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Crowley’s Ridge State Park in northeast Arkansas is a recreationally oriented park with a rich social and geological history. The park, situated on land that was homesteaded by nineteenth-century pioneer Benjamin F. Crowley, also preserves the structures built by young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930s.

Arriving on the scene in 1820, Crowley was the first prominent white settler in the region. He selected the site for his plantation home because of the upland terrain and a spring, which continues to flow today. Crowley, a veteran of the War of 1812, became an acknowledged leader in northeast Arkansas and strongly supported the creation of Greene County on November 5, 1833. He died in 1842 at age eighty-four, and his gravesite is located within the park.

As a way of honoring him, his neighbors named the unique formation of rolling hills that stretch approximately 200 miles from southeastern Missouri to Helena (Phillips County) “Crowley’s Ridge.” The ridge, rising 450–550 feet in elevation out of the surrounding flatlands, is a rare geologic formation that has served as a recreational retreat since recorded time.

Because of the spring and tree-shaded grounds at Crowley’s homestead, the site became a traditional summer campground, picnic site, and gathering place. Thus, it was the first choice of area residents when the state started accepting lands for public parks. Belle Hodges Wall, secretary of the Paragould Chamber of Commerce, led a successful campaign to make Crowley’s home site a state park. It was accepted into the fledgling system on July 21, 1933, and became the fourth of Arkansas’s state parks.

In October 1933, the first detachment of Civilian Conservation Corps workers arrived. Composed mostly of young men from northern Missouri, the unit was soon enlarged to 207 enrollees. They built foot trails, bridges, cabins, a pavilion/bathhouse, picnic sites, campgrounds, miles of roads, and a 300-foot earthen dam for a three-and-a-half-acre recreational lake.

The park was dedicated on June 21, 1937, but public use of the facilities started more than two years before construction was completed. On July 4, 1935, an estimated crowd of 8,000 visitors crowded the unfinished park.

Very few changes were made in the park during its first four decades. However, in the late 1960s and through the 1970s, several additions were made, including four new cabins, modern campgrounds, and day-use facilities. In 1992, four CCC structures within the park—a bridge on main park road, a bathhouse, the CCC Comfort Station, and the Group Lodging Area Dining Hall—were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Several restoration and improvement projects have been done at the park since the passage of Amendment 75 in 1996, including paving roads near Walcott Lake and parking areas near the CCC Pavilion, renovating bathhouses and restrooms, rebuilding the CCC comfort station, conducting an archaeological survey of Shiloh Cemetery, and more.

The massive stone-and-log CCC bathhouse/pavilion remains the focal point of the park, which also boasts a thirty-one-acre fishing lake built in the mid 1960s. Annual events include Early Settler Days, Memorial Day Madness, Fun on the Fourth, Discovery Day Camp, Natural Heritage Educators Workshop, Great Arkansas Clean-Up, and the Haunted Trail and Scary Movie in October.

Park Time Line

7/21/1933 - Commission action to create park.  Initial land acquired for the park. 

7/21/1933 - The area that would become Crowley’s Ridge State Park was originally turned down as a park site due to a lack of land and the poor soil conditions. A committee was formed by Belle Hodges Wall to write letters to the legislators and to raise funds to acquire more land. Mrs. Wall was also responsible for bringing in W.R. Heagler who surveyed the land and designed the park layout. The park service was so impressed by Mr. Heagler’s design that not only did they approve the site, they also hired him as the first superintendent.

10/18/1933 - Work on Crowley’s Ridge State Park was started by Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1727 under the supervision of Superintendent W.R. Heagler. The first task was to get roads set up so that equipment and supplies could get to the camp. Company 1727 was also responsible for building barracks and other building that would be used by later CCC companies. Other companies that worked on the park include 1729, 2746, and 4733.

5/25/1935 - Crowley's Ridge State Park, near Paragould is opened.

7/4/1936 - Although Crowley’s Ridge State Park did not officially open until 1936 the area was a popular recreation spot. On July 4, 1935, an estimated 8,000 people attended activities and performances arranged for the holiday.  One of the attractions was a performance by the Little Rock WPA Symphony Orchestra at the CCC Pavilion.

9/5/1936 - Crowley’s Ridge State Park was officially opened. The grand opening was celebrated with a water carnival, swimming contests, and a beauty pageant. The weekend ended with a cast of 600 performing in Arkansas Traveler – A Historical Pageant of Arkansas. The local papers claimed that everybody who was anybody had a part in the elaborate performance.

6/21/1937 - Crowley's Ridge State Park dedicated.

3/14/1938 - Construction in the park was not completed until 1938, despite having officially opened in 1936. Although additions and changes would be made in the future, this work set the tone for what was to come

6/4/1938 - A dedication ceremony was held after construction in the park was completed. Visitors came from around the state, as well as from Missouri and Tennessee, to celebrate the completion of the park.

5/28/1992 - In 1992 four structures were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The structures were the bathhouse, the dining hall, the comfort station, and the stone bridge. All of the structures on the list were constructed by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
 

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 Directions to Park

The park is 15 miles north of Jonesboro on Arkansas 141;
or nine miles west of Paragould on U.S. 412,
then two miles south on Arkansas 168.

 Contact Information
2092 Highway 168 North
Paragould,  AR  72450
E-mail:  CrowleysRidge@Arkansas.com
Park/Campsite Reservations
1-870-573-6751
Cabin Reservations
1-800-264-2405

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02/23/12 07:50 AM