The waterfall at Tyler State Park can be heard before it is seen. A spring-fed stream cascades over the rocks stacked by the Civilian Conservation Corps deep in the forested hills of the park. The 6-foot waterfall hardly ranks above a backyard water feature, but its location, hidden away in a quiet corner of the park, makes it a special.
In 1935, when the CCC arrived at the 986 acres north of Tyler, the land was denuded by clear-cutting, allowing erosion to cut deep gullies. The first tasks of CCC Company 2888 were to plant thousands of pine saplings, control runoff, and then build roads, a 90-acre lake, and park structures.
At the depths of the Great Depression, the CCC employed hundreds of thousands of jobless young men across the nation. The federal program from 1933 to 1942 was part conservation initiative and part job opportunity.
In Texas, the corps built the foundation of the state park system. At the time, the few state parks were donated land with no state appropriations. When the program ended in 1942, the CCC had developed 56 parks in Texas, including 31 current state parks.
More than 80 years later, most of the towering loblolly pines in Tyler State Park were planted by the CCC. Their handiwork is visible in the roads, buildings, overlook, and trails.
The meandering and hilly milelong Whispering Pines Nature Trail originally looped around to a picnic area. Rust-colored stones outline the dry remains of the children’s wading pool, and the small lily pond still feeds the waterfall. The CCC’s 1938 blueprints called for “rock rapids and falls for aesthetic and musical sound effects.” The waters of Beauchamp Springs are still playing our song.
1,593rd in a series. Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
This article appears in March 18 • 2022.
