Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park

{{Infobox historic site

| name = Jenkins' Ferry
Battleground State Park

| location = Grant County, Arkansas

| nearest_city = Leola, Arkansas

| coordinates = {{coord|34|12|47.4|N|92|32|50.6|W|region:US-AR_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Arkansas

| map_caption = Location in Arkansas

| map_relief = y

| map_width = 275

| area = {{convert|40.15|acre|ha}}

| elevation = {{convert|190|ft|m}}

| beginning_label = Established

| beginning_date = Early 20th century

| original_use = Field, forest, battlefield

| governing_body = Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism

| website = {{Official website}}

| designation1 = NRHP

| designation1_offname = Jenkins' Ferry Battleground

| designation1_date = {{date|1970-01-21|MDY}}

| designation1_number = 70000120{{NRISref|2007a}}

| designation2 = nhldcp

| designation2_offname = Jenkins' Ferry Battlefield

| designation2_date = {{date|1994-04-19|MDY}}

| designation2_partof = Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark

| designation2_number = 94001182{{cite web |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=896&ResourceType=District |title=Camden Expedition Sites |date=September 26, 2007 |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=September 26, 2007 |archive-date=March 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301173928/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=896&ResourceType=District |url-status=dead }}

}}

The Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park, also known as the Jenkins' Ferry Battlefield, is a battlefield in Grant County, Arkansas. The Arkansas state park commemorates the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry fought on Saturday, April 30, 1864, during the Red River campaign of the American Civil War.

First established as a masonic park in the early 20th century, the 40 acre historic site was donated to the state of Arkansas in 1961. The American Civil War battlefield was listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places 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 1994.

Description and administrative history

File:CONFEDERATE MONUMENT AT JENKINS FERRY.jpg killed at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry on April 30, 1864.]]

The Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park, operated by the Division of State Parks of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, 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, which is {{convert|12|mi|km}} southwest of Sheridan, and {{convert|9|mi|km}} northeast of Leola in Grant County on the west side of Highway 46.{{cite encyclopedia|last=Teske|first=Steven|date=2014-06-04|title=Jenkins' Ferry State Park|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1227|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture|location=Little Rock, Arkansas|publisher=Central Arkansas Library System|id=1227|access-date=2017-09-22}}

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 Little Rock and Camden road and the eastern end of the old Jenkins' Ferry crossing.{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/National-Register-Listings/PDF/GR0016.nr.pdf|title=NRHP nomination for Jenkins' Ferry State Park|publisher=Arkansas Preservation|access-date=2015-11-20}}

Established as a masonic park in the early 20th century,{{cite book |editor-last1=Hall |editor-first=C. G. |editor-link1=Crip Hall |date=1941 |title=Arkansas: A Guide to the State |url=https://archive.org/details/arkansasguidetos00writ_0/page/402/mode/2up |series=American Guide Series |location=New York |publisher=Hastings House |page=332 |oclc=882129 |ol=6430108M |via=Internet Archive}} 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.{{cite news |author=Associated Press |title=Parks Board Awaits Fate of Omnibus Bill |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/412414615/ |url-access=subscription |work=The Baxter Bulletin |volume=60 |number=16 |location=Mountain Home, Arkansas |date=March 30, 1961 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 25, 2024}} It was listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as the Jenkins' Ferry Battleground on January 21, 1970,{{NRISref|2007a}} and a part of the Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark, a U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property, on April 19, 1994.{{cite web |url={{NHLS url|id=94001182|photos=y}} |title=Camden Expedition Sites—Accompanying 62 photos, from 1992–1993: Old U.S. Arsenal (6 photos), Confederate State Capitol (5 photos), Prairie de Ann Battlefield (7 photos), Jenkins' Ferry Battlefield (4 photos), Marks' Mills Battlefield (10 photos), Fort Southerland (5 photos), Poison Spring Battlefield (7 photos), Fort Lookout (9 photos), Elkin's Ferry Battlefield (9 photos). |format=pdf |work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination |date=1993-11-29 |publisher=National Park Service}}

References

External links

{{Official website}}
[https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=121204 Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park] at the Historical Marker Database
[https://www.battlefields.org/visit/heritage-sites/jenkins-ferry-state-park Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park] at American Battlefield Trust
{{TripAdvisor}}

{{Portal bar|American Civil War|Arkansas|National Register of Historic Places}}

Category:20th-century establishments in Arkansas

Category:Arkansas Heritage Trails System

Category:Battle of Jenkins' Ferry

Category:Battlefields of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War

Jenkins' Ferry Battleground State Park

Description and administrative history

See also

References

External links