Black CCC veterans built Abilene State Park's red-stone heart

The red sandstone arches by Abilene State Park's old swimming pool began with hand tools and a veterans' work camp. Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1823V arrived in December 1933 with 141 white and nine Black World War I veterans. The men cleared land, cut roads and culverts, milled lumber, and quarried local stone.

The company later became 1823CV, the only all-Black veteran CCC company in Texas. After a transfer to Sweetwater and a return to Abilene, its men built the concession building and pool from limestone and red Permian sandstone. They also made stone picnic tables and pergolas. Segregation kept these workers from enjoying the park they built, but their stonework remains a park landmark. A CCC water tower that once held 5,800 gallons still stands nearby.

The setting is part of the story. Elm Creek runs through a valley in the Callahan Divide, where pecan, oak, willow, hackberry, and elm trees shade the floodplain. The state acquired the 529.4-acre property from the City of Abilene in 1933, and the park opened on May 10, 1934.