The Civilian Conservation Corps at Loy Park
Denison, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Grayson County officials became aware of a growing need for a public recreation facility for the area's approximately 65,500 residents in 1930. Three years later the federal government agreed to create a small lake on land provided by the county. The county commissioners court purchased a site 2.5 miles southwest of Denison in October 1933 and secured the services of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a federal public works program, to construct the dam and build a recreational park. In early November, 200 men from Wisconsin who comprised CCC Company 857 arrived in Grayson County to begin construction. Many men returned home in April 1934 at the end of the six-month contract. Though it was unusual to employ CCC workers in their own areas, 48 Grayson County men were enlisted to replenish the supply of workers in Company 857. By 1934 the CCC men had created a recreation center with a lake, a roadway, 13 culvert bridges, six "battleship" picnic units, a baseball diamond, and a partially completed central tower of native stone. Initially called Grayson County Park, the facility was renamed Judge Jake L. Loy State Park in 1934 in an effort to secure state assistance in completing the park. The commissioners court retrieved custody of the park in 1937 after no state maintenance had occurred. Under the supervision of the county commissioners court, the facility created by the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps program continues to be enjoyed by area citizens. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As the Great Depression deepened, Grayson County partnered with the federal government to build a public lake and park, calling in the Civilian Conservation Corps to do the work. In late 1933, some 200 young men of CCC Company 857—many from Wisconsin, later joined by local recruits—arrived to raise a dam, roads, culvert bridges, stone picnic units, and a ballfield. Renamed for Judge Jake Loy, the park has served area families ever since.
Why it matters
Loy Park is a tangible legacy of the New Deal, when the CCC put a desperate generation to work building public spaces that outlasted the Depression.
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Related people
- · Jake L. Loy
Related events
- · Great Depression
- · Civilian Conservation Corps
Themes & tags
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