Pulaski Times

Happy anniversary to the Arkansas State Parks system! This year marks the parks system’s centennial, and we’re proud to say we were there when it all began, 100 years ago today.

The first state park was an 80-acre site home to a spectacular waterfall and scenic canyon. Today, you know that place as Petit Jean State Park: 3,471 acres of forest replete with trails, streams and wildlife, with campgrounds, cabins and a lodge providing visitor accommodations.

The original 80 acres were donated by a group of nine businessmen from Morrilton and Pine Bluff.

So where does the Commissioner of State Lands Office fit in?

On March 1, 1923, Act 276 was finalized, with the title “An Act to Authorize the Commissioner of State Lands to Accept Lands Donated to the State for Parks and State Reservations.”

That new law allowed the COSL to accept the donation on the state’s behalf and instructed the Commissioner to “keep in a separate book for that purpose, a complete and accurate description of said lands, and for the purpose and terms of said donations.” The act also designated the donation as Petit Jean State Park.

It was the first donation for the first park. A century later, there are 52 state parks, comprising 55,000 acres in 49 counties. They range in size from Hobbs State Park, sprawling over 12,000 acres in the Ozarks, to the Lower White River Museum State Park, nestled into less than half an acre in Des Arc.

And we still accept donated real estate for the state! Donation deeds recorded in our office include bequests to universities, state parks, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission and other agencies. You can learn more about state parks at www.arkansasstateparks.com, and you can find state-owned land in general on our website at https://arlands.cosl.org/.

(Below: The gravesite of Petit Jean, commemorate the tragic love story, is still a popular spot for visitors. Learn more at https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/.../peti.../about/history.)

Original source can be found here.