Louisiana Purchase State Park AR

HISTORIC Louisiana Purchase State Park in Arkansas

The Louisiana Purchase State Park is a day-use park and a National Historic Landmark that includes a portion of the largest headwater swamp in the Lower Mississippi River Valley.

An important place in history, this National Historic Landmark preserves the initial point from which all surveys of property acquired through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 originated.

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Sign at Louisiana State Park in Arkansas
Sign at Louisiana State Park in Arkansas. Photo by Jay Gannett/Creative Commons

About the Louisiana Purchase State Park

Everything has to start somewhere and the surveys for the Louisiana Purchase started right here in Arkansas.

The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States. The area that is now Arkansas was part of that purchase.

At this state park, you will find a 950-foot elevated boardwalk over the swamp that will lead you out to a granite monument that marks the “initial point” where the surveys started.

Boardwalk at Louisiana State Park in Arkansas
Boardwalk at Louisiana State Park in Arkansas. Photo by Jay Gannett/Creative Commons

On November 10, 1815, a party led by Prospect K. Robbins surveying a north-south line to be known as the fifth principal meridian crossed an east-west baseline that had been surveyed by a party led by Joseph C. Brown. The crossing of those lines became the “initial point” from which subsequent surveys of Louisiana Purchase lands originated.

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Stone marking the "initial point" of the Louisiana Purchase.
Stone marking the “initial point” of the Louisiana Purchase. Photo by Jay Gannett/Creative Commons

Can you camp at Louisiana Purchase State Park?

No, there is no camping at the Louisiana Purchase State Park. It is only a day-use park.

arkansas camping guide

Are there alligators at the Louisiana Purchase State Park?

Yes. This state park and natural area includes a large headwater swamp that is home to alligators as well as many other wildlife, flora, and fauna.

The number of alligators in Arkansas might surprise you!

Read this: [THE TRUTH] Are There Alligators in Arkansas?

Louisiana Purchase State Park location

AR Hwy 362
Brinkley, AR 72049

The park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Other Arkansas State Parks in the Lower Delta Region of Arkansas

4 Things to Do at Cane Creek State Park
Tips: Camping at Lake Chicot State Park
Explore all 52 Arkansas State Parks here: Exciting Things to do in The 52 State Parks of Arkansas

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