RECREATIONAL DEMONSTRATION AREAS

One of the really successful New Deal programs was the Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA) Program. In the thirties the CCC, WPA, PWA, and several other federal work programs were available for the development of national, state, and metropolitan parks. Generally speaking, however, their funds could not be used for the acquisition of land. In the case of state parks most of the lands were donated. These areas were usually some distance from communities, but they added greatly to satisfying the recreational needs of the people.

At the same time there were farmlands relatively close to centers of population that were of poor soil, or abused, eroded, or otherwise submarginal from the standpoint of agricultural production. With the advent of the New Deal the whole question of land use and upkeep became a national topic. Studies revealed that the cost of maintaining schools, roads, and other governmental services for such poor farming areas generally exceeded the total income derived from these submarginal lands. During the depression most of the people on these lands were on relief. Before the Roosevelt administration little had been done to try to solve these problems. There were a few exceptions: Michigan had initiated a program of buying up submarginal land and turning it into state forests, and Maine had large areas outside local government jurisdiction reserved for private and public forests.

When he was governor of New York, Roosevelt had become very much concerned with the problem of land utilization. It was only natural, therefore, that his recovery program should provide a solution for the problem of submarginal farmland. In January, 1934, the president set up a Land Planning Committee consisting of Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, WPA Administrator Harry L. Hopkins, and the governor of the Farm Credit Administration, W. I. Myers, to develop a program of land utilization. This committee worked through coordinators appointed by the cooperating agencies, somewhat as was done in establishing the CCC. I was designated the Interior Department coordinator, and Matt Huppuch of the National Park Service staff was my alternate.

The general program was liberal enough to be available to nearly every land-using bureau of the government. Of course, in interior we needed additional lands for the national park system—not so much for new areas as for rounding out existing areas—and there were several other bureaus in the department that had land needs. For example, the Fish and Wildlife Service was being organized at this time, and one of the great conservation leaders of the nation, the well-known cartoonist Ding Darling, was appointed to head it. One of its most urgent problems involved preserving marshlands as nesting grounds and as rest stops along the flyways for migratory birds.

The Park Service came forward with a definite program for acquiring lands that were no longer suitable for agriculture but that, if returned to natural condition and if within a reasonable distance of metropolitan areas, would provide a much needed recreation facility for large numbers of people. Most of the existing state parks were highly scenic areas situated at considerable distances from centers of population. Our studies indicated an urgent need for natural areas relatively close to population centers and available to large numbers of people for weekend and even day use. These were, in fact, the most needed links in the nation's park and recreation programs. Such areas would have to be large enough to provide natural campsite spots as well as group campsites, hiking trails, swimming, and picnic facilities. The studies also indicated that many private groups—especially such social organizations as police boys' clubs—could provide for the operation and maintenance of group camps but could not afford the necessary capital investments for such essentials as sufficient land, sanitary facilities, recreation facilities, and so forth. The early provisions of the New Deal law authorized manpower and materials for improvement and development of such areas. Land acquisition was the big problem.

A program was prepared to provide land for four types of development projects: (1) Areas eligible for and worthy of inclusion in existing or proposed national parks and monuments and historic areas. (2) Wayside areas along existing or proposed highways as demonstrations of needed rest areas. (3) State scenic area extensions. (4) Vacation or recreation areas near urban communities, which became known as Recreational Demonstration Areas.

Principal federal officials who were working together on conservation and park development programs inspected a wayside area at Quantico, Virginia, south of Washington, D.C., in 1936. Left to right: Robert Fechner, director, Civilian Conservation Corps; Theodore A. Walters, assistant secretary, Department of the Interior; Wally Richards, assistant director, Emergency Relief Administration Land Program; Conrad L. Wirth, chief, Branch of Recreation, Land Planning and State Co operation, National Park Service; John Lansill, director, Land Program, ERA; Marshall Finnan, director National Capital Parks, National Park Service; Mr. Jacobs, administrative assistant to Harry L. Hopkins, director of Federal Emergency Relief and the Civil Works program. Courtesy James F. Kieley.

Early in 1934, as a result of the recommendations of the Land Planning Committee, the Public Works Administration allocated twenty-five million dollars to the Federal Surplus Relief Administration for the purchase of submarginal agricultural lands. In July the Land Planning Committee formulated a program of recreational, general agricultural, biological, and Indian projects. This program was approved by the special Board of Public Works, and the previously allocated twenty-five million dollars was transferred to the newly organized Land Program of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. All agencies of the government interested in rural land utilization were advised to submit their programs of land use adjustment to the Land Planning Committee.

