Recreational Demonstration Area


The Recreational 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 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 Remarks
Acadia Recreational Demonstration AreaMaineFederalAcadia National Park
Alexander H. Stephens Recreational Demonstration AreaGeorgiaStateA.H. Stephens State Historic ParkState park extension
Badlands Recreational Demonstration AreaSouth 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 AreaPennsylvaniaStateBlue Knob State Park
Blue Ridge Recreational Demonstration AreaNorth Carolina, VirginiaFederalBlue Ridge Parkway
Bull Run Recreational Demonstration AreaVirginiaFederalManassas National Battlefield Park
Camden Hills Recreational Demonstration AreaMaineStateCamden Hills State Park
Catoctin Recreational Demonstration AreaMarylandBothCunningham 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 AreaVirginiaFederalPrince William Forest ParkIn 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 4
Crabtree Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaNorth 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 AreaTennesseeStateFall Creek Falls State ParkState park extension
French Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaPennsylvaniaBothHopewell Furnace National Historic Site, French Creek State Park
Hard Labor Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaGeorgiaStateHard Labor Creek State Park
Hickory Run Recreational Demonstration AreaPennsylvaniaStateHickory 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"OklahomaStateLake Murray State Park
Lake of the Ozarks Recreational Demonstration Area".MissouriStateLake of the Ozarks State Park
Laurel Hill Recreational Demonstration AreaPennsylvaniaStateLaurel Hill State Park
Mendocino Woodland Recreational Demonstration AreaCaliforniaStateMendocino Woodlands State ParkNational Historic Landmark
Montgomery Bell Recreational Demonstration AreaTennesseeStateMontgomery Bell State Park
Montserrat Recreational Demonstration AreaMissouriStateKnob 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 AreaGeorgiaStateFranklin Roosevelt State Park Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the park often during its construction. State park extension
Raccoon Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaPennsylvaniaStateRaccoon Creek State Park
Shelby Forest Recreational Demonstration AreaTennesseeStateMeeman-Shelby Forest State Park
Shenandoah Recreational Demonstration AreaVirginiaFederalShenandoah National Park
Silver Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaOregonStateSilver Falls State Park
St. Croix Recreational Demonstration AreaMinnesotaStateSt. Croix State ParkNow a National Historic Landmark
Swift Creek Recreational Demonstration AreaVirginiaStatePocahontas State Park
Roosevelt Recreational Demonstration AreaNorth 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 AreaNew MexicoFederalWhite Sands National Park
Winamac Recreational Demonstration AreaIndianaStateWinamac 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.