Old Fort Parker, TX

Today Gwen and I visited Old Fort parker Historical Park. We enjoyed seeing how the pioneers lived and how hard it must of been for them. Old Fort Parker is a reconstructed fort which pays tribute to the Parker family and other pioneers who paid a high price to settle in Texas. The Parkers and other members of their church came to Texas from Crawford County, Illinois in 1832. In 1832 , Daniel Parker a staunch theologian, had gained permission to settle in Texas. After organizing those who wanted to got to Texas into the Predestinarian Baptist Church, they all left Illinois in July 1833 in ox drawn wagons. Daniel and the majority of his followers settled near the city of Elkhart, Other members of the group preferred to settle farther west, near the Navasota River. Elder John Parker and three of his sons Silas, James and Benjamin began in Dec. 1833 to clear land and construct “ Parker Fort “.

   

   

   

   

                    

Fort Parker State Park

It is hard to believe that we have been at Fort Parker State Park for more than two week now. Time is going by fast and we have been having such a good time and staying busy that I have been a little slow updating the blog. Fort Parker is a small park with only 35 camp sites and 10 mini cabins. The site are setup so there is lots of room between sites and easy to get into. Some of the sites might be a little short for bigger rigs. We are on a host site on the top of the hill is the shelter area and have a great view of the campground.

  

The mini cabins are just a basic cabin with only a picnic table inside so campers must bring their own camping gear, cots, sleeping bags and whatever else you might need. The cabins do have electric and there is plenty of room inside. They also have a outside table and fire ring and room for parking. These are nice for people that like basic camping and gives you a nice place to get out of the weather.

  

The T pier is a great spot for fishing or watching the sunsets in the evenings. There is also a fish clean station for cleaning any fish you might catch.

  

In the day use area the is a nice nature center , boat ramp and the park rents kayak and canoes. There is also a shelter for picnics.

  

We are told what we are going to be really busy in the coming weeks with a Trout Clinic being held for the kids, there will be fishing, games and food. The local Bass Club is also giving the kids free fishing rods so this should be a good time. I will try to get lots of pictures if I get some free time. It is on the weekend of Jan 29th both Sat and Sun.

As soon as I have time I will be posting more pictures of the park so keep check back on the blog.