part of us as humans. There’s something internal that the park experiences provide for us.”

Back to those two individuals who got the ball rolling a century ago, Stephen Mather and T.W. Hardison. Mather’s contributions to the Arkansas State Park system have been acknowledged by naming Mather Lodge at Petit Jean State Park in his honor. And Hardison’s key role is commemorated in the new T.W. Hardison Visitor Center at Petit Jean.

So, there you have it. A quick look at Arkansas State Parks 100 years later. But reading about them is one thing; experiencing them is a far better choice. Help celebrate this extraordinary centennial by making a point to visit these 52 exceptional places. That’s a different park every week for an entire year!