Last updated: August 6, 2024
Place
Hard Labor Creek State Park
Photograph by Jim Lockhart, courtesy of Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Quick Facts
Location:
Morgan and Walton, Georgia
Significance:
Recreation, Landscape architecture, Architecture, Conservation, Social History, Politics and Government
Designation:
Listed in the National Register – Reference Number 13000107
MANAGED BY:
Hard Labor Creek State Park is located in Rutledge, GA. The park is one of ten Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC)-built state parks in Georgia and contains the only extant CCC Camp, Camp SP-8, built for the workers. Two CCC camps were located at Hard Labor Creek, SP-8 and SP-11. Their projects included damming Hard Labor Creek and clearing land to create Lake Rutledge and Lake Brantley, building roads and bridges, reforesting land, constructing telephone lines, and building the group camp infrastructure, such as cabins, rock walls, paths, and trails.
Hard Labor Creek State Park had its origins in 1933 with the passage by Congress of the Federal Unemployment Relief Act on March 31, 1933. Passed as an unemployment relief measure, the act established the CCC, and provided work for over 250,000 jobless young men in the areas of reforestation, road construction, prevention of soil erosion, and national park and flood control projects. The young men hired for this program built Hard Labor Creek State Park.
Beginning in 1933, negotiations for acquiring worn-out, eroded farmland were begun by the National Park Service (NPS) for what was to be called a Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA) in Morgan County. More parcels were accumulated over the next two years, with the last parcel deeded to the National Park Service in July of 1937, totaling 5,804 acres. The 2,000 acres of land straddling Hard Labor Creek was classified as submarginal (not profitable for farming). Primarily owned by the Wallace and Ponder families, the property had small tenant houses and farms scattered throughout. While portions of the land had been cultivated, the proposed park site was not considered a profitable farming area due primarily to the dissipated soil and resulting erosion. When the land was purchased by the National Park Service, there were 18 frame houses on the property, six of which had been abandoned and the remaining occupied by tenants.
The location along Hard Labor Creek was considered a desirable locale due to its proximity to Atlanta, Macon, Augusta, and Athens. It was estimated that the proposed park would serve approximately 600,000 people within a radius of 100 miles. The rolling hills, ridges, and creek were considered beneficial geographic elements for a potential park site. It was planned from the inception that the creek would be dammed to create an artificial lake.
Most of the camp's visitor facilities were built from 1937 to 1939. The original master plan for the park had included five organized camps. These sites varied in size but typically included a dining hall, a central shower house, lodge, camper's cabins, leader's cabins, an administration building, and helper's quarters. Camp Rutledge was the first group camp to be built; it opened to visitors in 1937. After June of 1939, many of the CCC workers were moved from conservation projects to defense projects as the United States was preparing for entry into World War II. At Hard Labor Creek, other CCC workers took their place and there were still workers at the park in October 1940. The 1941 Master Plan, dated June 27, 1941, reported that "construction progress has been excellent during the past year." When Congress did not allocate funds for the CCC, it ceased operation after June 1942. The park was deeded to the state in 1946.
There were many building projects in the 1980s. A new bathhouse was built near the swimming beach in 1986 to replace the CCC-built bathhouse. The trading post, which was built by the CCC, was enlarged and turned into a visitor's center and office. A rectangular addition was added to the original structure and the interior was modified. Also built in the late 1980s were the assistant manager's residence, cottage renovations, a stable area comfort station, and an enclosed group shelter. The park today is used all year for group camping, individual camping, day-use programs, hiking, and other outdoor recreational uses. It is one of Georgia's most popular state parks.
Hard Labor Creek State Park had its origins in 1933 with the passage by Congress of the Federal Unemployment Relief Act on March 31, 1933. Passed as an unemployment relief measure, the act established the CCC, and provided work for over 250,000 jobless young men in the areas of reforestation, road construction, prevention of soil erosion, and national park and flood control projects. The young men hired for this program built Hard Labor Creek State Park.
Beginning in 1933, negotiations for acquiring worn-out, eroded farmland were begun by the National Park Service (NPS) for what was to be called a Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA) in Morgan County. More parcels were accumulated over the next two years, with the last parcel deeded to the National Park Service in July of 1937, totaling 5,804 acres. The 2,000 acres of land straddling Hard Labor Creek was classified as submarginal (not profitable for farming). Primarily owned by the Wallace and Ponder families, the property had small tenant houses and farms scattered throughout. While portions of the land had been cultivated, the proposed park site was not considered a profitable farming area due primarily to the dissipated soil and resulting erosion. When the land was purchased by the National Park Service, there were 18 frame houses on the property, six of which had been abandoned and the remaining occupied by tenants.
The location along Hard Labor Creek was considered a desirable locale due to its proximity to Atlanta, Macon, Augusta, and Athens. It was estimated that the proposed park would serve approximately 600,000 people within a radius of 100 miles. The rolling hills, ridges, and creek were considered beneficial geographic elements for a potential park site. It was planned from the inception that the creek would be dammed to create an artificial lake.
Most of the camp's visitor facilities were built from 1937 to 1939. The original master plan for the park had included five organized camps. These sites varied in size but typically included a dining hall, a central shower house, lodge, camper's cabins, leader's cabins, an administration building, and helper's quarters. Camp Rutledge was the first group camp to be built; it opened to visitors in 1937. After June of 1939, many of the CCC workers were moved from conservation projects to defense projects as the United States was preparing for entry into World War II. At Hard Labor Creek, other CCC workers took their place and there were still workers at the park in October 1940. The 1941 Master Plan, dated June 27, 1941, reported that "construction progress has been excellent during the past year." When Congress did not allocate funds for the CCC, it ceased operation after June 1942. The park was deeded to the state in 1946.
There were many building projects in the 1980s. A new bathhouse was built near the swimming beach in 1986 to replace the CCC-built bathhouse. The trading post, which was built by the CCC, was enlarged and turned into a visitor's center and office. A rectangular addition was added to the original structure and the interior was modified. Also built in the late 1980s were the assistant manager's residence, cottage renovations, a stable area comfort station, and an enclosed group shelter. The park today is used all year for group camping, individual camping, day-use programs, hiking, and other outdoor recreational uses. It is one of Georgia's most popular state parks.