CleburneInterpretive Guide |
Interpretive Guide of Cleburne State Park (SP) in Texas. Published by Texas Parks & Wildlife.
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INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
THINGS TO DO AT
CLEBURNE STATE PARK
Cleburne State Park is a quiet retreat with a rich history,
under an hour’s drive from Fort Worth. We hope you enjoy
your visit!
•
Cast your line into Cedar Lake and see what you catch.
The fishing trails will take you to some of the best fishing
spots on the lake where you can catch largemouth bass,
crappie, catfish, and bluegill.
•
Enjoy the park’s mountain biking trails that wind through
shaded landscapes, around Cedar Lake, and past the CCC
spillway. Beginner riders should be cautious; some of the
trails are challenging and have steep descents and climbs.
•
Take a swim or launch a boat on Cedar Lake. Boating is
low speed only (no wake), which makes the 116-acre lake
ideal for canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boating.
•
Camp out under the stars, relax in a screened shelter, or
rent out the Group Camp or Cedar Lodge group facilities
for your next reunion.
•
Hike the park’s trails to discover rugged limestone hills and
stunning views. The trails range from easy to challenging –
be sure to get a trail map at park headquarters.
Camp Creek Bridge, built by the Civilian Conservation
Corps, is easy to see from the scenic park road.
FROM 1935 TO 1940, THE
YOUNG MEN OF THE CCC
BUILT A DAM TO IMPOUND
SPRING-FED
CEDAR
LAKE,
THE PARK ROAD, AND OTHER
FACILITIES USING LOCAL
MATERIALS AND MANUAL
LABOR. WORKS PROJECTS
ADMINISTRATION
CREWS
CONTINUED WORK AT THE
PARK THROUGH 1944. TODAY
YOU CAN ENJOY FISHING,
SWIMMING, OR BOATING ON
THE
116-ACRE
NO-WAKE
LAKE, CAMP OUT UNDER THE
Please help us care for the natural and cultural resources of
Cleburne State Park by leaving things as you found them
and staying on designated trails. All animals, plants, fossils,
and artifacts are protected by state law so that everyone can
enjoy them.
Cleburne State Park
5800 Park Road 21 • Cleburne, TX 76033
(817) 645-4215 • www.tpwd.texas.gov/cleburne/
STARS, OR HIKE AND BIKE
THE PARK’S WINDING TRAILS.
© 2019 TPWD. PWD BR P4503-013K (7/19)
In accordance with Texas State Depository Law, this publication is available at
the Texas State Publications Clearinghouse and/or Texas Depository Libraries.
TPWD receives funds from the USFWS. TPWD prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, and gender,
pursuant to state and federal law. To request an accommodation or obtain information in an alternative format, please contact TPWD on a Text Telephone
(TTY) at (512) 389-8915 or by Relay Texas at 7-1-1 or (800) 735-2989 or by email at accessibility@tpwd.texas.gov. If you believe you have been discriminated against by TPWD, please contact TPWD, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office for Diversity and
Workforce Management, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041.
Texas State Parks is a division of the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
CLEBURNE
S TAT E P A R K
C L E B U R N E
S T A T E
P A R K
THE PEOPLE
BEFORE THE PARK
THE MAN BEHIND
THE DREAM
C
Civilian Conservation Corps Company 3804 in 1939
BUILDING PARKS –
CREATING HOPE
The City of Cleburne acquired and donated 508 acres of
land in 1935 for development of a state park. CCC Company 3804 lived here from 1935 to 1940, transforming this
land from hardscrabble cedar brakes to a recreational oasis.
In addition to the dam, Cedar Lake, and the park road, the
200-man camp also built entrance portals, a park residence,
a maintenance area, and outdoor fireplaces.
The rugged landscape at Cleburne State Park began as a shallow sea
during the Cretaceous age. This ancient sea left traces of fossils in
the local limestone, and supports a rich ecosystem at the park today.
USFWS/STEVE MASLOWSKI
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) as part of his New Deal for
America, an economic plan to help the country recover from
the Great Depression. CCC work improved undeveloped
land across the country, and gave hope and income to the
enrollees and their families. The young men of the CCC left
life on Depression-era farms to spend their days building
Cedar Lake and its scenic roadway for you to enjoy.
NATURAL WONDERS
Ashe juniper, commonly known as
cedar, covers the park’s chalky white
bluffs. The park also supports Texas
red oaks, live oaks, and bur oaks. The
combination of mature Ashe juniper
and oak woodlands creates the right
habitat for the golden-cheeked
warbler. These endangered birds are
threatened by habitat loss. Development has reduced their range
to a few dozen counties in central Texas, but visitors still occasionally spot these rare birds in the park. The park’s juniper oak
woodland is also habitat for a rare orchid species.
To keep them occupied after work hours, the CCC enrollees
had boxing, wrestling, baseball, volleyball, and swimming to
keep them fit, and a workshop, classrooms, a library, and a
reading room to keep their minds sharp.
Cleburne State Park is in a transition area between western and
eastern vegetation zones – this means visitors can see desert plants
like yuccas and prickly pear cactus next to temperate tree species
including American sycamore, black walnut, eastern cottonwood,
and cedar elm.
After CCC Company 3804 left Cleburne State Park in August
of 1940, the Works Projects Administration (WPA), a different New Deal program, came in to finish work on the park.
WPA labor completed a concession building, a bathhouse, and
a sewer and water system. As the years passed, some buildings
fell into disrepair and were replaced. Today, visitors can still
enjoy the scenic park roadway, Camp Creek Bridge, Cedar
Lake, and admire the work that went into the dam and spillway.
Cedar Lake and the surrounding woodlands are home to a variety
of wildlife. You might see a coyote, a fox, or a bobcat searching for
prey, or hear an armadillo shuffling through the brush. Cast your
line into the clear, cool, spring-fed waters of Cedar Lake where
you can catch largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, and bluegill. Over
300 species of birds have been sighted in Cleburne State Park.
Visit the lake to see great blue herons and osprey fishing, or look
for ladder-backed and downy woodpeckers in wooded areas.
leburne was an oasis for people long before the
Civilian Conservation Corps started work here
in 1935. Prehistoric families hunted, foraged,
and camped nearby for thousands of years. This area was
home to various Native American groups before European
settlers arrived. After European settlement, Comanches
trailed their horses though here, following the creek south
to the Brazos River, and Chisholm Trail cattle drovers
stopped nearby to water their herds.
Settlers used the springs that now feed Cedar Lake for
watering cattle, but the park land probably wasn’t farmed
due to the rugged limestone terrain. Nearby residents
noticed the area would be an excellent location for a park in
the early 1930s, and local businessmen worked to secure
the land for a state park.
The park shares the same name as the nearby city of
Cleburne. Cleburne was named in honor of Confederate
Civil War General Patrick R. Cleburne. General Cleburne
commanded troops from all over the south in his Division
of the Army of Tennessee, and many local men served
with him.
Before the Civilian Conservation Corps
built a dam to impound Cedar Lake, the
natural springs here sustained Native
American groups and European settlers.