When President Franklin D Roosevelt took office in 1933, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression. He immediately began programs designed to provide relief. One of the first programs he implemented was the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC. Young men would be hired by the government to work for the public good. They would be fed, housed, taught a skill, and paid $30.00 a month, $25.00 of which they would send back to their families.
Mission Tejas - A CCC built repreoduction of an early Spanish Mission
The Governor of Texas saw the potential and requested men for her State. Between 1933 and the beginning of WWII, over 50,000 CCC enrollees served in Texas, and helped to create the Texas State Park system. Of those early CCC parks , 29 still remain.
Brownwood State Park
In many cases the CCC built the parks from the ground up, creating roads, buildings and dams. The worked as much as possible with local materials, often using stone from the park.
The Spillway at Cleburne State Park
Many of those buildings still stand today, a testament to their skill and artistry. CCC architecture had a distinctive style, that blended well with the natural setting. The buildings usually feel like an organic part of the park, rather than a modern intrusion. So much of the character of these parks comes from these structures.
The Bathhouse at Balmorhea State Park
Ren and I love this legacy of the CCC and make a point to visit the remaining structures and appreciate their beauty and utility. These structures are not museum pieces but are still in active use today.
The CCC Built Swimming Pool at Balmorhea State Park
Texas is not unique in its CCC legacy. Wherever we travel we find parks, buildings, bridges, and lakes, built by the CCC and still in use today. There are probably examples near you. Take a moment to visit one of the parks, and enjoy this lasting legacy.
The Spring at Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma
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Thanks so much.
You are most welcome @xcountytravelers!
That was such a great program and I am so happy that the parks are still here...
Us too. There were so many families affected by it. My grand father was and he had so much pride telling us about it.
Ren
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It is very beautiful how the peak of the cloud in the Texas sky happened to be centered above the building which is itself between the two trees. That photograph is a postcard, a poster—I hope for you to send it to the Balmorhea State Park; I wouldn't be surprised if they would like to use that in their promotional material.
That is so kind! I will make sure @scottf see's this!
Thank You. Balmorhea is a very photogenic park.
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Interesting and informative. Thank you!
You are welcome, glad you stopped by.
Ren
One thing we do have here in Texas is some beautiful parks and you are absolutely correct about how the buildings fit in rather than look like they were dropped in from some other land or planet. Great work showcasing Texas.
I do miss the Texas State Parks. That is truly one thing Texas has done 100% right. I think its the CCC parks we like best though. Sounds like you are from Texas.
Thanks so much sor taking tome to read our blog post.
Ren
Yes, that would be correct, small little town just north of Houston; Spring, TX.
You are most welcome on my reading of your blog, always enjoy seeing the places you feature.
I liked Spring. It's such a nice little place. You are there in the area where a lot of the Texas Republic history happened towards the end. We still have to visit San Jacinto, but that will come along.
Ren
Yes, if you are talking about Old Town Spring it is a nice little place, the rest of the Spring area has really changed over the last 15 years and has become nothing more than a suburb of Houston now with subdivisions and shopping centers everywhere.
Very little farm land left out here anymore, cattle and horses are damn near extinct now in this area and they used to be everywhere.
Hi, @xcountrytravelers!
Visiting new places and learning new things by observation is called 3D learning. It lasts lifetime on the memory due to the emotions attached to the snaps which the mind captures.
These photos seem similar to me but I have never been in foreign land. May be it is similar to the fort of an Indian king I visited.
Thanks for sharing!
@questionthetrend
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I had no clue @questionthetrend! Maybe that is why I get such a high from the travel and experiencing new things. I know that the times I am learning this way and doing it a lot, time seems to slow down. It is the best thing at slowing the aging process.
I wonder why they seem similar to you. They are our original photos so they aren't copied and they are in Texas! Definitely a foreign land! haha. The building structure is very old and what people have done all over the world. It is usually man-made cement with local stones for the bridges, roads and some structures. That is such a cool thought actually.
Thanks so much for stopping and spending time with us.
Ren
I have no doubt that these are original pics. Sorry if my comment felt otherwise.
You inspired me to travel more often.
Thanks
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I have no doubt that these are original pics. Sorry if my comment felt otherwise.
You inspired me to travel more often.
Thanks
Posted using Partiko Android
whoaa.. what a wonderful legacy that the CCC left for the generation, never knew that there's wonderful wthings like that in Texas, because from the movie I watched, there's always about the cowboy and dry bored plains. thanks for sharing @xcountytravelers, it is always nice to read something new to broad my views.
I am truly amazed that Texas had a female governor back in that time. I am totally in awe of that.
Yeah and she was assume. She got things done.
Texas has some great state parks. I didn't know many of them were built due to this program. Maybe a blog post that highlights all of them. The Brownwood park is awesome.
Oh, I just loved Brownwood. We were able to do the hike and the CCC sitting areas were amazing. Do you get to visit the Texas State Parks much?
Ren
Not any more. I live in Pennsylvania.
Well, at least you were able to experience some of them at one point. Have you visited any of the Pennsylvania State Parks? We love to visit state parks and I love hearing the good things about them.
Ren
I've been to Codorus State Park a number of times. It's mostly a camping and boating area. And Gifford Pinchot, which has a great swimming area. It's also good for camping and boating. The one we like is in Maryland. Catoctin is run by the National Park Service, but near Catoctin is Cunningham Falls. They have a great hiking trail, and the falls are beautiful. We were going to do a little hiking last month--my 11-year-old grandson loves hiking--but the weather prevented it, so we have plans to hit a few state parks in our area (near Gettysburg) and do some hiking. I've got a friend who is a forester and managing one of the parks in the area and he's offered to guide us on a few of the trails. I can hardly wait for spring now.
Oh, wow. Sounds wonderful! I will have to look up the parks! We are hoping to do some Eastern counties in 2019, but don't think we will be getting quite that far. The plan is the Blueridge Parkway for the fall colors next year.
Ren
Blueridge Parkway is beautiful. You'll love it.
Hello @xcountytravelers, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!
Thank you so very much! WE do appreciate all the work you do.
Ren