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 , chiefly near urban areas in the United States. 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.
Name State Now Current Name(s) Remarks Acadia Recreational Demonstration Area Maine Federal Acadia National Park Alexander H. Stephens Recreational Demonstration Area Georgia State A.H. Stephens State Historic Park State park extensionBadlands Recreational Demonstration Area South Dakota Federal Badlands National Park Beach Pond Recreational Demonstration Area Rhode Island State Beach Pond State Park Bear Brook Recreational Demonstration Area New Hampshire State Bear Brook State Park Blue Knob Recreational Demonstration Area Pennsylvania State Blue Knob State Park Blue Ridge Recreational Demonstration Area North Carolina, Virginia Federal Blue Ridge Parkway Bull Run Recreational Demonstration Area Virginia Federal Manassas National Battlefield Park Camden Hills Recreational Demonstration Area Maine State Camden Hills State Park Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area Maryland Both Cunningham Falls State Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, Camp David near Baltimore and Washington D.C., part became a retreat for the U.S. PresidentCheraw Recreational Demonstration Area South Carolina State Cheraw State Park Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area Virginia Federal Prince William Forest Park In the greater Washington D.C. area. Four camps are separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Goodwill Historic District, Chopawamsic RDA Camp 1 Mawavi Historic District, Chopawamsic RDA Camp 2 Orenda/SP-26 Historic District, Chopawamsic RDA Camp 3 Pleasant Historic District, Chopawamsic RDA Camp 4Crabtree Creek Recreational Demonstration Area North Carolina State William B. Umstead State Park Cuivre River Recreational Demonstration Area Missouri State Cuivre River State Park Custer Recreational Demonstration Area South Dakota State Custer State Park State park extensionFalls Creek Recreational Demonstration Area Tennessee State Fall Creek Falls State Park State park extensionFrench Creek Recreational Demonstration Area Pennsylvania Both Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, French Creek State Park Hard Labor Creek Recreational Demonstration Area Georgia State Hard Labor Creek State Park Hickory Run Recreational Demonstration Area Pennsylvania State Hickory Run State Park Kings Mountain Recreational Demonstration Area South Carolina BothKings Mountain National Military Park, Kings Mountain State Park Lake Guernsey Recreational Demonstration Area Wyoming State Guernsey State Park State park extensionLake Murray Recreational Demonstration Area" Oklahoma State Lake Murray State Park Lake of the Ozarks Recreational Demonstration Area". Missouri State Lake of the Ozarks State Park Laurel Hill Recreational Demonstration Area Pennsylvania State Laurel Hill State Park Mendocino Woodland Recreational Demonstration Area California State Mendocino Woodlands State Park National Historic LandmarkMontgomery Bell Recreational Demonstration Area Tennessee State Montgomery Bell State Park Montserrat Recreational Demonstration Area Missouri State Knob Noster State Park Oak Mountain Recreational Demonstration Area Alabama State Oak Mountain State Park Otter Creek Recreational Demonstration Area Kentucky Local Otter Creek Park Pere Marquette Recreational Demonstration Area Illinois State Pere Marquette State Park Pine Mountain Recreational Demonstration Area Georgia State Franklin 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 extensionRaccoon Creek Recreational Demonstration Area Pennsylvania State Raccoon Creek State Park Shelby Forest Recreational Demonstration Area Tennessee State Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park Shenandoah Recreational Demonstration Area Virginia Federal Shenandoah National Park Silver Creek Recreational Demonstration Area Oregon State Silver Falls State Park St. Croix Recreational Demonstration Area Minnesota State St. Croix State Park Now a National Historic LandmarkSwift Creek Recreational Demonstration Area Virginia State Pocahontas State Park Roosevelt Recreational Demonstration Area North Dakota Federal Theodore Roosevelt National ParkVersailles Recreational Demonstration Area Indiana State Versailles State Park Waterloo Recreational Demonstration Area Michigan State Waterloo State Recreation Area Waysides, South Carolina Recreational Demonstration Area South Carolina Waysides, Virginia Recreational Demonstration Area Virginia White Sands Recreational Demonstration Area New Mexico Federal White Sands National Park Winamac Recreational Demonstration Area Indiana State Winamac Fish and Wildlife Area, Tippecanoe River State Park Yankee Springs Recreational Demonstration Area Michigan State Yankee 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