We visited the smallest park in Texas

The smallest park in Texas was my destination for August:
I’m talking about Acton State Park, .01 of an acre in size according to information put out by stateparks.com this year. The smallest park in this huge state? I wondered what could be on such a small parcel of land. It turned out to be a memorial honoring Elizabeth Crockett. She was the second wife of Texas hero Davy Crockett, the famous frontiersman who lost his life fighting for Texas in 1836.

When I was near the park and looking at brochures about the place, they labeled it as Acton State Historical Site rather than Acton State Park. I found out more about when this change was made and other details about the area after my visit; I’ll discuss those findings later.

Neither the park nor the city of Acton were found when using my husband’s GPS.  I recommend using directions on the brochure put out by Texas Historical Commission; it’s available in nearby state park offices.

 I could see Elizabeth Crockett’s statue from the street but it’s in the Acton city cemetery. The statue is of a young woman who appears to be gazing off in the distance, waiting for her husband to return home. Elizabeth received a land grant from the state of Texas in the 1850’s as the widow of Davy Crocket, who fought and died for Texas at the Alamo. She moved to the Acton area at least a year later to claim the land. She died January 31, 1860, and in 1911 the statue of her was erected at the Acton cemetery (with funds provided by the state of Texas). Her son and daughter have more traditional burial monuments on this same plot.

After returning home from the park, I called the Parks and Wildlife Office in Austin to get more information about Elizabeth’s memorial. They referred me to Brett Cruse, Texas Historical Site Supervisor. I learned that the memorial was a state park/historical site until 2008, then it was changed to a historical site. Although the information I quoted by the park’s department lists it as .01 of an acre, the measurement isn’t exact according to Brett. I questioned this after seeing other websites stating the size was .006 of an acre. No matter what the actual size, it’s very small for a place once listed in the Texas State Park Guide.

There was no trash to pick up anywhere around the cemetery. What a well-kept burial site!

If you enjoy Texas history or want to see what is still called the smallest park on stateparks.com, you’ll enjoy this walk through the gravesites of Acton residents to reach the statue and graves of Elizabeth Crockett and her children.