The Recreational Demonstration Area program (also known as the Recreation Demonstration Area program) was a National Park Service program during the 1930s and early 1940s that built forty-six public parks in twenty-four states on 397,000 acres (1,606.6 km2), chiefly near urban areas in the United States.[1] The NPS used labor from a variety of Great Depression federal relief programs, chiefly the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration, to build recreational demonstration areas. By the end of World War II, the recreational demonstration areas had all either become National Park Service units or been given to their states for use as state parks.

The goals of the Recreation Demonstration Area program were typically threefold: 1) to develop land as a park; 2) to provide employment; and 3) to create new parks near urban areas. For the first goal, in some cases the land developed was purchased from sub-optimal farmers, providing some of the poorest farmers with relief. In other cases, state lands (in state forests or parks) were developed. In the second case, the CCC and WPA laborers received payment, and in the CCC, room and board. Finally, the residents of nearby urban areas benefited from new nearby recreation areas.

List

The following is a list of the forty six former recreational demonstration areas.[1]

Name   State   Now   Current Name(s)   Remarks  
Acadia Recreational Demonstration Area[1][2]MaineFederalAcadia National Park
Alexander H. Stephens Recreational Demonstration Area[3]GeorgiaStateA.H. Stephens State Historic ParkState park extension
Badlands Recreational Demonstration Area[4]South DakotaFederalBadlands National Park
Beach Pond Recreational Demonstration AreaRhode IslandStateBeach Pond State Park
Bear Brook Recreational Demonstration AreaNew HampshireStateBear Brook State Park
Blue Knob Recreational Demonstration Area[5]PennsylvaniaStateBlue Knob State Park
Blue Ridge Recreational Demonstration AreaNorth Carolina, VirginiaFederalBlue Ridge Parkway
Bull Run Recreational Demonstration Area[1][6]VirginiaFederalManassas National Battlefield Park
Camden Hills Recreational Demonstration AreaMaineStateCamden Hills State Park
Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area[1][7]MarylandBothCunningham Falls State Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, Camp Davidnear Baltimore and Washington D.C., part became a retreat for the U.S. President
Cheraw Recreational Demonstration AreaSouth CarolinaStateCheraw State Park
Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area[1][8]VirginiaFederalPrince William Forest ParkIn the greater Washington D.C. area. Four camps are separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
Crabtree Creek Recreational Demonstration Area[9]North CarolinaStateWilliam B. Umstead State Park
Cuivre River Recreational Demonstration AreaMissouriStateCuivre River State Park
Custer Recreational Demonstration AreaSouth DakotaStateCuster State ParkState park extension
Falls Creek Recreational Demonstration Area[10]TennesseeStateFall Creek Falls State ParkState park extension
French Creek Recreational Demonstration Area[1][2][5]PennsylvaniaBothHopewell Furnace National Historic Site, French Creek State Park
Hard Labor Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaGeorgiaStateHard Labor Creek State Park
Hickory Run Recreational Demonstration Area[5]PennsylvaniaStateHickory Run State Park
Kings Mountain Recreational Demonstration AreaSouth CarolinaBothKings Mountain National Military Park, Kings Mountain State Park
Lake Guernsey Recreational Demonstration AreaWyomingStateGuernsey State ParkState park extension
Lake Murray Recreational Demonstration Area"[11]OklahomaStateLake Murray State Park
Lake of the Ozarks Recreational Demonstration Area".[12]MissouriStateLake of the Ozarks State Park
Laurel Hill Recreational Demonstration Area[5]PennsylvaniaStateLaurel Hill State Park
Mendocino Woodland Recreational Demonstration Area[13]CaliforniaStateMendocino Woodlands State ParkNational Historic Landmark
Montgomery Bell Recreational Demonstration Area[10]TennesseeStateMontgomery Bell State Park
Montserrat Recreational Demonstration Area[14]MissouriStateKnob Noster State Park
Oak Mountain Recreational Demonstration AreaAlabamaStateOak Mountain State Park
Otter Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaKentuckyLocalOtter Creek Park
Pere Marquette Recreational Demonstration AreaIllinoisStatePere Marquette State Park
Pine Mountain Recreational Demonstration Area[15]GeorgiaStateFranklin Roosevelt State Park (western half)Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the park often during its construction (his Little White House at Warm Springs is in the eastern half of the modern park). State park extension
Raccoon Creek Recreational Demonstration Area[5]PennsylvaniaStateRaccoon Creek State Park
Shelby Forest Recreational Demonstration Area[10]TennesseeStateMeeman-Shelby Forest State Park
Shenandoah Recreational Demonstration Area[1][2]VirginiaFederalShenandoah National Park
Silver Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaOregonStateSilver Falls State Park
St. Croix Recreational Demonstration Area[16]MinnesotaStateSt. Croix State ParkNow a National Historic Landmark
Swift Creek Recreational Demonstration Area[17]VirginiaStatePocahontas State Park
Roosevelt Recreational Demonstration Area[1]North DakotaFederalTheodore Roosevelt National Park
Versailles Recreational Demonstration AreaIndianaStateVersailles State Park
Waterloo Recreational Demonstration AreaMichiganStateWaterloo State Recreation Area
Waysides, South Carolina Recreational Demonstration AreaSouth Carolina
Waysides, Virginia Recreational Demonstration AreaVirginia
White Sands Recreational Demonstration Area[1][2]New MexicoFederalWhite Sands National Park
Winamac Recreational Demonstration Area[18]IndianaStateWinamac Fish and Wildlife Area, Tippecanoe River State Park
Yankee Springs Recreational Demonstration AreaMichiganStateYankee Springs Recreation Area

History

There are five former recreational demonstration areas in Pennsylvania, which became part of one unit of the National Park Service, and five state parks in 1945 and 1946. There are five former recreational demonstration areas in Virginia, four of which are now part of the National Park Service. Two recreational demonstration areas were built in Missouri and are now state parks. There are three former recreational demonstration areas in Tennessee, all are now state parks.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The National Parks:Shaping the System" (PDF). National Park Service. 2005. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "United States Code: Title 16 Conservation: CHAPTER 1 - NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES; SUBCHAPTER LXIV - RECREATIONAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS: Section 459s - Lands for certain projects added to certain projects". The Oklahoma State Courts Network. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  3. "Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites: Histories". Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  4. "BADLANDS NP: History of Badlands National Monument: The Depression Years". National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "The CCC Years". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on February 5, 2004. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  6. "National Park Service Chronological Timeline: 1930-1939". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  7. "Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area". National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  8. "Chopawamsic Recreation Demonstration Area". National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  9. "Raleigh: A Capital City: Crabtree Creek Recreational Demonstration Area". National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  10. 1 2 3 "TENNESSEE: A GUIDE TO THE STATE". Compiled and Written by the Federal Writers' Project of the Work Projects Administration for the State of Tennessee. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  11. "National Register of Historic Places: Oklahoma - Love County". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  12. "National Register of Historic Places: Missouri - Camden County". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  13. "National Historic Landmarks Program: Mendocino Woodlands Recreational Demonstration Area". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2007-03-18. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  14. "State Historic Preservation Office: Johnson County". Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 2007-02-13. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  15. "National Historic Landmarks Program: Pine Mountain State Park". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  16. "National Historic Landmarks Program: St. Croix Recreational Demonstration Area". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  17. "The Regional Review: VIRGINIA NATURAL HISTORY INSTITUTE". National Park Service. April–May 1940. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  18. "Fish and Wildlife Areas: Winamac". Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife. Archived from the original on 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
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