This place inspired the establishment of Petit Jean State Park and the entire Arkansas State Parks system. Dr. T. W. Hardison, a longtime resident of the mountain considered the father of Arkansas State Parks, loved Petit Jean's beauty and history and worked to preserve many areas now within the park. In 1923, his efforts were rewarded when the Arkansas Legislature and Governor Thomas McRae established Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas's first state park. The original area set aside was an 80-acre tract just downstream from Cedar Falls, one of the most identifiable and most photographed places in Arkansas and the heart of Petit Jean Mountain.