Secretary of State Touts Louisiana Purchase ‘Passport’
As Opportunity to Travel Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK (April 18, 2003) – The Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Committee unveiled its commemorative Louisiana Purchase “passport” at a news conference today in the rotunda of the Arkansas State Capitol.

Secretary of State Charlie Daniels; Jay Miller, administrator of program services at the Department of Parks and Tourism; and Ann Clements, project director of the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial of Arkansas, touted the passport as a unique opportunity for Arkansans to understand the state’s pivotal role in the Louisiana Purchase.

“Using their souvenir passports, we want Arkansans to travel the state and enjoy the many events planned to celebrate the Louisiana Purchase,” said Daniels. “The passport offers Arkansas families a great opportunity to explore the state, enjoy its natural wonders and celebrate the historical significance of Arkansas’s role in the Louisiana Purchase.”

The collectible passports are being distributed around the state at 28 must-see destinations, each with special events planned to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Once a traveler has his passport, he can get it stamped at each of the 28 sites, making the passport its own souvenir keepsake. “The passport will make a great memento of your travels,” said Miller.

Passport sites are located in each region of the state. In the state’s capital city, passports and stamps are available at the Arkansas State Capitol, Cox Creative Center, Historic Arkansas Museum, Old State House Museum and the Museum of Discovery. Passports and stamps are also available at these sites around the state:

• Plantation Agriculture Museum State Park in Scott
• Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park Visitor Center in Scott
• Arkansas Post National Memorial in Gillett
• Arkansas Post Museum in Gillett
• Central Delta Historical Society Depot and Museum in Brinkley
• Clarendon Welcome Center
• White River National Wildlife Refuge in DeWitt
• Delta Cultural Center in Helena
• Lake Chicot State Park in Lake Village
• Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park near Brinkley
• City of Marianna
• Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover
• Hot Springs National Park
• Lake Dardanelle State Park in Russellville
• Fort Smith National Historic Site
• Fort Smith Arts Center
• Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale
• Rogers Historical Museum
• Parkin Archeological State Park
• Old Independence Regional Museum in Batesville
• Village Creek State Park near Wynne
• Old Davidsonville State Park near Pocahontas
• Powhatan Courthouse State Park

“All the partners have brought such enthusiasm to celebrating the Purchase by planning special events throughout the year,” said Daniels. “Museums are displaying exhibits and hosting lectures; several state parks are re-enacting period activities; and several communities are sponsoring festivals.” A complete listing of events can be found at www.lapurchase.org.

The Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial of Arkansas
The Secretary of State’s Office is the official coordinator of the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial of Arkansas. A committee of state and federal agencies, communities and associations is coordinating the various efforts to plan and implement the yearlong celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels chairs the project; former Secretary of State Sharon Priest is chairwoman emeritus; and former U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers is honorary chairman.

The Louisiana Purchase and Arkansas’s Role
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson finalized the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling the size of the United States. The acquisition included 830,000 square miles of unmapped wilderness.

A survey of the new land began in 1815 in East Arkansas. The initial point of the survey (where the baseline and meridian cross) is located in a swamp at the corner of Lee, Phillips and Monroe counties. It is from this point that all land in the Louisiana Purchase was mapped – every legal description of the land west of the Mississippi depended on measurements taken from this point. Prospect K. Robbins and Joseph C. Brown conducted those surveys.

This starting point for the surveyors who explored and mapped the frontier is now the Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park, where visitors can walk along a boardwalk through the swamp and experience the sites and sounds of the wilderness, much like the original surveyors did.