Did you know that 2017 marks the 80th anniversary of the Tennessee state park system? Established in 1937, it now includes 56 parks and 85 natural areas covering about 200,000 acres across the state. In honor of this momentous occasion, here are just a few collections related to our beautiful state parks. Please visit the Tennessee State Library and Archives to learn more about these collections and other resources – then get outside and enjoy those great outdoors!
Department of Conservation Photograph Collection, Record Group 82, 1937-1976:
This record group consists of more than 11,000 photographs and 21,000 negatives produced for publication in the magazine Tennessee Wildlife (later The Tennessee Conservationist) as well as tourism brochures, annual reports, presentations and displays at county fairs. Series 27, State Parks, provides a documentary history of the state parks, including their development by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s.
Some digital versions are available as part of the Library Photograph Collection in the Tennessee Virtual Archive.
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| Aerial view of the Negro State Park (now T.O. Fuller State Park) area looking south, taken over the Mississippi River at 1,000 feet, June 8, 1938 (RG 82). The state park system was segregated from its inception in 1937 with two parks established for African-Americans – T.O. Fuller and Booker T. Washington State Parks – before integration in the early 1960s. |
Department of Conservation Records, Record Group 266, 1919-1987:
This record group consists of correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, and subject files relating to the activities of the Department of Conservation for the years 1919 through 1987. In particular, the subject files contain extensive information on the creation and growth of the Tennessee state park system.
See the record group’s finding aid online HERE.
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| Visitor’s Centre diagram from the Report on the Master Plan for Panther Creek State Park, July 1966. (RG 266) |
Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project Records, Record Group 59, 1979-1984:
Started in 1979, the Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project aimed to document and preserve Tennessee culture by engaging local musicians, craftsmen, and storytellers in communities surrounding six state parks. While much of the collection focuses on music, art and other folk traditions, there are some materials on the history and development of the state parks.
The digital collection is available in the Tennessee Virtual Archive.
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| Soapmakers from Whiteville are pictured demonstrating the making of lye soap in front of Chickasaw State Park program spectators. (RG 59) |
Game and Fish Conservation Commission Records, Record Group 16, 1933-1937:
This collection consists of records from the short-lived, independent Game and Fish Department (1933-1935) in addition to those of the Game and Fish Conservation Commission (1935-1937). It includes the correspondence of two State Wardens, reports, meeting minutes and other materials.
The collection’s finding aid is available online HERE.
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| January 1934 issue of The Open Trails, a periodical produced by the Game and Fish Conservation Commission. It is one of nine in the collection, covering May 1933 to January 1934. (RG 16) |
Department of Conservation Records, Record Group 19, 1937-1959:
For more information on the development of wildlife management programs in Tennessee, check out Record Group 19, which consists primarily of correspondence, speeches, financial records and minutes. The bulk of the correspondence belongs to Jim Nance McCord, who served as Commissioner of Conservation from 1953-1959.
The collection’s finding aid is available online HERE.
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| Pictorial map of Norris Lake Forest and Vicinity, June 1937, by H.R. Franco. (RG 19) |
Civilian Conservation Corps in Tennessee Collection, 1933-1942:
As mentioned previously, the Civilian Conservation Corps was greatly involved in the development of the state parks in Tennessee. This collection contains two field reports: Fall Creek Falls Recreational Demonstration Area and Montgomery Bell Project Reclamation Area. There are also maps and photographs of these two parks.
This collection’s finding aid is available online HERE.
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| Cover for the report on Fall Creek Falls Recreational Demonstration Area. (Civilian Conservation Corps in Tennessee Collection, 1933-1942) |
CCC 50th Anniversary Collection, Record Group 93:
The Civilian Conservation Corps 50th Anniversary Collection consists of yearbooks, camp newspapers, photographs, and other records documenting the experience and work of the CCC in Tennessee.
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| Photograph of unnamed men and women by the lake at Big Ridge State Park, taken by Otto F. Haslbauer Norris, date unknown. (RG 93) |
Tennessee State Parks Brochures
Our final collection is part of our library holdings and consists of brochures from our many state parks ranging from 1956 to the present. Some of the brochures provide basic information about the park, while others serve as trail guides and wildlife aids.
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| Both sides of a brochure for Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee |
The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State
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