Camden State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

on the

Redwood River The Redwood River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the drainage basin, watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of in an agricultural r ...

in southwestern

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

near

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

. It is used for

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, and other outdoor recreation. The park, originally known as Camden Woods, was acquired in 1934, and development started in 1935 with workers from the Veterans Conservation Corps, an offshoot of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. The landscape design in the park was planned by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, and the master-planned development allowed the

to determine the placement of various functional areas in the park. After the VCC finished their development in 1936, the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

dismantled the VCC camp buildings and built the Swimming Instructor's Cabin and the Ice and Wood House. Thirteen buildings and structures, built by the VCC and the WPA, are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. A 1971 study by the Minnesota Academy of Science and

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

found that Camden State Park contained one of the westernmost natural occurrences of the

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prima ...

in North America. In the 1980s, the park began a

prairie restoration Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. For example, the U.S. state of Illinois alone once held over of prairie land an ...

project. The original sites were two acres or less in size, and contained about 35 grasses and wildflowers. The prairie plants have been maintained and expanded, in part through the use of

controlled burn A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A control ...

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Species

File:PXL 20210709 012804166 AMORPHA CANESCENS LEAD PLANT RESTORATION TRAIL CAMDEN STATE PARK MN LUCAS TETRICK.jpg, Amorpha canescens Lead Plant. Restoration Trail - Camden State Park, MN. 20210708. File:PXL 20210701 002222472 COMMON MILKWEED.jpg, Asclepias syriaca Common milkweed. Restoration Trail - Camden State Park, MN. 20210630. File:PXL 20210709 013622578 WHORLED MILKWEED CAMDEN STATE PARK.jpg, Asclepias verticillata Whorled milkweed. Restoration Trail - Camden State Park, MN. 20210708 File:20160531 BOMBYCILLA CEDRORUM CEDAR WAXWING CAMDEN STATE PARK MN LUCAS TETRICK.jpg, Bombycilla cedrorum Cedar Waxwing. Camden State Park, MN. 20160531. File:PXL 20210709 013014195 ECHINACEA ANGUSTIFOLIA CAMDEN STATE PARK MN LUCAS TETRICK.jpg, Echinacea angustifolia Narrow-leaved purple coneflower. Restoration Trail - Camden State Park, MN. 20210708. File:20160520 PHEUCTICUS LUDOVICIANUS ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK CAMDEN STATE PARK MN LUCAS TETRICK.jpg, Pheucticus ludovicianus Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Camden State Park, MN. 20160520. File:PXL 20210701 002820173 SUMAC CAMDEN STATE PARK.jpg, Rhus glabra Smooth sumac. Restoration Trail - Camden State Park, MN. 20210630.

References

External links

{{authority control 1935 establishments in Minnesota Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Protected areas established in 1935 Protected areas of Lyon County, Minnesota Rustic architecture in Minnesota State parks of Minnesota Works Progress Administration in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Lyon County, Minnesota