Daingerfield

INTERPRETIVE GUIDE As in seasons past, young and old will make lasting memories while enjoying Daingerfield State Park. FIND A SENSE OF PEACE AT DAINGERFIELD STATE PARK, A REFUGE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY, A PLACE FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS TO ENJOY SIMPLE RECREATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTU- THANK YOU FOR VISITING! While enjoying this natural beauty, please remember that everything you see in the park is protected. Artifacts, rocks, plants, and animals (even snakes) are all part of the region’s rich cultural and natural heritage. Help us keep recreational use sustainable for the future and protect these resources by leaving things as you find them. Help us honor the legacy of the men who developed this beautiful park for many years to come by keeping it safe and clean. We hope you will visit these other state parks while visiting East Texas: NITIES. NESTLED AMONG THE Bonham State Park 1363 State Park 24, Bonham • (903) 583-5022 HILLS, MATURE PINE-HARDWOOD Caddo Lake State Park 245 Park Road 2, Karnack • (903) 679-3351 FORESTS AND A CLEAR SPRINGFED LAKE PROVIDE A HOME FOR A VARIETY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. BOTH NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED HIKERS CAN ENJOY APPROXIMATELY 3½ MILES Lake Bob Sandlin State Park 341 State Park Road 2117, Pittsburg • (903) 572-5531 Visit www.tpwd.texas.gov for more information on these and other Texas state parks and historic sites. Daingerfield State Park 455 Park Road 17, Daingerfield, Texas 75638 (903) 645- 2921 • www.tpwd.texas.gov/daingerfield/ OF TRAILS OVER STEEP HILLS AND THROUGH LEVEL VALLEYS. Proud Sponsor of Texas Parks and Wildlife Programs © 2018 TPWD. PWD BR P4508-030F (7/18) 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 (TDD) at (512) 389-8915 or by Relay Texas at 7-1-1 or (800) 735-2989. If you believe you have been discriminated against by TPWD, please contact TPWD 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. DAINGERFIELD STATE PARK D A I N G E R F I E L D S T A T E P A R K A CYCLE OF THE SEASONS LEGACY OF THE LAND The sun shines as a Paleoindian man pauses on a grassy knoll. Stooping, he picks some wild berries, and continues on his journey through the land. On that same hill thousands of years later, a Caddoan farmer surveys the land, deciding where she’d like to grow her corn. She knows the rich, fertile soil of this area will bode well for her crops. A Just a few hundred years in the future, an early European farmer and his wife survey that same land. He plans to turn his farm into a successful business; perhaps a sawmill or a cotton gin will do. The resources here are plentiful enough to support his growing family. Hints of green appear; spring has arrived! She wanders through the rolling hills, beneath bouquets of dogwood and redbud bursting into bloom. A robin sings overhead as a fawn waits for mom in a patch of little bluestem. A hundred years later, in 1935, a young Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) boy stands atop the rise and watches the construction below him. His company will construct an earthen dam to impound the 80-acre lake, build scenic roads, and assemble buildings from concrete, local stone and timber. white-tailed deer shivers as she wanders through the Pineywoods of Daingerfield State Park. A loud drumming causes her to look up at a flash of red amongst the bare trees. A pileated woodpecker flies from one shortleaf pine to another, searching for food. Quenching her summer thirst, our doe drinks from Little Pine Lake. A largemouth bass splashes, startling her into the woods. By now, fall is beginning to make its way into the park. Sweetgum, oak, and maple trees produce dazzling shades of red and gold, a stark contrast to the dark evergreens. Our doe and her baby search out the last acorns of the season. As they explore, she locks eyes with a human visitor through the trees. Could this be you? With a flick of their white tails, both deer turn and run off. Her breath on the air; she knows winter is coming. The beauty of Daingerfield State Park beckons you to return with each changing season. CCC workers prepare the foundation of the dam that will impound the lake. Swimmers enjoy a day at Daingerfield SP, circa 1950. After 70 years of wear and weather, park visitors continue to use the historic CCC buildings. In 2011, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff completed a major restoration project of Bass Lodge, the Combination Building and the Little Pine Interpretive Center. As you stand on that grassy hill here in the park, what do you see? Paleoindians finding a snack on their journey through? A young CCC boy, working to excavate the lake you see below? Or do you see, as many before you have, the lasting legacy of men and the land?