Buescher State Park – Smithville TX

City:
Smithville, TX

Site Type:
Parks and Recreation, Campgrounds and Cabins, Shelters, Paths and Trails

New Deal Agencies:
Work Relief Programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Designer:
Arthur Fehr

Marked:
Yes

Description

Buescher State Park is connected to Bastrop State Park via a scenic 11-mile drive. This CCC project opened to the public in 1940. Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher donated the original land to the state between 1933 and 1936. Buescher was spared from the September 2011 fire that swept through Bastrop County. The park has a beautiful lake with fishing, camping, and hiking trails.

A plaque in front of the Recreation Hall states: CCC Companies 1805 and 1811 worked on Buescher between 1933 and 1939. Recruits enrolled for a six month period and received base pay of $30 month. Between $22 and$25 of that pay was sent home to the recruit’s home. The boys received room, board, uniforms, and access to medical and dental care. On the average, each boy would gain 11 1/4 pounds during his first three months in the CCC. A quote from a man who worked at Bastrop in 1933 stated that he was proud of the work he did, and said that everybody should look at the size of the rocks they worked with. He said that he came as a boy and left as a man.

CCC improvements in the park included: “Entrance Portals, Park Road 1, Road Curbs, Vehicle and Foot Bridges, Concession Building, Shelter, “Aztec” Style Settee, Chair, Armchair, and Sofa, Water Fountains, Stone Fence, Hiking Trail, Concrete Tables, Earthen Dam and Spillway, Tool House, and Pump House/Water Tower.  A Keeper’s House and a Contact Station were designed but not built; instead, the CCC remodeled the Tool House and the Pump House into a residence compound in 1937.”   (https://texascccparks.org)

Source notes

https://texascccparks.org/parks/buescher/ https://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/buescher/park_history There is also a detailed plaque in front of the Recreation Hall.

Site originally submitted by Elizabeth Hilburn - https://doorwayintothethepast.blogspot.com/ on April 28, 2013.

Location Info


100 Park Road 1E
Smithville, Texas 78957
Bastrop County

Coordinates: 30.039139, -97.15823

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2 comments on “Buescher State Park – Smithville TX

  1. Larry D. Moore

    The coordinates for this site are incorrect. The coordinates listed are for Main Street in Smithville, Texas. The park is two miles north.

    The park headquarters is located at 30.039139, -97.158239. https://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/buescher/map

    Thanks

  2. Thanks Larry, correction made.

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Contribute to this Site

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2 comments on “Buescher State Park – Smithville TX

  1. Larry D. Moore

    The coordinates for this site are incorrect. The coordinates listed are for Main Street in Smithville, Texas. The park is two miles north.

    The park headquarters is located at 30.039139, -97.158239. https://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/buescher/map

    Thanks

  2. Thanks Larry, correction made.

Join the Conversation

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  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
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