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Washington State Park

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Coordinates: 38°05′02″N 90°40′27″W / 38.083779°N 90.674222°W / 38.083779; -90.674222
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For other uses, see Washington State Park System.

Washington State Park
Pavilion
Washington State Park CCC pavilion
Washington State Park is located in Missouri
Washington State Park
Location in Missouri
Washington State Park is located in the United States
Washington State Park
Washington State Park (the United States)
LocationWashington County, Missouri, United States
Coordinates38°05′02″N 90°40′27″W / 38.083779°N 90.674222°W / 38.083779; -90.674222[1]
Area2,157.57 acres (873.14 ha)[2]
Elevation673 ft (205 m)
Established1932[3]
Administered byMissouri Department of Natural Resources
Visitors306,387 (in 2023)[2]
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Washington State Park Petroglyph Archeological Site
An eagle petroglyph at Washington State Park
Nearest cityFertile, Missouri
Area25 acres (10 ha)
NRHP reference No.70000352
Added to NRHPApril 3, 1970
Washington State Park CCC Historic District
Stone shelter built by the CCC
Nearest cityPotosi, Missouri
Area710 acres (290 ha)
Built1934 (1934)
Built byCivilian Conservation Corps
Architectural styleRustic
MPSECW Architecture in Missouri State Parks 1933-1942 TR
NRHP reference No.85000517
Added to NRHPMarch 4, 1985

Washington State Park is a public recreation area covering 2,157 acres (873 ha) in Washington County in the central eastern part of the state of Missouri. It is located on Highway 21 about 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Potosi or 7 miles (11 km) southwest of De Soto on the eastern edge of the Ozarks. The state park is noted for its Native American rock carvings and for its finely crafted stonework from the 1930s.[4]

Stone carvings

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The carvings, or petroglyphs, carved in fixed dolomite rock, are believed to have been made around 1000 to 1600 CE and to give clues to the lives of the prehistoric Native Americans who once inhabited this part of Missouri. It is also believed that the park served as ceremonial grounds for these Middle Mississippi people who were related to the builders of the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois.

Most of the carvings are of birds, arrows, footprints, turkey tracks, human figures, and various geometric shapes and patterns. The three petroglyph sites in the park are thought to be all that is left of a more extensive site. They make up almost 75 percent of the known petroglyphs in Missouri and contain over 350 symbols.[5]

The petroglyphs were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 as the Washington State Park Petroglyph Archeological Site.[6][7]

Stone structures

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The park was built during the Great Depression of the 1930s by the African-American stonemasons of the Civilian Conservation Corps known as Company 1743.[8] Their efforts left the park with the historical stone structures that still stand today: hiking shelters, picnic pavilions, and the stones that make up the 1,000 Steps Trail.[9][10] Fourteen buildings and stone structures are included in the Washington State Park CCC Historic District, a national historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[11]: 445–466 

Activities and amenities

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Park activities include camping, fishing, canoeing, hiking, and swimming in both the Big River and an olympic-sized pool.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Interpretive Center at Washington State Park". Missouri Department of Natural Resources. February 10, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Data Sheet: Washington State Park" (PDF). Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  3. ^ "State Park Land Acquisition Summary". Missouri State Parks. August 25, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Washington State Park". Missouri Department of Natural Resources. December 10, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  5. ^ Drew, Nancy (March–April 1993). "Ten Miles of Ozarks History". The Ozarks Mountaineer. Kirbyville, Mo.: 58.
  6. ^ Neathery and Michael Fuller (January 2016). "Washington State Park Rock Art Site "A" (23WA01)". Missouri Archaeological Society. Retrieved March 1, 2017. (includes photographs)
  7. ^ Neathery and Michael Fuller (April 2016). "Washington State Park Rock Art Site "B" (23WA02)". Missouri Archaeological Society. Retrieved March 1, 2017. (includes photographs)
  8. ^ Cunning, John (January–February 1996). "CCC Company 1743: The Thunderbirds" (PDF). Preservation Issues. 6 (1). Jefferson City, Mo.: Missouri Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Program: 1, 6–7. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  9. ^ "Trails at Washington State Park". Missouri Department of Natural Resources. December 7, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  10. ^ Drew, p. 59. "One can only marvel at the effort it must have taken to shape the limestone blocks and then to place them on the hillside."
  11. ^ Denny, James M.; Wright, Bonita Marie (November 7, 1984). "Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Architecture in Missouri State Parks, 1933-1942, Thematic Resources" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form (includes photographs). Missouri Department of Natural Resources. p. 434–444. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
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