Since it opened in the 1930s, Devil’s Den State Park has attracted generations of Arkansans for its natural beauty. So much of what people love about the park, though, was carefully planned and made by the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps. They built the cabins and laid stone steps on the trails. They aligned roads with the landscape to create dramatic vistas, and even strategically cleared trees to improve the views.
“The CCC came to Arkansas during a crucial time when state parks were just getting established. They were instrumental in building the infrastructure of key parks like Devil’s Den and Petit Jean,” said Angie Payne, principal investigator on the project, which was led by the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas.
CAST, in collaboration with the U of A Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, has documented the CCC’s work at Devil’s Den in a new website, ccc.cast.uark.edu, with a detailed history of the park supplemented with maps, documents and archival photos.
“The Civilian Conservation Corps not only built the foundation for which Arkansas State Parks is known, but also established a legacy of craftsmanship and environmental stewardship that continues to inspire us today. This new website by CAST and the Fay Jones School brings their story to life, showcasing how their work has shaped beloved places like Devil’s Den State Park,” said Shea Lewis, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.
The website is part of a project that aims to eventually document all CCC-built parks in Arkansas. The work was completed in close coordination with Arkansas State Parks and was funded by a grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council.
“It’s a resource that not only honors the past but also informs how we preserve and adapt these treasures for future generations,” Lewis said.
DOCUMENTING THE PAST
Hundreds of young men arrived at Devil’s Den in 1933. They had struggled during the Great Depression, but as members of the CCC they would be fed, housed and paid $30 a month. They set to work immediately clearing roads and creating the park.
In an illustrated, multimedia history or “story-map,” visitors to the website can learn about “parkitecture,” the design style for America’s state and national parks that uses local stone and timber. They can listen to a video interview, recorded in 2003, with a man who was part of the Devil’s Den CCC crew. They can see how workers built the Lee Creek dam or explore a 3-D model of the overlook shelter.
In another section, an interactive map lets visitors explore Devil’s Den across space and time. Long-vanished CCC camp buildings are marked on the map next to structures that still exist today. Click on a building, and a window appears with a description, historic and contemporary photos, blueprints and related documents.
“One of the more unique aspects of our site is that the maps are directly connected to our archive. Users can easily go back and forth between the two,” said Manon Wilson, lead archivist on the project from CAST.
The centralized archive currently features over 600 items (historical photos, documents and more) that have been contributed to the project by key partners including Arkansas State Archives, Arkansas State Parks, the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History and the personal collection of Karen Rollet-Crocker.