Maidstone 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 ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
.
The park is located in the town of
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
in
Essex County in Vermont's
Northeast Kingdom
The Northeast Kingdom (also, locally, "The Kingdom" and abbreviated NEK) is the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, approximately comprising Essex County, Vermont, Essex, Orleans County, Vermont, Orleans and Caledonia County, Vermont, ...
. One of the state's most remote parks, it provides public access to the glacial Maidstone Lake
in
Maidstone State Forest. The park was developed by 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 ...
and opened in 1938. Activities include fishing, hiking, camping, boating, wildlife watching, and picnicking.
The park is open from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day weekend; fees are charged for day use and camping.
Features
Maidstone State Park is located in rural western Maidstone, on the south and east sides of Maidstone Lake. The park consists of two separate areas, one for day use, and other for camping and hiking, accessed by Maidstone Lake Road. The day use area, about in size, includes a beach, picnic area with large CCC-built pavilion, and a nature center also built by the CCC. The picnic area includes fourteen stone fireplaces built by the CCC. About one mile south of the day use area is the larger parcel, which includes two camping loops and extends into the hills south of the lake.
[ Camping facilities include 34 tent/RV sites and 37 lean-tos, rest rooms with hot showers, and a sanitary dump station.][ with ]
History
The park was developed in 1938, and was one of the last of the Vermont state parks to be built by 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 ...
, a Depression-era jobs program. The features developed by the park illustrate the rise of the automobile for vacation travel: not only is the park so remote that a car is needed to access it, but the CCC also built a parking lot at the day use area. The park underwent a major upgrade to its infrastructure in the late 1970s, but has retained the basic feel of its early appearance.[
]
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Vermont
References
External links
*
Travel the Kingdom: Trails in Maidstone State Park
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State parks of Vermont
Protected areas of Essex County, Vermont
Maidstone, Vermont
Civilian Conservation Corps in Vermont
Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Vermont
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
1938 establishments in Vermont