John S. Lansill, of Kentucky, was appointed director of the Land Program, and Wallace Richards was assistant director. Fortunately for us they both were very interested in vacation areas and in the need for them near heavily populated areas. Wally Richards had traveled extensively in Europe. He strongly favored acquisition of sizable areas of submarginal land within fifty miles of population centers to provide camping, hiking, and swimming for children, adults, and families. Matt Huppuch was aware that in Switzerland all school children had opportunities to spend time in a nature camp, and he wholeheartedly approved of the practice.

The Recreational Demonstration Areas got under way with the unanimous approval and support of the National Park Service and the Land Planning Committee of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. In less than a year the National Park Service—its emergency personnel paid from various funds—investigated over four hundred areas, and twenty-five projects were approved and were in various stages of planning and development. Eventually there were forty-six RDAs and several miscellaneous projects in twenty four states. The following tables give an overall picture of the complete Land Program.

Two sites became new areas to the park system. At Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, in North Dakota, we bought over sixty-three thousand acres of land at an average cost of slightly over two dollars an acre. This land borders the little Missouri River and is in two units. It is the location of Theodore Roosevelt's Elk Horn Ranch, where he went to regain his health and where he recruited and organized the Rough Riders of the Spanish-American War. It is northern prairie grass country, rich in the history of the early settlers and cowboys.

National Park System Areas Established

Hopewell Village National Historic Site was a discovery we stumbled upon in buying the French Creek Recreation Area for the state of Pennsylvania. We discovered an old foundry, several buildings with some twenty old carriages in them, and a blacksmith shop. The blacksmith shop was practically all covered over with dirt. When we dug our way into it we found that it contained all the old blacksmith tools used in the days of the Revolution. A study revealed that this area had manufactured a lot of hardware for the Continental army—cannon balls and the like. Because its history was certainly of national importance, we kept some 848 acres in federal ownership to establish a historic site and turned the rest—about 5,125 acres—over to the state for its park system.

The Blue Ridge Parkway was being built on land given to the federal government by the states and on right-of-way provided by the United States Forest Service where the parkway went through several national forests. In addition, some 10,000 acres in five different locations were purchased with funds provided by the Land Program Committee. The parkway is 469 miles long, along the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and connects Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks. There are now services of various kinds along this parkway, including parking areas and campgrounds.

Kings Mountain National Military Park, commemorating a revolutionary war engagement, was established by the military in 1931 and transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. The military hadn't obtained much more than the site for a memorial. We purchased additional land in order to tell the full story of the battle.

The other areas that extended national parks included private lands that were within the authorized boundaries and that qualified under the Land Planning Committee's regulations, but that had not been purchased because regular funds were not available.

National Park System Area Extensions

Waysides is the title we gave to lands purchased to provide rest and picnic areas along main highways. South Carolina and Virginia were the two states that offered to cooperate on this experiment. We were not in a position to spend much money on this program; furthermore, most of the land along highways cost more than we were willing to spend. Back in the thirties the only state I know of that did anything like this of its own accord was Michigan. The states had their limitations and had to spend most of their money on rights-of-way, and construction and maintenance were a problem. Many interstate and United States highways now have rest areas, though our term waysides was not adopted. We would like to believe that the waysides program we started was the beginning of a movement toward providing such stopping accommodations along highways.

The Recreational Demonstration Areas were the main purpose of the larger program. On these areas we proposed to build campsites primarily for group camping but also to provide year-round camping and recreation for individuals, small groups, and families. Our general objective was to provide quality outdoor recreation facilities at the lowest possible cost for the benefit of people of lower and middle incomes. One of the initial requirements—and we stuck to them very closely—was that the area should be from two to ten thousand acres and within a radius of approximately fifty miles of a population center. Other criteria were abundance of good water, available building material, and an interesting environment. We felt water recreation was important and wanted to be sure to have a location where we could build small lakes if a lake was not already there. We had to show that at least a reasonable part of the lands we purchased was submarginal from an agricultural standpoint. All of the areas in this category are attractive for recreation purposes and are by no means submarginal from that standpoint. Originally the idea was to get land that could be purchased for five dollars an acre, though later that was extended to an average price of ten dollars an acre. Of course, buying Theodore Roosevelt's old Elk Horn Ranch, in North Dakota, at two dollars an acre helped balance off some of the more expensive lands acquired in the RDA program.

Waysides

State Park Extensions

Recreational Demonstration Areas Transferred to the States as Part of Their State Park Systems

¹A tract of 5,659 acres was set aside in 1942 on which to build a "hideout" for President Roosevelt, which he called Shangri-La, so that he could remain close to Washington during World War II. Later President Eisenhower changed the name to Camp David after his grandson. The remaining 4,329 acres were transferred to the state of Maryland for its state park system.

