3rd Floor Rotunda Gallery
Texas State Parks and the Civilian Conservation Corps
February 1, 2013 - June 30, 2013
This past summer, the Bullock Museum converted the 3rd floor Rotunda into a gallery space where other state agencies with amazing collections could display their holdings. The second exhibit to be installed in this space comes from the collections of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). The Civilian Conservation Corps in Texas exhibit opens on February 1 and highlights the parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1933-1942.
In collaboration with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the Bullock Texas State History Museum will open Texas State Parks and the Civilian Conservation Corps on February 1 in the 3rd Floor Rotunda Gallery. Photographs, maps, postcards, newsletters, and original furniture will highlight the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the parks built between 1933-1942.
In the 1930s, the United States was in the throes of a financial depression. Businesses were not hiring many young Americans lacked the skills or experience they needed to get the few jobs that did exist. When Franklin Roosevelt became president in 1933, he created the CCC to provide jobs and training to men between the ages of 17 and 25 and also out-of-work World War I veterans.
The Texas legislature had created the Texas State Parks Board in 1923, but declined to fund the development of land into state parks. Within days of Roosevelt's creation of the CCC, Texas Governor Miriam Ferguson submitted a proposal to the federal government requesting funding for 26 CCC projects -- which led to 97 work camps across the state.
Although most camps were devoted to soil-conservation and erosion-control projects, about 27 camps were responsible for the development of state parks. They constructed roads and bridges, built cabins, prepared hiking trails and campsites, and fabricated furniture.
Today, TPWD manages 29 CCC-built parks that form the core of the state park system. Many of the original CCC buildings and features are still in existence and continue to provide recreational opportunities for Texans.
