The park was called the Montserrat National Recreational Demonstration Area when it was created in the 1930s as part of a nationwide effort by the National Park Service to show how land that had been cleared for lumbering, mining or farming could be restored and reclaimed for public recreational purposes.
Camp Shawnee Historic District: Encompasses 30 buildings and structures constructed between 1936 and 1941 by relief workers under the Works Projects Administration.