Roaring River State Park is a public recreation area covering of south of Cassville in Barry County,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. 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 ...

offers trout fishing on the Roaring River, hiking on seven different trails, and the seasonally open Ozark Chinquapin Nature Center.

History

Land for the park was originally donated by Thomas Mark “Doc” Sayman, a medicine-show man who made millions peddling patent medicines and soaps during his traveling tent shows in the early 20th century. When Sayman failed to get the game and fish commission to buy property at Roaring River Spring, he purchased 2,400 acres which he then turned over to the state. The original park was acquired in 1923, and developed between 1933 and 1939 by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, 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 ...

and

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 ...

Historic sites

The park includes several resources dating from the 1930s that were 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 ...

in 1985 and that are also included in th
Emergency Conservation Work (E.C.W.) Architecture in Missouri State Parks, 1933-1942, Thematic Resources
*Bath House (NRIS 85000500): The clubhouse (or bath house) was built between 1936 and 1938, and is a rambling one-story, rustic stone building. It has a curvilinear section and a gable roof. It is the last surviving structure in a lake and beach development project initiated, but never completed, by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). *Camp Smokey/Company 1713 Historic District (NRIS 85000513): This historic district encompasses three buildings and one structure that were part of the central compound of the CCC installation. They were erected in 1933 and are the Outdoor Fireplace/Chimney, Barracks No. 2 (Foreman's Quarters), Barracks #3 (Hospital), and Barracks #4 (Education and Supply Building). *Dam/Spillway (NRIS 85000518): The original stone and earthen dam was built in 1865 by William McClure to power McClure's Mill (destroyed c. 1920). The dam was reconstructed by the CCC in 1933 for an important

fish hatchery A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gloss ...

complex. *Deer Leap Trail (NRIS 85000519): It was built between 1933 and 1939 by the CCC, and is a man-made trail, approximately 3/10 of a mile in length. It has rough stone steps and stone retaining walls and features the Deer Leap Overlook. *Honeymoon Cabin (NRIS 85000520): Also known as Cabin #26, it is a small (15 feet by 23 feet) rectangular rustic cottage with an enclosed front porch in a secluded location. It was built between 1933 and 1939 by the CCC, and has a cross-gable roof, board-and-batten siding, and a stone foundation. *Hotel (NRIS 85000501): Also known as the Lodge, it is a three-story, native stone and wood rectangular building with a full-length second-story porch. It was built in 1938 by CCC and Works Progress Administration relief workers. *Shelter Kitchen No. 2 and Rest Room (NRIS 85000521): The Shelter Kitchen No. 2, or Shelter House, was built by the CCC in 1934, and is a rustic log structure with a

flagstone Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other c ...

floor and side-gable roof. The stone rest room is a small rectangular building with a front gable roof.

References

External links

Roaring River State Park
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Roaring River State Park Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources State parks of Missouri State parks of the U.S. Interior Highlands Protected areas of Barry County, Missouri Protected areas established in 1928 Nature centers in Missouri Civilian Conservation Corps in Missouri Works Progress Administration in Missouri Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Buildings and structures in Barry County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Barry County, Missouri 1928 establishments in Missouri {{BarryCountyMO-NRHP-stub