The title of “Father of the Ouachita Trail” was awarded to Mr. Arthur P. Cowley, former Public Information Officer for the Ouachita National Forest. Mr. Cawley graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry and began working for the U.S. Forest Service in 1954. He also received a Master of Education from the University of Arkansas in 1978. In the early 1970s, Mr. Cawley was instrumental in developing the Forest Service’s plan for the Ouachita Trail. As a recreation staff specialist with the U.S. Forest Service in Hot Springs, he assisted in the early stages of construction of the Ouachita Trail. He was involved in planning and coordinating trail construction in the forest from 1965 to 1979, when he moved to California as a public information officer and later became the Big Tree Coordinator for the Sequoia National Forest.
During his time in Arkansas, Mr. Cawley was president of the Society of American Foresters, president of the Arkansas Recreation and Parks Association in 1977-78, and vice chairman of the Arkansas Trails Council. He also helped develop the Teaching Resources for Environmental Education (TREE) and received numerous awards, including the Arkansas Wildlife Federation’s Forester of the Year award in 1974. He retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 1988.
Mr. Cawley died on March 4, 2010, just one year before the 40th anniversary of the completion of the initial sections and opening of the trail. An Arkansas Trails Day event was held on Saturday, May 7, 2011, at the original eastern terminus (34°52′17″N 92°49′15″W) at Lake Sylvia Trailhead in Perry County, Arkansas. Mr. Cowley’s contributions were honored with a bench and plaque. His surviving wife Maureen and numerous family members were in attendance.
Construction of the trail began in May 1971 and was completed by 1981. Jim Rawlins completed the first documented hike of the Ouachita Trail in 1983. He was also the author of the first trail guidebook, The Ouachita National Recreation Trail Hiker’s Guide.