The CCC at Bastrop State Park
Bastrop, Bastrop County, Texas
Marker Inscription
President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the U. S. Congress, as part of the New Deal efforts to offer unemployed workers jobs on public projects, created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in March 1933. Due to decades of lumbering activities, Bastrop County's "Lost Pines" forest was a prime candidate for the CCC's reforestation program and a logical site for the establishment of a park. Two hundred recruits of the CCC's Company #1805 arrived in Bastrop in November 1933. With the help of Austin architect Arthur Fehr and a group of "local experienced men" or L. E. M.s, the men worked to create a state recreational park in the forest. Built of native materials in the "NPS Rustic" style promoted by the National Park service, the park structures, particularly the central refectory, reflect the expert craftsmanship of the CCC. A second CCC company, #1811, arrived in November 1934 to assist with reforestation work and development of nearby Buescher State Park. Additional activities included making native wood furniture for this and other Texas state parks, and building roads, trails, bridges, and small lakes. CCC work at Bastrop ended with the park substantially complete in 1939. (1991)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Created by Franklin Roosevelt and Congress in 1933 to put unemployed men to work, the Civilian Conservation Corps sent Company #1805 to Bastrop that November to reforest the logged-over "Lost Pines" and build a state park. Working in native stone and timber in the rustic National Park Service style, the recruits — aided by local experienced men and architect Arthur Fehr — crafted the park's refectory, roads, trails, bridges, and lakes, finishing the work in 1939. A second company later extended the effort to nearby Buescher State Park.
Why it matters
Bastrop's park is a lasting monument to the New Deal's fusion of unemployment relief, conservation, and enduring public craftsmanship.
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Related people
- · Franklin D. Roosevelt
- · Arthur Fehr
Related events
- · New Deal
- · Civilian Conservation Corps
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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