Jones Lake State Park is a North Carolina state park in

Bladen County Bladen County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the United States near Elizabethtown. It covers , including the

Carolina bay Carolina bays are elliptical to circular depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and north Florida.Kaczorowski, R. T. (1977) '' ...

lakes of Jones Lake and Salters Lake. Jones Lake State Park is north of Elizabethtown on

North Carolina Highway 242 North Carolina Highway 242 (NC 242) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It traverses from Cerro Gordo to Benson, connecting the towns of Bladenboro, Elizabethtown, and Roseboro. Route description NC 2 ...

in North Carolina's Coastal Plain region. The park offers year-round recreation, including

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

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 ...

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 ...

king and environmental and historical education programs.

Geology

Jones Lake is one of a series of

Carolina Bay Carolina bays are elliptical to circular depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and north Florida.Kaczorowski, R. T. (1977) '' ...

lakes that stretch from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

along the

Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

. Recent work by the U.S. Geological Survey has interpreted the Carolina Bays as relict

thermokarst Thermokarst is a type of terrain characterised by very irregular surfaces of marshy hollows and small hummocks formed as ice-rich permafrost thaws. The land surface type occurs in Arctic areas, and on a smaller scale in mountainous areas such as ...

lakes that formed several thousands of years ago when the climate was colder, drier, and windier. Thermokarst lakes develop by thawing of frozen ground (permafrost) and by subsequent modification by wind and water. Thus, this interpretation suggests that permafrost once extended as far south as the Carolina Bays during the last ice age and (or) previous ice ages. Jones Lake is not fed by any stream but relies entirely upon

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

. The land beneath and surrounding the lake is mica-rich sandy clay and sand that is from the

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...

era with a thin layer of

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

deposits covering it. This land is lower than the surrounding land and drains very poorly, creating Jones Lake.

Human History

The area surrounding Jones and Salters Lakes at Jones Lake State Park was settled by migrants for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in the late 1720s and early 1730s. Jones Lake was originally known as Woodward Lake a local

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. It was renamed Jones Lake for Isaac Jones a local land owner who donated the land on which Elizabethtown was built in 1773. Salters Lake is named for an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

heroine A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero' ...

, Sallie Salter. Salter spied on

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

that were camped near Elizabethtown on the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

. The government of the state of North Carolina began to take an interest in Jones and Salters Lakes and other Carolina Bays in the 19th century. The

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

blocked all further private claims on lakes. Soon after, the state assembly pass legislation that granted ownership of all lakes greater than 500 acres (2.02 km²) in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

and Bladen Counties to the state. The formation of Jones Lake,

Lake Waccamaw Lake Waccamaw is a fresh water lake located in Columbus County in North Carolina. It is the largest of the natural Carolina Bay lakes. Although bay trees (''Magnolia virginiana L.'', ''Gordonia lasianthus Ellis'', and ''Persea'') are present w ...

and

Singletary Lake State Park Singletary Lake State Park is a North Carolina state park in Bladen County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Elizabethtown, it covers , including Singletary Lake, one of the largest Carolina bays. Singletary Lake State Park is ...

s can be traced back to this piece of legislation. The growth of the

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a special ...

and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

industries in the area of Jones Lake State Park eventually was greater than what the soil could support. The fertility of the farmland was depleted and most of the standing timber had been clear cut from Bladen County. The land could no longer support the demands of the people living on the land. Farmers were no longer able to produce sustainable crops and many were forced to leave their farms. 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 ...

began purchasing the land surrounding Jones and Salters Lakes in 1936 for a recreational demonstration project. Out of work young men were employed 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 ...

, which was established by

United States 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 State ...

Franklin D. 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 ...

in 1933 during 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 ...

many of the facilities of Jones Lake State Park. The land was managed by the

Resettlement Administration The Resettlement Administration (RA) was a New Deal U.S. federal agency created May 1, 1935. It relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government. On September 1, 1937, it was succeeded by the Farm Se ...

until 1939. Jones Lake State Park was opened in 1939 during the segregation era as 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 ...

for the use of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s. The black communities of southeastern North Carolina used Jones Lake State Park for

family reunion A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year. A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discussi ...

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

s, and church picnics. A result of racial segregation of the state park systems was that the parks for blacks were left largely underfunded and thereby undeveloped. The area in and surrounded Jones Lake remains largely wild and undeveloped offering visitors a chance to see two

s in a nearly natural state. Jones Lake State Park, like

just to the southeast, was used by soldiers training for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

at nearby

Camp Davis Marine Corps Outlying Field (MCOLF) Camp Davis is a military use airport northeast of the central business district of Holly Ridge, in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. It is used as a training facility by the United States Marine ...

for special anti-craft training. The state park also received national attention in 1980 when

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

s gathered at the park to view a

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

Ecology

Jones Lake is surrounded by a bay forest. This forest consists primarily of bay trees such as the loblolly, red bay,

pond pine ''Pinus serotina'', the pond pine, marsh pine or pocosin pine, is a pine tree found along the Southeastern portion of the Atlantic coastal plain of the United States, from southern New Jersey south to Florida and west to southern Alabama. This pi ...

and

Atlantic white cedar ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' (Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white cedar, whitecedar, or false-cypress), a species of ''Cupressaceae'', is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to Geo ...

