Big Spring State Park (Texas)

For the Pennsylvania State Park, see Big Spring State Forest Picnic Area.

Big Spring State Park
Pavilion built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Big Spring
Location	Howard County, Texas, USA
Nearest city	Big Spring
Coordinates	32°13′56″N 101°29′26″W / 32.23222°N 101.49056°W / 32.23222; -101.49056Coordinates: 32°13′56″N 101°29′26″W / 32.23222°N 101.49056°W / 32.23222; -101.49056
Established	1936
Visitors	35,663 (in 2012)^[1]
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Big Spring State Park is a Texas state park in Big Spring, Howard County, Texas in the United States. It was opened in 1936 after the 381.99 acres (154.59 ha) upon which it is situated was deeded to the state by the city of Big Spring in 1934 and 1935. It is named for the natural spring once located on the site that was later replaced by an artificial one.^[2]^[3]

History

The first written record of the spring was made on October 3, 1849, in the journal of Captain R.B. Marcy of the U.S. Cavalry while on his return trip to Fort Smith, Arkansas, from Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Spanish are thought to have visited the area as early as 1768, while Comanches and other Native American groups likely frequented the region much earlier, probably attracted by the permanent water source. Carvings dated c. 1917 indicate that other visitors to the park area included cattle drivers and those travelling to new territories.

Shortly after the state of Texas acquired the land in 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps began construction on the park. Limestone quarried on-site was used in the building of the headquarters, pavilion, lodging, pump house and restroom. The limestone was also used in the building of retaining walls for a three-mile (5 km) drive that loops around Scenic Mountain. The walls were built using mortarless masonry techniques with large blocks of limestone, some weighing as much as two tons.

Facilities

Facilities at the park include a lighted group pavilion, which can accommodate up to 50 people; restrooms with no showers and a Texas State Park store. Native American artifacts and fossils from the area are on display at a seasonal interpretive center, which is also located in the park.

Activities

Some of the recreational opportunities offered on the site include hiking, mountain biking, nature study, jogging and star gazing. The Big Spring Film Society began screening movies on top of the mountain in 2008, and continues to do so every summer. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET The Extra Terrestrial, Star Trek, and The Dark Crystal are just a few of the films they have screened over the years.

Scenic Drive
Shaded picnic table with a view
View from the summit of Scenic Mountain

References

↑ "Texas State Parks: Natural Economic Assets". Window on State Government. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
↑ "Big Spring State Park". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
↑ "Big Spring State Park (Texas)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved January 7, 2013.

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains

National Monuments and Memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument

National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP

National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith

National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River

National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston

National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca

Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Boca Chica Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Texana Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway

State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddoan Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace

State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum

State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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Big Spring State Park (Texas)

History

Facilities

Activities

See also

References