Fort Parker State Park is a state park near the City of

Mexia Mexia ( or ) is a city in Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,893 at the 2020 census. The city's motto, based on the fact that outsiders tend to mispronounce the name as (), is "A great place to live, no matter how ...

Limestone County, Texas Limestone County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 22,146. Its county seat is Groesbeck, Texas, Groesbeck. The county was created in 1846. Histo ...

, United States. The city of Mexia and three local landowners donated the land creating the park in 1935. From 1935 to 1942,

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

Company 3807(C) built roads, recreational facilities, the concession building and a dam of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

, and soil across the

Navasota River The Navasota River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It is about 125 miles (201 km) long, beginning near Mount Calm and flowing south into the Brazos River at a point where Brazos, Grimes, and Washington counties converge.''Merriam-We ...

, creating Lake Fort Parker. The park was dedicated by former Texas Governor

Pat Neff Pat Morris Neff (November 26, 1871 – January 20, 1952) was an American politician and educator who served as the List of Governors of Texas, 28th governor of Texas from 1921 to 1925. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...

and opened to the public in May 1941. Old Fort Parker

Fort Parker State Park has three hike-and-bike trails: Springfield trail (1.5-mile loop), Navasota River Trail (0.5 mile one way), and Baines Creek Trail (2.5 miles one way). The Bur Oak Trail (0.5-mile loop) is a nature trail with an interpretive guide pamphlet available. Trees in the park include

bur oak ''Quercus macrocarpa'', the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'', and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub ...

, water oak,

blackjack oak ''Quercus marilandica'', the blackjack oak, is a small oak, one of the red oak group ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. It is native to the eastern and central United States. Description ''Quercus marilandica'' is a small deciduous tree growing to ...

pecan The pecan ( , , ; ''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia ( ...

, and eastern red cedar (juniper). Other plants that can be found are

American beautyberry ''Callicarpa americana'', commonly called the American beautyberry, is an open-habitat, native shrub of the Southern United States which is often grown as an ornamental in gardens and yards. American beautyberries produce large clusters of purp ...

and

sumac Sumac or sumach ( , )—not to be confused with poison sumac—is any of the roughly 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' (and related genera) of the cashew and mango tree family, Anacardiaceae. However, it is '' Rhus coriaria ...

. Inside the park is the Old Springfield Cemetery, all that remains of the once-thriving community of Springfield, Texas. Springfield was once the county seat of Limestone County and thrived during the 1840s and 1850s, but as men left for the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the town's businesses began to close. After the war, racial conflict and lawlessness occurred. The railroad passed Springfield by for the towns of Mexia and Groesbeck, and the town of Springfield disappeared. The Fort Parker Nature Center is open every weekend. Canoe, kayaks, and paddleboats are available for rental. Day use, overnight camping, group barracks, an activity center, and a picnic pavilion are all available for rent.

Old Fort Parker

The CCC Company also rebuilt nearby Old Fort Parker, the site of the

Fort Parker massacre The Fort Parker massacre, also known as the Fort Parker raid, was an event in which a group of Texian colonists were killed in an attack by a contingent of Comanche, Kiowa, Caddo, and Wichita raiders at Fort Parker on May 19, 1836. During th ...

, for the Texas Centennial observance in 1936. As an independent nonprofit, Old Fort Parker is not part of the state park.

Gallery

File: Old_Fort_Parker_Historic_Site_1708131329_(35797170354).jpg, Old Fort Parker Blockhouse File: Old_Fort_Parker_Historic_Site_1708131224_(36235754980).jpg, Old Fort Parker interior File:OFP Marker.jpg, John Parker marker File:Battle of Pease River.jpg, Texas historical marker in

Crowell, Texas Crowell ( ) is a city and the county seat of Foard County, Texas, United States. The population was 769 at the 2020 census, down from 948 at the 2010 census. Geography Crowell is located near the center of Foard County and U.S. Route 70 pas ...

References

External links

Park homepage

Texas in Review - Fort Parker (1958)
television film from the

Texas Archive of the Moving Image The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002 by film archivist and University of Texas at Austin professor Caroline Frick, PhD. TAMI's mission is to preserve, study, and exhibit Texas film ...

{{authority control Texas State Historic Sites Protected areas of Limestone County, Texas State parks of Texas Protected areas established in 1941 1941 establishments in Texas Forts in Texas