Heritage nature trail planned for Batesville

LOOKOUT POINT – A historic site where teenager James Doak and others watched for approaching troops during the Civil War. Doak carved his name (inset photo) on a boulder atop this rocky point, overlooking Miller’s Creek. (All images by Craig Ogilvie)

By Craig Ogilvie, Special to White River Now

Preliminary planning is underway in hopes that Batesville, Arkansas, will have one of the most unique heritage hiking/bicycle trails in mid-America.

It will feature sections of pioneer roads dating back 200 years, plus native wildflower meadows, rock-climbing, a free-flowing stream with fishing and kayaking, all nestled in an isolated valley within the city limits of a bustling city!

The mile-long stretch of Miller’s Creek, designated for the trail, has been in private ownership since the 1810s. Although less than a mile north of downtown, the proposed trail system has been protected from development by a steep bluff on the south, Poke Bayou to the west, and traditional farmlands to the north and east.

Under the leadership of the city and the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, volunteers and public employees are busy working to make the trail a reality for local citizens and visitors to the area. The studies, research and planning take thousands of hours, but pays off with wonderful benefits for those using the proposed trail.

Reading old deeds to the 85 acres in the trail is like reading the “Who’s Who” of Batesville history. From the 1820s, when the area was being settled, pioneers like Charles Kelley (first county sheriff) and John Miller (father of the first native-born governor, William R. Miller) to State Legislator Virgil Butler and his grandfather, Judge James W. Butler (who helped write Arkansas’s current constitution), and others, all had a connection to the planned trail property.

The land also contains sections of three historic roads that early travelers used when northbound, or eastward, from Batesville. The Poke Bayou road followed the stream into the hill country, through Izard County and into Missouri. During the Civil War, thousands of troops used this trail, going north and south. The Batesville-Smithville road is still very visible just south of Miller’s Creek. This trail brought untold thousands of settlers, heading southward toward Texas and other territories, as it served as a branch of the famous Southwest Trail. The third trail became popular after a new Miller’s Creek bridge was built in 1914. The Moorefield Road crossed the bridge and served much of eastern Independence County. That 1914 concrete bridge stands today as the oldest of its type in the state.

The trail will meander throughout the entire property to include wildflower meadows, forested areas with century-old oaks and pecan trees, a free-flowing stream, and a Civil War lookout post, which will become a rock-climbing area. The multi-use trail system will be designed especially for biking and walking.

A teenage Civil War soldier served many hours as a “lookout” on a rocky knoll along one of the historic roadways within the trail system. To pass the time, James Doak carved his name on one of the huge rocks where he was stationed. Doak survived the war, but died a few years later at his home in Madison County, in northwest Arkansas.

The nature trail will also connect to a planned footpath down the bluff from Lyon College, and continue on to city recreational facilities north of the old concrete bridge.

A small parking lot, just north of the U.S. 167 bridge over Miller’s Creek, will welcome trail visitors, plus a nearby historic iron footbridge over the stream will provide a gateway for hikers and bicyclists. Nature lovers and birdwatchers will be welcome.

All images: Craig Ogilvie