Building Human Happiness ~ Van Buren, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 36° 56.887 W 090° 59.469
15S E 678871 N 4091002
The CCC built this lodge and cabins, and they still are in use.
Waymark Code: WM5BX7
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2008
Views: 7
Marker Erected by: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
County of Marker: Carter County.
Location of Marker: Jct. MO-103 & MO-Z, Big Spring Scenic Riverways Park.
Marker Text:
"We are definitely in an era of building, the best time of the building of great public projects for the benefit of the public and with the definite objective of building human happiness."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The architect in charge of designing the structures at Big Spring was Donald A. Blake. He served as architectural foreman for Co. 1710 during the winter of 1933-34 before being transferred to Jefferson City, where he continued with state park design planning. Blake later returned permanently to Big Spring as Camp Superintendent from November 1935 until 1937.
Growing out of the hillside overlooking the river and spring branch, the dining lodge still offers visitors a beautiful view and a peaceful meal. It took nearly 11 months for the CCC boys to hew the beams and to quarry, cut and haul stone needed to raise the massive structure. The lodge was designed in an Old England style so as to be in harmony with surrounding environment.
The CCC built cabins to serve as a woodland retreat for visitors. In 3 cabins, a rustic, Old England "half timber" design featuring native stone and massive oak beams served the dual purpose of providing modern, attractive accommodations and using natural materials to blend in with the forested, rocky terrain. This minimized the visual intrusion of structures on the natural scene. The C's also moved 3 existing cabins from the bank of the spring branch to the hillside and remodeled them to fit the landscape.