In 1933, the United States was under the grip of the worst economic depression in its history. With 500,000 unemployed young men, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933–1945) introduced a social program to alleviate suffering for the nation’s people and her resources: the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), established on April 5, 1933, and disbanded July 1, 1942.

During these years, camps of young CCC men, under the supervision of the U.S. Labor and War Departments, banded together in all forty-eight states to improve and protect natural resources such as soil, forests, and national and state parks. In the process, young men improved themselves by acquiring education as well as vocational and professional skills that served them well after they left the CCC.

Arguably, the greatest benefit for Arkansas during the CCC’s tenure in the state was the development and enhancement of the following six state parks with CCC-built cabins still in use today: Buffalo River National Park (1938), Crowley’s Ridge State Park (1933), Devil’s Den State Park (1933), Lake Catherine State Park (1935), Mount Nebo State Park (1928), and Petit Jean State Park (1923).

Buffalo River National Park, its site selected for the region’s natural beauty, was established on the southern section of the Ozark Plateau. The State Parks Commission touted the park as a fishing headquarters. CCC projects consisted of establishing campsites, cabins, restrooms, picnic areas, and shelters.

Crowley’s Ridge State Park was built on the site of an 1821 U.S. federal government land grant to Benjamin Crowley, a veteran of the War of 1812. The park was developed on the western edge of the 450-550 foot ridge in Greene County, about halfway between the cities of Jonesboro and Paragould. The CCC crew built a three-thousand seat amphitheater, park roads, foot trails, bridges, cabins, a pavilion/bathhouse, picnic sites, campgrounds, roads, and a 300-foot dam for the existing recreational lake.

Devil’s Den State Park, located in Arkansas’s northwestern Washington County, acquired its name due to the constant roaring in Lee Creek Valley’s main cave. CCC men built roads, a dam, a swimming area, large pavilion, hiking trails, picnic areas, a stone dam on Lee Creek, stone cabins, campgrounds, offices, and a restaurant.

Lake Catherine State Park originated from the generosity of Harvey Couch, founder of the Arkansas Power and Light Company, when in August 1935 he donated 2,048 acres of Lake Catherine shoreline for a state park. The park is located in Hot Spring County, surrounded by the Ouachita Mountains. The CCC built picnic areas and fish-rearing ponds for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Known as the “Fishing Village,” the park boasted boat docks and other facilities for fishermen.

Mount Nebo State Park, located near Dardanelle, Yell County, benefitted from the vision of far-sighted Dardanelle businessmen in early 1933 when they made the push to bring a CCC camp to the existing state park. CCC projects included roads, foot trails, cottages, and underbrush removal. In addition, the CCC built recreational facilities such as amphitheaters, lakes, bridges, swimming pools, a lodge, and a dancing pavilion.

Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas’s first and arguably its most popular park, is located in Conway County. The park boasts Mather Lodge, one of the most significant CCC structures in the state. In addition, the CCC built a bathhouse and bathing beach, boat dock, parking lot, water and sewage systems, water treatment plants, park roads, and hiking and horseback-riding trails. In 1936, CCC Veterans Company 1781 won second place in the Arkansas district for the most nearly ideal camp.

Today, these Arkansas state parks boast modern facilities and easy access. Yet, the conservation and workmanship of the 1930s CCC men are still evident and admired. For those interested in taking an Arkansas historical journey as well as a natural beauty journey, these parks will fulfill both agendas.