Blasterz had a lot of fun paddling around Lake Daingerfield in our rented pedal-powered paddle boat (say that 3 times fast).
From the Daingerfield State Park website: (
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Things to Do
The park offers picnicking, camping, boating (5 mph speed limit), fishing, swimming in an unsupervised swimming area (Swimming Safety Tips), hiking and nature study. Tours may be arranged by special request.
The park features more than $5 million in recent renovations and upgrades. In addition to campsites for tents and RVs, the park also has cabins and group facilities.
Equipment Rentals
The park rents paddle boats, canoes, kayaks (single and tandem), hydro bikes and flat bottom boats. Personal flotation devices and paddles are included.
Ranger Programs
The park offers a variety of educational opportunities; check the calendar for upcoming events or contact the park for special tours.
Get more information on the Civilian Conservation Corps, which helped develop this park and numerous others over 70 years ago, by visiting our CCC page that includes the interactive online exhibits and education resource, “The Look of Nature: Designing Texas State Parks During the Great Depression” and “A New Deal for Texas Parks."
There are many unique and beautiful CCC-built structures at Daingerfield State Park. Blasterz' favorite is the combination state park name and speed control sign from the 1930s.
Daingerfield State ark was actually built not by one but by TWO CCC camps -- not because the park job was so big, but because CCC camps were segregated on the basis of race. Whites were assigned to Camp 2891, and blacks to Camp 1801. This is a reminder of the old social order in East Texas in the 1930s.
From the Texas parks and Wildlife website: (
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"History
Daingerfield State Park, located in Morris County southwest of Texarkana, is a 506.913-acre recreational area (including an 80-surface-acre lake), deeded in 1935 by private owners and opened in 1938.
The original improvements were made by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This area was the center of the iron industry in Texas; nearby is Lone Star Steel Co."
From the TPWD "Look if Nature" website about the CCC design of state parks: (
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"Daingerfield is located in an area historically associated with agriculture, iron ore, and timberlands. Currently, the area is valued for its dense pine and hardwood forests, elements that provide a pastoral setting for this 501-acre park.
Two CCC companies—2891, a white unit, and 1801, a black unit—developed the park from 1935 to 1939. Both companies used local timber and stone as well as concrete to construct distinctive features, and worked under the supervision of LEMs (local experienced men), and planners, including architect J. Reginald Gunn and landscape architect Calvert Swing Winsborough.
Development of eighty-acre Lake Daingerfield, the focal point of the park, dominated much of the early efforts. As it began to take shape, designers finalized plans for associated architectural features that took advantage of the site’s hilly terrain, landscaped peninsula, and open beach area. They also maximized scenic vistas, traffic flow, and recreation access.
CCC Company
2891, 1801(C)
Activity Dates
1935-1938, 1939-1940
CCC Construction
Entrance Sign, Boat House, Fisherman’s Barracks, Combination Building, Lake Dam, Lake Daingerfield (originally called Little Pine Lake), Retaining Walls, Culverts, Steps, Trails, Horse Trails, Parking Curbs, Scenic Road, “Aztec” Chairs and Tables, and Cedar Benches. Plans also called for several Cabins (two were built), and a Keeper’s Cottage which was not constructed (although NPS buildings may have been adapted as a residence)."