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Lake Brownwood State Park sits
in the geographic center of Texas
at the meeting place of the Texas hill country
and the panhandle plains.
[music]
The park was built at a turning point
in our nation's history.
When times were hard,
Lake Brownwood State Park offered hope.
Y'all CCC boys? Yeah!
We did all the road work and all that kind of stuff
all over the park here.
We're proud of it.
It makes me proud to come back and see it,
what we did.
These hands have haule rock and forged roads.
They built a place of beauty that still charms visitors
over 50 years later.
These were the boys of the CCC.
[music]
They served in the Civilian Consevation Corps,
a work relief program established in the 1930s
to combat the economic depression.
Lake Brownwood State Park is a stellar example
of CCC handiwork.
Built from native rock,
its structures recall an era of exceptional craftmanship.
It's amazing to think these things are over 70 years old
and they're still standing and serving the public.
They didn't have the modern power saws
and everything we have nowadays.
A lot of these rocks that were used in these buildings,
they were chipped and formed by hand.
You don't see cracks in it. These people, when they built,
they built it to last.
A lot of these kids, they were the breadwinners.
They would make $25 a month.
They got to keep $5
but $20 of it had to be sent home.
A lot of these kids kept their family alive.
[music]
The park was designed to showcase Lake Brownwood.
The 7300 acre lake makes a perfect spot
for swimming, boating, and fishing.
Or perhaps just enjoying a spectacular Texas sunset.
Lake Brownwood State Park can offer
its amenities to people all across the state.
It's got wooded areas, lakefront.
It can offer a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere
to anyone that wants to get away,
and just a really beautiful area to be in.
[music]
The CCC crews have nearly all passed on.
Only a few remain to gather at the site
where a group of boys became men.
But they've left their mark for generations to come.