June 21, 1963

The Arkansas State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission accepted rights to donated property for the creation of Lake Poinsett State Park. The project was the result of volunteer efforts by citizens of Harrisburg (Poinsett County) to create a recreational lake—combined with work by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to create a lake through damming Distress Creek and the approval of Governor Orval Faubus. Once the 640-acre lake was created, land was donated and funds were raised to purchase sufficient shoreline property to warrant designation as a state park. Lake Poinsett State Park is the state’s twentieth state park and is described as a haven for fishing.