. The understory consists of

huckleberry Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a Nort ...

, leucothoe, gallberry and pepperbush.

turkey oak Turkey oak is a common name for several species of oaks and may refer to: *''Quercus cerris'', native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor *''Quercus laevis ''Quercus laevis'', the turkey oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is n ...

blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

and

longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

can be found at the higher elevations away from the shoreline. The forests of Jones Lake State Park provide a habitat for a variety of animals that are fairly common to an eastern woodland habitat.

Wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an Upland game bird, upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic ...

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

and

rabbits Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...

can be spotted on from time to time.

Wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typi ...

s live on the lake.

Red-cockaded woodpecker The red-cockaded woodpecker (''Leuconotopicus borealis'') is a woodpecker endemic to the southeastern United States. Description The red-cockaded woodpecker is small to mid-sized species, being intermediate in size between North America's two ...

s can be seen in the forest as can

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...

yellow-throated warbler The yellow-throated warbler (''Setophaga dominica'') is a small migratory songbird species breeding in temperate North America. It belongs to the New World warbler family (Parulidae). Description In summer, male yellow-throated warblers displ ...

white-eyed vireo The white-eyed vireo (''Vireo griseus'') is a small songbird of the family Vireonidae. Distribution and habitat It breeds in the eastern United States from New England west to northern Missouri and south to Texas and Florida, and also in easte ...

and

pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker (''Dryocopus pileatus'') is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the ...

s. Jones Lake State Park is also home to

box turtle Box turtle is the common name for several species of turtle. It may refer to those of the genus '' Cuora'' or ''Pyxidea'', which are the Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of the genus '' Terrapene'', the North American box turtles. T ...

s, fence lizards,

pine barrens tree frog The Pine Barrens tree frog (''Dryophytes andersonii'') is a species of New World tree frog. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss. Physical characteristics ''Dryophytes andersonii'', only about long, is one of the smaller species of tree fro ...

southern toad The southern toad (''Anaxyrus terrestris'') is a true toad native to the southeastern United States, from eastern Louisiana and southeastern Virginia south to Florida. It often lives in areas with sandy soils. It is nocturnal and spends the day i ...

bullfrog ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species America *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile *American bullfro ...

s and

carpenter frog The carpenter frog (''Lithobates virgatipes'') is a species of true frog found on coastal plain of the Atlantic coast of the United States between central New Jersey and northeastern Florida. Identification Carpenter frogs are distinguished by ...

s. This park is also the place where the type specimen of ''

Phyllophaga nebulosa ''Phyllophaga nebulosa'' is a species of June beetle endemic to Jones Lake State Park in North Carolina. This species was discovered by Maxi Polihronakis at Jones Lake State Park when she could not recognize some of the beetles she had collected ...

'', a species of

June beetle June beetle is the common name for several scarab beetles that appear around June in temperate parts of North America: In subfamily Cetoniinae: *''Cotinis nitida'' (Green June beetle) of the southeastern United States *''Cotinis mutabilis'' (Fig ...

, was found and is currently the only known location for this species.

Recreation

Jones Lake State Park is open for year-round recreation, including camping, fishing, boating, hiking and environmental and historical education. Visitors to the park will find 20 campsites that are open for family camping. The sites are equipped with a

picnic table A picnic table (or picnic bench) is a table with benches (often attached), designed for working with and for outdoor dining. The term is often specifically associated with rectangular tables having an A-frame structure. Such tables may be referr ...

and charcoal grill. Hot water showers are available at the park bath house. All campsites are available on a first come first served basis. The campground is closed November through February. JLSP fishing pier2

Jones Lake is open to recreational fishing and boating. All boats must be under .

Canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s and paddleboats are available to rent at the boathouse

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

through

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

. The waters of the lake have a high acidity level due to the amount of vegetation that is decomposing and the buildup peat on the lake bottom. The acid levels have limited the numbers of fish that inhabit Jones Lake and recreation fishing is in turn limited.

Yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy French ...

, and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

can be caught from the shore, pier and boats. Bay Lake Trail is a five-mile (8.05 km) hiking trail around Jones Lake. It passes through the forests that surround the lake. Side trails lead to the lake where visitors can observe pond cypress trees that are covered in

Spanish moss Spanish moss (''Tillandsia usneoides'') is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates. It is native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the Southern Uni ...

. Bay Lake Trail begins at the picnic area and ends at the campground. A one-mile (0.6 km) nature trail, the Cedar Loop Trail, passes through the bay forest and over a sand ridge. Swimming and picnicking are the two most popular recreational activities at Jones Lake State Park. The large picnic area is near the swimming beach. There are 50 picnic tables, eight grills and a large pavilion. The beach is open Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within of Jones Lake State Park: *

Lumber River State Park Lumber River State Park is a North Carolina state park along the Lumber River in Scotland, Hoke, Robeson and Columbus counties. It covers along a 115-mile (185-km) stretch of the Lumber River. Lumber River State Park is located in North Carol ...

(

Robeson County Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...

) *

(Bladen County)

References

External links

* {{Authority control State parks of North Carolina Protected areas of Bladen County, North Carolina Protected areas established in 1939 Civilian Conservation Corps in North Carolina 1939 establishments in North Carolina