Park Closes at Dark
Stop by for a quick and fun adventure on the weekend or maybe some play after work.
In 1975, Noe’s Rest Park was donated to the Harrison County Parks by a former governor of Louisiana, and boyhood resident of Harrison County, James A. Noe. The park is a memorial to his mother and grandparents who had owned a 200 acre farm surrounding the site of the park. Noe’s grandfather, John McRae, was a riverboat captain on the Ohio River during the late 1800’s.
The Rest Park was a roadside rest park built by the State back during the era when old dam 43 was located at the end of 111. After the dam was taken out INDOT gave the property back to the McRae-Noe family that formerly owned the land. Governor James A. Noe of Lousiana, a confident of Huey Long, was born there and was who the land was given back to. Governor Noe deeded it to Harrison County Parks in honor of Captain John McRae, his Grandfather. Below is a link on the history of Governor Noe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Noe
The park was home to the second largest burr oak tree in the U.S. until 1984, when at over 200 years old, it crashed to the ground from old age. When alive, the magnificent tree stood 72 feet tall and was more than 20 feet in diameter.
The park is situated beneath a bluff near the Ohio River. At one time, the park acted as a rest area for travelers and workers who traversed State Route 111 to the Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam #43 located to the south.
