The Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park, also known as the Jenkins' Ferry Battlefield, is a

battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...

Grant County, Arkansas Grant County, officially the County of Grant, is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 17,958 at the 2020 United States census. The county seat is Sheridan. Grant County is included in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Co ...

. The Arkansas state park commemorates the

Battle of Jenkins' Ferry The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, also known as the Engagement at Jenkins' Ferry, was fought on April 30, 1864, in Hot Spring and Saline counties (present-day Grant County), Arkansas, during the American Civil War The American Civil War ...

fought on Saturday, April 30, 1864, during the Red River campaign of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. First established as a

masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

park in the early 20th century, the 40 acre historic site was donated to the state of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

in 1961. The American Civil War battlefield was listed in the

U.S. National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as the Jenkins' Ferry Battleground in 1970 and is part of the Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark, a U.S. National Historic Landmark District

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

, in 1994.

Description and administrative history

The Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park, operated by the Division of State Parks of the

Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism (ADPHT) is a cabinet level agency in the executive branch of Arkansas state government responsible for promoting, protecting, interpreting, and managing the state's natural and cultural r ...

, includes historic markers that describe the battle, as well as recreational opportunities on the Saline River, including swimming and boating. A pavilion and several picnic sites are also located in the

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

, which is southwest of Sheridan, and northeast of Leola in

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States * Grant County, Arkansas * Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky Grant County is a county located in the northern pa ...

on the west side of Highway 46. The park is set in a bend of the Saline River, which generally flows northwest to southeast, meandering southwest at this point. It has picnic tables and fire pits, and a basic public toilet, as well as interpretive signs explaining the region's historical significance. It includes a portion of the

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

and Camden road and the eastern end of the old Jenkins' Ferry crossing. Established as a masonic park in the early 20th century, Act 10 of 1961 of the State of Arkansas authorized transfer of the landscaped 40 acre tract commemorating the Battle of Jankins' Ferry to the Arkansas Publicity and Parks Commission. The law included an offer to donate the Jenkins' Ferry site made by the author of the bill. It was listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as the Jenkins' Ferry Battleground on January 21, 1970, and a part of the Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark, a U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property, on April 19, 1994.

References

External links

*
Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park
at the

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers and commemorative plaques in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer progra ...

Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park
at

American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, through the acquisition of battlefield lan ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins Ferry Battlefield 20th-century establishments in Arkansas Arkansas Heritage Trails System Battle of Jenkins' Ferry Battlefields of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Grant County, Arkansas Parks established in the 20th century Parks in Grant County, Arkansas Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas State parks of Arkansas

Description and administrative history

See also

References

External links