Shared by Jon Tabb, as Guest Blogger.

An early history of African-Americans in the state park system was well documented in a 2015 history of Twin Lakes State Park blog entry, but a lot less is documented about Pocahontas State Park’s early days.

Roadside marker commemorating the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp 2386 at Pocahontas State Park

The park started life as the federal “Swift Creek Recreational Demonstration Area." Developed by the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935 from sub-marginal forest and farmland, the park provided day use and group camping opportunities for the Richmond and Petersburg areas. During WWI, the park was used for as a military rest and recuperation area and in 1946 it was turned over to the State of Virginia. Later it was merged with Pocahontas State Forest and has become today the largest state park in Virginia.

Exhibits depicting the park's history are found in the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum located in the heart of the park

The park staff have found some tantalizing African American history clues while organizing the park’s Civilian Conservation Corps records.

• A late 1930’s recommendation from a federal park inspector referring to a “negro camp” in the southeast corner of the park
• References to African-American CCC workers from nearby camps coming to work on the Swift Creek Lake project
• Indications that the African American CCC Camp 1372 was located in or near the park in July 1941
• Oral history about Group Camp #7 which had a man-made lake, a swimming beach, cabins, and a dining hall similar to the existing group camping areas, but was located in a now remote area of the park between Beech and Woodpecker Roads.

The CCC Museum is located across from the Heritage/Nature Center

Jon Tabb, the curator of the museum will presented a short overview of the CCC and its contributions in Virginia, specifically at Pocahontas. He talked briefly about the African-American experience in the CCC with some regional examples.

The main feature of the afternoon was an opportunity for discussion and reminiscing about the African American experience in the early days of the park.

The museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located in the park. For more information on this event, click here. For directions to Pocahontas State Park click here.