Fort Parker State Park
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Old_Fort_Parker.jpg/220px-Old_Fort_Parker.jpg)
Fort Parker State Park has three hike-and-bike trails: Springfield trail (1.5-mile loop), Navasota River Trail (0.5 mile one way), and Baines Creek Trail (2.5 miles one way). The Bur Oak Trail (0.5-mile loop) is a nature trail with an interpretive guide pamphlet available.
Trees in the park include bur oak, water oak, blackjack oak, pecan, and eastern red cedar (juniper). Other plants that can be found are American beautyberry and sumac.
Inside the park is the Old Springfield Cemetery, all that remains of the once-thriving community of Springfield, Texas. Springfield was once the county seat of Limestone County and thrived during the 1840s and 1850s, but as men left for the Civil War, the town's businesses began to close. After the war, racial conflict and lawlessness occurred. The railroad passed Springfield by for the towns of Mexia and Groesbeck, and the town of Springfield disappeared.
The Fort Parker Nature Center is open every weekend. Canoe, kayaks, and paddleboats are available for rental. Day use, overnight camping, group barracks, an activity center, and a picnic pavilion are all available for rent.
Old Fort Parker
The CCC Company also rebuilt nearby Old Fort Parker, the site of the Fort Parker massacre, for the Texas Centennial observance in 1936. As an independent nonprofit, Old Fort Parker is not part of the state park.
Gallery
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Old Fort Parker Blockhouse
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Old Fort Parker interior
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John Parker marker
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Texas historical marker in Crowell, Texas