From prehistoric rock art to a 20th-century battleship, Texas history is ready to stir your imagination and leave you with a greater appreciation of the people, places and events that shaped this state. Discover the people and the places that helped make Texas what it is today and gain new insight into where it may be headed in the future.

A legacy in stone:
Civilian Conservation Corp

Some 70-plus years ago, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) forever made an impact on state, city and federal parks with the mobilization of construction camps across the nation. Under a plan outlined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, camps were created to provide work for hundreds of thousands of young American men during the Great Depression, and to build much needed infrastructure at parks and public lands around the country.

At Texas State Parks and State Historic Sites, the CCC built log and stone structures for picnic pavilions, bridges, dams, group meeting space, overnight shelters and even cabins and lodges, many made from the raw materials found in the parks themselves. Today many of these original structures not only provide visitors with a living-history reminder of decades past, but still provide comfortable shelter and flood control.

• Find a Park or Historic Sites
• State Park Reservations