²The National Park Service retained 848 acres to form the Hopewell village National Historic Site as part of the national park system.

³The name was changed to Prince William Park, and the area is part of the Washington, D.C., park system.

A lot of startling experiences resulted from the program. In recounting one that was particularly interesting I prefer to leave the location and names out of the story, though the facts are absolutely true. We were trying to buy some ten thousand acres along the waterfront of a reservoir. I was on a field trip elsewhere when I got a call that the man with authority to enter into a contract wouldn't talk to anybody but me. Since the area in question was on the way to my next stop four hundred miles away, I made an appointment for the next afternoon at his office. My companion and I started driving the next morning and got there on time only to find that the man had gone down to the guest house. Although this was out of our way and would require driving at night to get to our next appointment the following day, we decided to go see him. We arrived at the house about 6:30 P.M. He and his guest, an important customer, were drinking and gambling. We stood around for almost two and a half hours without talking business. They offered us a drink or two, which we accepted, but we declined to gamble with them. Finally, I got more than a little annoyed and told the man what was on my mind. His guest took up for us, and so the man we came down to see said, "Well, I haven't time to talk now, but if you had a contract with you all written up, I would sign it." I replied, "Well, I just happen to have a contract in my pocket for 10,000 acres at $5.00 an acre." I sure got a dirty look, but the man's client again stepped in, saying, "If you're a man of your word you'll sign it. You said you would." He signed and we left.

A ten-thousand-acre tract was used as a guideline because a tract of something more than five thousand acres seemed to divide itself readily into two parts, one for an organized camping area and the other for general public use. Each should have available natural or artificial bodies of water. Public use areas generally had a large picnic area for family use and group picnics, and a reasonable number of family campgrounds were planned and constructed. In the organized camping area there could be several projects, each having from three to six organized camps. A camp consisted of a general mess hall, an office, and an infirmary, and it had from three to four units, each unit containing a lodge with six cabins of four beds and a cabin for the leader. Thus, the camp was designed for around 72 to 96 campers and had a total capacity of 98 to 120 people. Most of these camps were built from stone and lumber from the project site and cost from $75,000 to $100,000.

It was our intention from the beginning, even though we had no existing authority at the time, to turn these areas over to the states to add to the state park systems when we were authorized to do so. In cases where the state was not particularly interested, we turned the areas over to counties or metropolitan areas, but most of the states participated in the program. All the plans for land acquisition and development carried both National Park Service and state or county park authority approval. It wasn't until June 6, 1942, that Congress enacted a law that gave the secretary of the interior authority to either deed or lease to the states any lands purchased under the Recreational Demonstration Area program together with all improvements, subject to an agreement that they would be used for public park and recreation purposes for at least twenty years. I believe the last transfer was made to the state of Maryland in 1956.

The RDA program was well under way when the entire Land Program was transferred, May 1, 1935, by executive order to the newly established Resettlement Administration, under Rex Tugwell. This new administration had at least three divisions: one division had to do with the resettlement of families, another concerned itself with the acquisition and planning of the Greenbelt towns, and the third was a land utilization division headed by Dr. L. C. Gray. For a time we were given an office in Gray's division because a good deal of the work of that division was similar to what we were doing in the RDA program. I ended up with an office in the Interior Building for National Park Service planning matters, an office in the Bond Building at New York Avenue and Fourteenth Street to handle the CCC program, and then an office south of the Mall in one of the temporary World War I buildings where Gray had established his headquarters. On November 14, 1936, an executive order was signed by which everything concerning the RDA program was turned over to the National Park Service, and we simply submitted to the Resettlement Administration a request for funds.

The RDA turned out to be a very successful program, and, while the CCC regional offices and their inspectors assisted admirably in all ways, a great deal of credit is due personally to Matt Huppuch, who headed the program, and to his very efficient and hard-working staff, which included Pete DeGelleke, Charlie Gerner, Julian Salomon, Fay Welch, and many others, as well as the professional field people who worked with him. They operated as a separate unit of the service under my general supervision, and they had power to delegate authority that made possible considerable independent action. I look back on the RDA program as one of the really fine accomplishments of the New Deal. It involved practically every new emergency agency that had funds available for land acquisition and development and the authorities in twenty-four states, as well as the old-line bureaus of the federal government that had continuing responsibilities. Considerable ingenuity was required to bring everything together for the common purpose. This feat turned out to be relatively easy, however, because those in charge really believed in the objectives.