Mother Neff State Park is trying to figure out what to do with some Great Depression era structures.
Flooding over the years caused major issues to the buildings in the park near the Leon River.
"There's a history of flooding at Mother Neff," Melissa Chadwick, Park Superintendent for Mother Neff State Park, said.
Mother Neff State Park has had flooding issues since the 1990s. Chadwick said the park flooded in 2007, 2015 and 2016.
"In the summer of 2016, we saw the highest waters we had seen in that flooding period. (The Rock Tabernacle) would have had six to eight feet of water," Chadwick said.
The park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1934-1938. The CCC came out of the Great Depression. Chadwick said young men earned $30 a month, $25 of which went back home to their families. The CCC builds parks all across the United States.
"These structures have had an amazing history with the park, they're still standing. It's a testament to their architecture and how they were built. It's amazing we have them still, but they are in dire need of repairs after so many years of flooding," Chadwick said.
The area where the CCC buildings are have been closed to the public since 2015 because of flooding.
"Still a beautiful park to come to and visit, it's just unfortunate that the heart of the park, the history of the park is still closed off," Chadwick said.
Chadwick said Texas Parks and Wildlife are looking at the buildings to see if they are structurally sound because of all of the water damage over the years from flooding and other weather events. She said they are trying to decide what to do, but they need more funding to get that portion of the park back open.
"We've made a tremendous amount of progress here at the park already, we still have a long way to go," Chadwick said.
Nearly 300 acres of the park are still open for camping and day use. For more information, click here.
Copyright 2018 KXXV. All rights reserved.
