LEESBURG — A crowd of over 150 state and county officials, as well as interested local residents, gathered atop Lookout Mountain near Leesburg Wednesday at the overlook known by many as "Little Rock City."

Officially titled Cherokee Rock Village, the scenic attraction has been owned by the county for over a generation. Earlier this year, a new Parks and Recreation Board, led by members Scooter Howell, Gary Banister, Henry Wright, Virgil Adcock, and Linda Prater decided the county had waited long enough for development of the site to begin. (Daphne Rogers recently was appointed to the Board after Prater resigned for health reasons.)

The group set to work in 2009. By March 2010, the initial aspect of the park's expansion, which changed slightly as the months progressed, had been developed and budgeted.

Aspects of “Phase I” include an entrance gate to allow for regulated access to the park, fully-functioning restroom facilities – an amenity that the area currently lacks – as well as camping areas, picnic spots, and walking trails.

Water and power lines are expected to wind their way onto the top of Lookout Mountain over the winter.

Among the local dignitaries who spoke at Wednesday's groundbreaking were County Commissioner Kimball Parker, Rep. Richard Lindsey, Alabama Department of Environmental and Community Affairs representative Rob Grant, Steve Northcutt of the Nature Conservancy, Howell, the Board president, and Probate Judge Melvyn Salter.

"This Commission made a commitment to make this park a reality," Grant said, adding that the park has natural beauty and a level organization behind it that provide a unique opportunity for success.

"This park has been used for many things over the years," Salter said, referring to 30 years of vandalism, abuse and general neglect by the county government. "Now, it's going to be used for the right things."