Mount Nebo State Park
Located near Dardanelle, Arkansas and rising 1,350 feet (410 m) above the mountain valleys of west central Arkansas, Mount Nebo has a view of 34,000 acres (140 km2) Lake Dardanelle, the Arkansas River and the surrounding mountain ridges. Atop this biblically named plateau, fringed by the Ouachita National Forest, is Mount Nebo State Park.
Mount Nebo, inhabited since pre-Civil War years, has been a favorite vacation spot. During the 1890s, a resort hotel was built to house steamboat passengers on the Arkansas River.
In 1927, Mount Nebo was designated as a state park. The majority of the trails, cabins, bridges and pavilions at the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The main pavilion, built by the CCC around 1935, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The park includes 14 cabins (available for rent), 34 camping sites, picnic areas, a swimming pool, 14 miles (23 km) of hiking trails, and other facilities for use by the public.
In the 1890s Mount Nebo was much different than it is today. Two large hotels with 100 rooms each and a Normal School graced the mountain along with many homes. There was also a bowling alley, ballroom, post office, telephone exchange, and a stable of riding horses.
The top of the mountain is a relatively flat plateau, with a sandstone "bench" 300 feet (91 m) below the summit on which the Blevins Hotel and 30 to 50 houses were located during the mountain's heyday. Some foundations can still be seen, especially in the vicinity of Nebo Springs. The Summit Park Hotel was built on top of the mountain and completely destroyed by fire on February 26, 1918.
Before the Civil War no road existed and lumber used for homes was brought up the mountain "trail" by yokes of oxen to the bench. At that time, there were no structures built on the summit of the mountain. Most or all of the original 12 log cabins, including the first built by Colonel Sam Dickins of Virginia, burned or deteriorated during the Civil War.
The mountain was named Nebo by Mrs. Louis White after the Civil War in the late 1860s. She named it after the mountain in the bible from which Moses had a view of the promised land. The Whites and other Dardanelle families lived on the mountain during the summer months. The White home stood on the bench by Nebo Springs until 1934.
In 1878 Captain Joseph Evins built a house on the summit near Sunrise Point and planted 40 acres (160,000 m2) of fruit trees on the mountain. Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, strawberries, raspberries and some vegetables were grown. He also had one of the best, largest and most profitable vineyards in the country.
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