White Rock Lake Park – Dallas TX

Description

Construction on White Rock Lake began in 1910 in response to a water shortage in Dallas. The City of Dallas dammed White Rock Creek in 1911 and built a water processing plant. White Rock Lake was the city’s main source of drinking water until a bigger lake was built in Lewisville, Texas in 1929. The City of Dallas transferred ownership of the land surrounding White Rock Lake to the Park and Recreation Department.

The Park and Recreation Department started developing the 1,254 acre White Rock Lake Park in 1930. One of the first projects was stone picnic tables. Next to these tables, workers employed by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) built a pavilion in 1934.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 2896 began their work at White Rock Lake in August 1935. The CCC is credited with planting 1500 trees, building a shelter house, two combination buildings, three latrines, a lily pond and the development of the trails, picnic grounds and a campground. The Winfrey Point recreation building was started in 1941 but was not complete when the United States entered World War II and the CCC camp at White Rock Lake closed. The Dallas Park and Recreation Department finished the building in 1942. A Texas State Historical Marker at Winfrey Point and a bronze statue of a CCC worker next to the Sunset Inn (another CCC built structure) acknowledge and honor the contribution of CCC Company 2896 to the development of White Rock Lake Park.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) also made contributions to the infrastructure of White Rock Lake Park. The WPA funded two bridges between 1935 and 1937, one on either side of the lake, that are still in use today.