Courtesy Arkansas Tourism
Louisiana Purchase Historical
State Park
Brinkley, Arkansas
In 1903, President Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase, acquiring some 900,000 square miles in the western part of the continent and doubling the size of the United States. Twelve years later, President James Madison ordered an official survey of the new land; the starting point of that survey is marked today by the Louisiana Purchase Historical State Park in Arkansas.
Teams of explorers set out from the confluence of the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers to start mapping the new area. A granite monument at the park marks the beginning point of their journeys. To reach the monument, visitors stroll the Louisiana Purchase Boardwalk over the headwater swamp; there, they get a feel for the natural environment that explorers found at the top of their journey.
Interpretive signs along the boardwalk describe the flora and fauna of the swamp.
www.arkansasstateparks.com/louisianapurchase
Grand Promenade
Hot Springs, Arkansas
It wasn’t pioneers but vacationers who beat a trail to Hot Springs, Arkansas, in the latter part of the 19th century. The area’s namesake thermal springs led to the creation of numerous bathhouses where travelers from the East would come for healing and relaxation.
Today, the entire downtown district of the city is preserved as Hot Springs National Park, with numerous restored bathhouses giving visitors a look into that historic form of luxury and relaxation. Among the oldest elements is the Grand Promenade, a walkway that travelers used to collect themselves between spa treatments.
“People liked to go for strolls during this time period to observe the environment around them and get some fresh air,” said Mike Kusch, the park’s head of interpretation. “It’s been here since 1880 and was refurbished in the 1930s and finished in the ’50s.”
Today, the promenade is a quarter-mile, brick-lined trail situated behind Bathhouse Row that gives walkers a view of the historic city on one side and the park’s forested areas on the other side.
www.nps.gov/hosp
Lone Elm Park
Olathe, Kansas
In the boom times of westward expansion, the major pioneer trails all came together in a place called Round Grove. Today, that spot is Lone Elm Park, located in the modern city of Olathe, Kansas.
“This park is where the San Francisco, Oregon and California trails all converged,” said Mike Latka, parks project coordinator for Olathe Parks and Recreation. “It all began because there was a lone elm tree that people could see for miles. It had water and drainage, and it attracted people to the area. It was one of the first camping areas used by all of the travelers going west.”
Unfortunately, that elm tree no longer exists, but Olathe commemorates the site with a 160-acre park. Although much of the park serves as a youth sports complex, about 40 acres were left as a natural prairie to give visitors an idea of what the area looked like to the pioneers who camped there in the 1800s. There are also interpretive signs throughout the area giving visitors more information on its history.
“We think we have found some remnants of the trails, and we try to keep them just like they used to be,” Latka said. “We see some ruts in the way the land is formed and how it has maintained itself near the creek.”
www.olathecvb.org
