Marion County Park & Lake is the result of two FDR New Deal programs that were born during the 1930s depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration's goals were to put men to work and conserve our natural resources. In 1934 when Marion County was designated a drought area, voters passed a bond issue for $15,000 to buy land for a lake project. County Engineer James Meisner, site designer; Lt. Robert Horsley, commanding officer of CCC Black Veterans Co. No. 4755 and Supt. Edward C. McBurney, Soil Conservation Service engineer of the dam, were responsible for its completion in three years. The area is a tribute to those who constructed the dam, sandboxes, skating rink, skeet and trap shoot, stone structures, ball field, swimming area, parapets, entrance gate, arched bridges, checkers, tennis and croquet courts. The Park and Lake continues to provide great pleasure for the public as it exhibits the history of an era.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places - 2002
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