Rest and relaxation - Wall Doxey State Park a peaceful retreat
ADAM ROBISON | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM The 60-acre lake at Wall Doxey State Park is spring-fed, so the water is as cold in the middle of summer as it is in the middle of winter.
Norma Yeager
PLAN YOUR TRIP
• Wall Doxey State Park is located about 6 1/2 miles south of Holly Springs on Highway 7, and about 22 miles north of Oxford.
• Cabin rentals range from $70 to $85 a night, depending on the day of the week. The day-use entrance fee is $4 per vehicle and $.50 for each person more than six.
• For more information, visit www.mdwfp.com, call (662) 252-4231, or email walldoxey@mdwfp.state.ms.us.
BY M. SCOTT MORRIS DAILY JOURNAL
HOLLY SPRINGS, MS
Anyone looking for peace and quiet this time of year should be able to find it at Wall Doxey State Park.
The wind rattles through the trees, and leaves skitter across the ground. Occasionally, a child’s cry of joy, surprise or frustration will rise up from the playground, and there’s always the chance a duck will make a minor ruckus on the lake.
“It’s a relaxing place. That’s for sure,” said Norma Yeager, who’s worked at the park for nearly two decades.
The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed it in 1934. It was known as Spring Lake State Park before it was renamed in honor of U.S. Sen. Wall Doxey.
“Our lake is 60 acres, and it’s spring fed,” Yeager said. “They tell me that it’s a new lake every 63 hours because it has so many springs in it.”
The lake has attracted people and animals for years. That could be because of the clarity of the water.
“There’s a spot where you can see the water come up,” Yeager said. “They say you can drink it. We have a lot of people who say they’ve tried it.”
In the 19th century, Lumpkin Mill was on the property, but it became a casualty of war.
“I was told 10,000 Union soldiers camped on the land,” she said. “They stayed here and camped here, and when they left, they burned the Lumpkin Mill down.”
In 1862, Union and Confederate forces fought in and around the park’s present-day borders. Display cases in a picturesque stone lodge help tell the story. They’re filled with remnants of the past, including rifle ammunition, grape shot, buttons, pocket knives, a bayonet and more.
In recent times, the park has attracted notice from Hollywood. Director Robert Altman featured the lake in his film, “Cookie’s Fortune.”
The lake and the lodge were used in “Heart of Dixie,” and the crew left behind a souvenir of their visit.
“They built a bar,” Yeager said. “When they left, they just told us we could have it. We’ve used it over the years for a little bit of everything.”
The lodge, which overlooks the lake, recently was decorated with gauzy white ribbons after a weekend wedding.
“They don’t build buildings like this anymore,” Yeager said. “I always thought it’d make a beautiful house.”
Yeager said she’d like for more people to visit Wall Doxey State Park and perhaps make their own lasting memories.
“Local people from Holly Springs and Marshall County don’t visit much,” Yeager said. “You would be surprised at the number of people who don’t know it’s this close to them.”
Brown signs direct visitors to take the Holly Springs exit off Interstate 22, then travel south on Highway 7 for nearly 7 miles, and that’ll lead to a refuge from today’s world of constant information.
“We have a lot of phone calls asking if we have wifi. We don’t,” Yeager said. “These kids, they don’t want to be out of touch.”
The park has 10 cabins, 64 developed camp sites and 18 primitive camping sites. Summer’s a busy time, when people hit the proverbial holiday road.
“A lot of the campers that come, they are faithful campers,” she said. “You see the same faces every summer because they keep coming back.”
The busiest time is October, when Wall Doxey hosts its carnival the weekend before Halloween. Campers decorate their sites, and there’s a hay ride and a haunted house.
“We have a lot of phone calls asking if we have wifi. We don’t. These kids, they don’t want to be out of touch.” Norma Yeager, on Wall Doxey State Park
“That brings 700 to 800 people,” Yeager said. “People schedule ahead. Our cabins and camp sites are reserved for 2016.”
The park also attracts extra visitors during fall for football season.
“When the Ole Miss football schedule comes out, the phone starts ringing,” Yeager said. “This is really convenient to Oxford.”
Jeannie Burkeen lives in Waterford, which is practically next door to the park. She and her three kids are regular visitors. They recently had a picnic lunch at the park.
“Whenever it’s a pretty day and not too windy, we come here and home-school the older ones,” she said, “and then the baby can play.”
Burkeen said she remembers having fun at Wall Doxey when she was a kid, so she’s glad to share it with her children.
“I used to be a Girl Scout,” she said. “We would come and clear the trail here, and use the group camp for our camp outs.”
Yeager said several large groups come every year to use the same area. One group brings more than 100 karate students for eight days in the summer.
That group and others spend at lot of time at the park’s large field, which is suitable for practicing karate forms, as well as playing football, baseball and other games.
The park also has a pair of disc golf courses.
“We have two tournaments here a year,” Yeager said. “We’ve got a good many people who come out for them, one in the spring, one in the fall.”
A fishing rodeo is scheduled for March 5. The lake will be stocked, and kids can fish for fun and prizes.
The lake has bass, crappie, catfish and bream, and Yeager said bream season is a particularly good time to cast a line.
The park is home to deer and turkey, as well as plenty of squirrels. Geese appreciate the lake. An eagle has made a nest on the far side, but sightings are hit and miss.
“We have one little duck. We call him Ugly Duck. He’s been here about 10 years. You can feed him by hand,” Yeager said. “In the cabins if the door’s open, he’ll go right in. He’s an ugly little creature, but he’s like a pet. We feed him all the time.”
A nature trail goes around the lake, and passes some ruins. Yeager suspects they’re from Lumpkin Mill, but she’s not sure. It might be a good place for an amateur archeologist, though metal detectors aren’t allowed.
Mantee resident Randy Mann, his brother, Ricky, and their crew have been staying in a camper at the park because of work. They’re helping clean up after the tornado that hit Holly Springs before Christmas.
After a busy day, they return to the camper and let the accumulated stress slip away.
“It’s nice here,” Randy Mann said. “We usually sit out by the fire.”
“We all talk at night,” Ricky Mann said. “That’s what you’ve got to do when you’re away from home.”
Peace and quiet isn’t for everybody, but it’s available at Wall Doxey State Park for anyone who’s interested.
scott.morris@journalinc.com
Twitter: @mscottmorris