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Improvements to Johnny Morris’ Dogwood Canyon Nature Park include a reclaimed grist mill and a 130-foot man-made waterfall.
Improvements to Johnny Morris’ Dogwood Canyon Nature Park include a reclaimed grist mill and a 130-foot man-made waterfall.

Dogwood Canyon to add mill, restaurant this fall

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A fully functional reclaimed grist mill and a 130-foot man-made waterfall is under development at the 10,000-acre Dogwood Canyon Nature Park owned by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris.

The multistory structure with a general store and dining room will greet visitors entering the Lampe park on State Highway 86, about 17 miles west of Morris’ Big Cedar Lodge near the Arkansas state line.

“That’ll be a sense of arrival for the guest and a place for supper and where you check in for bikes or tram tours,” Morris said in a July interview. “We’re also building a little nature center for kids and students.”

Bass Pro spokeswoman Shelby Stephenson said an enclosed timber-frame bridge over Little Indian Creek would connect the general store and dining room built with reclaimed barn wood from the mid-1800s. An outdoor dining patio would overlook the waterfall.

“It’s a reception area and we’ll have a restaurant there,” Morris said. “We bought a very old working mill, and we’ll make flour and things.”

The estimated project cost is $6 million, according to a Stone County building permit.

Split between two phases, the bulk of the work by Nabholz Construction Corp. is targeted for completion in October – “about the time tourist season is over,” Morris said. “It’ll be good for next spring.”

Stephenson said Phase II, which is expected to be complete in March and bring the project to 20,000 square feet, comprises a covered walkway, porte-cochere, bike barn, nature center, classrooms and restrooms with a shower house. The project was designed by Atlanta-based Summerour and Associates Architects.

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