F.D. Roosevelt State Park is a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

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 ...

located near Pine Mountain and Warm Springs. The park is named for former

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, who sought a treatment for his paralytic illness in nearby Warm Springs at the

Little White House The Little White House was the personal retreat of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the List of Presidents of the United States, 32nd President of the United States, located in the Warm Springs Historic District, Historic District of Warm Springs, Georgia ...

. The park is located along the

Pine Mountain Range The Pine Mountain Range is a long ridge in Meriwether County, Georgia, Harris County, Georgia, and Talbot County, Georgia. The highest altitudes in all three of these west Georgia counties can be found along the range. The Pine Mountain Range is ...

. The western portion of the park, formerly named Pine Mountain State Park, was named a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1997. F.D. Roosevelt State Park is Georgia's largest state park. Several structures in the park were 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 ...

(CCC) in the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, including a stone

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

and Roosevelt's favorite picnic spot at

Dowdell's Knob Dowdell's Knob is a prominent mountain in Harris County, Georgia. It is the highest point in Harris County at above sea level and the highest point on the Pine Mountain Range in the area. It is often referred to as a historical spot where forme ...

, overlooking the valley below. President Roosevelt would take

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

patients with depression along on picnics at Dowdell's Knob.

History

The region containing the modern-day park was inhabited by the Creek Nation until ceded under the Treaties of 1825 and

1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly. * January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island o ...

, which granted the territories between the

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

and Chattahoochee rivers to the State of Georgia. An influx of settlers established the town of Kings Gap, named after King's Trading Post located near the modern-day Liberty Bell Pool. The town eventually vanished by the 20th century."Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park Historical Background". Pamphlet published by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. In 1924,

first visited the warm springs located near the towns of Warm Springs and Bullochville. He came to the springs seeking relief from the symptoms of the paralytic illness he had contracted three years earlier. In 1927, Roosevelt and others established the Warm Springs Foundation, later known as the Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, which established therapeutic programs utilizing the area's mineral springs. Since then, the institute has developed into a complex of facilities helping those with disabilities. Just prior to being elected president of the United States in 1932, Roosevelt built a residence nearby which would come to be known as the

. After his election to the presidency, he spearheaded the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was this organization which, in 1935, established a camp near the modern-day park entrance on Highway 354. From this camp, the young men of the CCC constructed much of the present state park, including the Liberty Bell Pool, the Roosevelt Lodge, several cabins, the Lake Delanor and its companion, the Lake Franklin. Because of the well-preserved CCC design, layout, and buildings of the western half of the park, and for its association with Roosevelt, the area was designated a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

in 1997.

Geology and geography

F.D. Roosevelt State Park is Georgia's largest state park. The park is located on the Pine Mountain Ridge, which is Georgia's southernmost mountainous area (and the southernmost mountainous area in the United States east of the Mississippi River). The Pine Mountain Ridge, which extends into Alabama, is composed of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

rock formations. It is geologically a feature of the

Piedmont Plateau The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States. It is situated between the Atlantic coastal plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont ...

, not the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

farther north. Dowdell's Knob is the highest point in F. D. Roosevelt State Park, at 1,395 feet. The knob was named for two pioneer Harris County settlers: Lewis & James Dowdell. The park contains the long Pine Mountain Trail, a scenic nature path that winds through both

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, featuring hickory and several species of oak; forest undergrowth includes buckeye, pawpaw, azalea, blueberry and huckleberry. The trail has thirteen primitive back country campsites for backpackers. The Pine Mountain Trail is wholly maintained by the volunteers of the Pine Mountain Trail Association. In addition, the park contains two stocked fishing lakes and a historic trading post. There is a clump of surviving resistant chestnut trees in the park.

Recent events

On April 12, 2007, the 62nd anniversary of Roosevelt's death, a 1,200-pound bronze statue was unveiled at Dowdell's Knob. The statue depicts Roosevelt sitting on his removable car seat and wearing his leg braces. The statue, commissioned by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, was created by Atlanta sculptor Martin Dawe. During the

2011 Super Outbreak The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks ever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States from April 25–28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruction ...

, an

EF2 Elongation factors are a set of proteins that function at the ribosome, during protein synthesis, to facilitate translational elongation from the formation of the first to the last peptide bond of a growing polypeptide. Most common elongation ...

tornado caused severe damage to the park, especially in the campgrounds. It was estimated that 30% of the structures in one of the park's group campground areas were destroyed. Image:FDRstatue FDRstatepark.jpg, F.D. Roosevelt's statue at Dowdell's Knob. Image:17 03 131 FDR park.jpg, Visitor's Center

Facilities

*105 Tent/Trailer/ RV Campsites *16 Backcountry Campsites *22

Cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

s *2 Picnic Shelters *2 Group Camps *1 Group Shelter *1 Pioneer Campground *1 Public Swimming Pool

Annual events

*Spring Backpacking Trip (March)

References

External links

Georgia State ParksPine Mountain Trail Association
{{authority control State parks of Georgia (U.S. state) National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state) Protected areas established in 1934 Civilian Conservation Corps in Georgia (U.S. state) Protected areas of Harris County, Georgia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Harris County, Georgia Monuments and memorials to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States National Park Service Rustic architecture