 This occurred during the Great Depression, and the state set the Civilian Conservation Corps to work transforming the gift of land, along with adjacent federal lands, into a park.CCC crews, whose encampment remains are also found in the area, built the main access road, the beach house and the beach between 1934 and 1936.The federal portion of the park was turned over to the state in 1938, which built the observation tower atop Elmore Mountain the following year.