Devil's Den State Park is north of Van Buren, Arkansas. The Butterfield Stage Line operated from 1858 until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. With 250 coaches and 800 employees, it provided mail service from St. Louis to San Francisco in 22 - 25 days. The Civil War brought an end to the mail/passenger service and opened a new era in the history of Devil's Den. The Ozark Mountains surrounding the park were used as hideouts by guerrilla bands during the Civil War.
Both those sympathizing with the Confederacy and those associated with the Union known as “Mountain Feds” took cover in the hills and emerged from their hiding places to strike military and civilian targets and returned to their hideouts.
Union and Confederate forces routinely moved back and forth through the region. The Battle of Prairie Grove, 1862, took place in and around the area. Union troops used the old route of the Butterfield Line during a raid on Van Buren December 28, 1862.
Today Devil's Den State Park is a showplace of the Arkansas park system. CCC-Rustic-style park architecture blends with the natural settings. Built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, Devil's Den is a masterpiece. Lee Creek flows through the park, and the Ozark National Forest surrounds it.
I wish now that I had taken more time to drive through the whole park instead or just taking a short little loop.
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