The hike is optional at the conclusion of an open house event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8. The history lesson will feature the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps and specifically the work completed by Company 1743, an all African-American brigade.
Park staff will explain the cultural and historical significance of Company 1743 and the work it completed. Photographs and artifacts will be on display. Self-guided driving tour maps will be available for those who want to find the stonework and construction on their own timetable.
Beginning at 1 p.m., hikers will join a guide on about a 1-mile stretch of the 1,000 Steps Trail to the impressive overlook building the workers built on a bluff overlooking the Big River valley and into Jefferson County.
The Civilian Conservation Corps was founded during the Great Depression to provide work on public properties across the country. In Missouri, about 4,000 young men between the ages of 18 and 25 were assembled in 22 companies of about 200 each. Because they were segregated, like just about everything else in the 1930s, three of those groups were exclusively African-American.
Organized in April 1933 at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Company 1743 was sent to Pierre, S.D., and St. Joseph before they were ordered to Washington State Park near De Soto on June 4, 1934, according to a 1996 publication from the state Department of Natural Resources.
The company built the Thunderbird Lodge at the park. The lodge is temporarily closed for renovations. The CCC team also built the 1,000 Steps Trail and the overlook shelter. The trail and buildings use stones cut from a quarry in the park and hauled up the hillside to make passage to the top of the bluff that much easier.
Two other rugged hiking trails at Washington State Park explore more of its 2,100-plus acres. The Opossum Tracks Trail is 2.5 miles long, and the Rockywood Trail covers six miles of hills and forests.
Company 1734 worked at Washington State Park until 1939, when they were assigned to a project at Mark Twain State Park in northeast Missouri. CCC crews worked in 15 state parks in Missouri and built many structures that are on the National Register of Historic Places.
As impressive as the CCC history is at Washington State Park, the area is actually better known for its prehistoric features. Petroglyphs carved in stones inspired the naming of the Thunderbird Camp. The carvings are the largest collection in the state and are believed to indicate that the park was used for native American ceremonies.
Two petroglyph sites are open to the public for viewing. The main site includes an information kiosk, paved pathway, covered shelter and wooden observation deck for viewing the petroglyphs below.
The open house is free, and refreshments will be available. Registration is at mostateparks.com. Search for Washington State Park and click the events tab. For information call the park office at 636-586-5768.
John J. Winkelman is community engagement manager at Mercy Hospital Jefferson. If you have news for the Leader’s Outdoor News page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com and you can follow John on Twitter at @johnjwink99.