Possum Kingdom
The 1,528-acre Possum Kingdom State Park is located in the rugged canyon country of the Palo Pinto Mountains and Brazos River Valley in North Texas. Between 1936 and 1941, the Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District, with federal assistance, built a dam across the river. The man for whom the dam is named, U.S. Senator Morris Sheppard, a staunch supporter of the New Deal and a member of Congress for thirty-nine years, died just as construction was completed.
With parkland already set aside to develop recreational opportunities at this newly created lake, the project awaited a CCC company. In May 1941, CCC Company 2888 formally moved from Tyler State Park to begin the development of Possum Kingdom State Park. But when the lake suddenly filled to capacity in April 1941, the plans changed. Designers had to abandon the scheme for development along both shorelines and, instead, to focus only on the west shore where the CCC gave priority to providing utilities and basic services. The enrollees cleared the park area and shoreline, built campsites and picnic tables, and constructed the more than seven miles of roads and attendant culverts. Ideas for additional improvements were set aside as World War II loomed. CCC Company 2888 finally abandoned its barracks on July 13, 1942, the last such company in Texas to do so, thus ending Civilian Conservation Corps’ impressive nine-year contribution to public works in Texas.
- Park Location
- Palo Pinto County 17 miles north from Caddo on Park Road 33
- CCC Company
- 2888
- Activity Dates
- 1941-1942
- CCC Construction
- Park Road 33, Stone Culverts, Caretaker’s Cabin, Concession Stand, and Septic System. Most of the original Wooden Picnic Tables and Stone Fireplaces have been replaced. A Floating Pier with Walkway was replaced in the 1950s; a Boat House was designed but not constructed.
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- Learn More
- Park information from Texas Parks and Wildlife website
