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Located in the rolling hills just to the south of the Ozarks and 50 miles north
of Little Rock, the 370 acre Wooly Hollow area was established as a state park
in 1973.
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The Woolly Cabin
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William Riley Woolly and his family migrated from Tennessee in 1851, settling on
land that came to be known as Woolly Hollow in Faulkner County, Arkansas.
In 1882, a son, Martin Alfred Woolly, built a one room log home on land that he
had homesteaded in 1859. The cabin was originally located less than a mile
southwest of the park. In 1975, it was moved to its present site and
restored.
The park includes a 40 acre reservoir, Lake Bennett, named after the first
director of the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). It
was constructed in 1935 by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and the
Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) as the first SCS watershed project built for
scientific studies of the effect of run-off, silt and erosion control in a
specific watershed. Upon completion, it was deeded to Faulkner County.
Located near the town of Centerville, the area was called Centerville Park while
owned by Faulkner County.
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Tent site near Lake Bennett |
The park is located just off the main route from Little Rock to attractions such
as Eureka Springs, Branson, and the Buffalo National River.
We visited Wooly Hollow on November 4th, 2007 to hike the 3.5 mile Huckleberry
Nature Trail. It was originally constructed in the mid-1930s by the CCC
and was restored in 1981 by the Youth Conservation Core (YCC).
More information and links:
Fox 16 - Araknsas on a Tank-full:
Woolly Hollow State Park near Greenbrier
Camping - see the
Woolly Hollow State Par website. With improvements being
made in the Arkansas state parks from the 1/8¢ conservation
tax, the best and most current source of information seems
to be the
Arkansas State Park website. Even the official
printed brochure that we picked up at the park was not up to
date. Trails - Huckleberry Trail, is 3 1/2 miles long.
It's rated as easy on the park website; however, we would
rate it as easy to moderate. It is generally a narrow
trail and didn't appear to have been heavily travelled.
The park's web site also says (on November 6, 2007) that the
trail crosses Lake Bennett's earthen dam. That may
have been true at one time, but, if so, it's been a quite
some time. The dam is completely overgrown with vegetation.
General information from the park web site:
To contact the park: (501) 679-2098
Nestled in the Ozark foothills,
this state park is a serene getaway overlooking lovely
Lake Bennett, 40-acres for fishing and swimming at the
park's swimming beach area.
A snack bar and bathhouse with hot
showers are located near the swim beach. Park facilities
also include 30 campsites (two Class A, 18 Class B, and
10 Class D without hookups), a picnic area, standard
pavilion, gift shop and hiking trail. A launch ramp is
located on Lake Bennett. The park also offers canoes,
kayaks, pedal boats, fishing boats and motors for rent.
[Anglers will need to bring bait and fishing supplies.]
Woolly Cabin, the log home of the area's first settlers,
offers a historic perspective to this peaceful hollow.
Take Exit #125 off I-40 at Conway and travel 12 miles
north on U.S. 65, then go six miles east on Ark. 285 to
the park.
Park Events and Programs
Area Information - Faulkner County Other references:
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