| History: Fort Parker State Park includes 1458.8 acres (758.8 land acres & a 700-acre lake); between Mexia & Groesbeck, in Limestone County. It was opened to the public in 1941.
History: Fort Parker State Park was created in 1935 on land donated by the City of Mexia & three local landowners. The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed all the recreational facilities in the late 1930s, & built a dam across the Navasota River in 1939, creating Fort Parker Lake.
The park was named for Fort Parker, a nearby historic settlement established in 1833, & the site of the well-known Comanche Indian raid in May 1836, during which Cynthia Ann Parker was captured. During captivity, Cynthia Ann became the mother of the last great Comanche chief, Quanah Parker. The old fort was reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a 1936 centennial project. See Old Fort Parker.
The parklands encompass the historic town of Springfield. Springfield was established in 1838, & when Limestone County was created in 1847, the community became the first county seat. Springfield began to die in the early 1870s, after the railroad by-passed the town & the courthouse burned. The county seat was moved to Groesbeck in 1873, the post office closed in 1878, & Springfield soon became a ghost town. Only the cemetery remains, the last resting place of many East Texas pioneers, including an American Revolutionary War veteran & two veterans of the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution.
Activities: Fort Parker offers camping, picnicking, swimming in an unsupervised swimming area, fishing, birdwatching, hiking, biking, canoeing, nature study,baseball/softball, & paddle boating. The canoe trip from Confederate Reunion Grounds to Fort Parker is a 3-mile trip on the Navasota River. Canoes will be shuttled to the Confederate Reunion Grounds at 10:00 am on Saturdays & Sundays only. Canoes can be reserved for this trip by calling 254-562-5751. Canoe rental for the trip is a four hour minimum rental. All other times are first come first served.
Facilities: Facilities include restrooms with & without showers; picnic sites; a group picnic pavilion; tables grouped in several areas; campsites with H2O & electricity; screened shelters; four winterized screened shelters (November through March); a group camp with four barracks & a dining hall - The group camp contains a total of nine buildings which sleep 96. All the group camp buildings are heated & six are air conditioned (all sleeping areas are air conditioned) ; a group recreation hall ("activity center") (built by the CCC) that is heated & air-conditioned, has tables & chairs for 50, a stove top, & a refrigerator; a sponsored youth group camping area; a boat ramp; a boat dock; a 1-mile, multi-use trail for hiking & mountain bike riding; lake fishing pier; fish-cleaning facilities; playground(near the picnic area), baseball/softball field; & a trailer dump station. Canoes & paddle boats are rented year-round.
Flora/Fauna: Frequently seen in the park are bluebird, duck, heron, migratory waterfowl, coyote, raccoon, squirrel, & bobcat. Popular fish include crappie, bass, catfish, & trout in season.
Link to information on wildflowers at Fort Parker State Park
Directions: The park is located, seven miles south of Mexia or six miles north of Groesbeck on State Highway 14; entrance is on Park Road 28.
Elevation, Weather, & Schedule Information: Elevation: 534 Weather: July average high is 95; SE breeze; January average low is 34; low humidity year-round with May & September wettest months; first/last freeze: November 26 / March 15. Open:The park is open seven days a week year-round from eight a.m. to ten p.m. Busy Season: Weekends of spring, early summer, & fall.
Area Attractions: Nearby points of interest include Old Fort Parker Historic Site, a replica of a fort erected in 1833 by Elder John Parker & other settlers from Illinois for protection from Indians; Confederate Reunion Grounds State Historic Site; & Fairfield Lake State Park. |
Fort Parker State Park Campground Web Site
Driving Direction GPS Coordinates:
31.671392, -96.472931
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Campground: Fort Parker State Park in Mexia Texas *