F. D. Roosevelt State Park, State park and historic district in Pine Mountain, United States.
F.D. Roosevelt State Park is a 9,049-acre state park and National Historic Landmark District on the Pine Mountain Ridge in Harris County, Georgia. Its western half preserves Civilian Conservation Corps work from the 1930s, including the stone Liberty Bell Pool, Roosevelt Lodge, cabins, and the 15-acre Lake Delanor and 25-acre Lake Franklin. The park also contains the 23-mile Pine Mountain Trail and Dowdell's Knob, its highest point at 1,395 feet.
The land was held by the Creek Nation until ceded to Georgia under treaties of 1825 and 1826; settlers founded Kings Gap near today's Liberty Bell Pool, and the town was gone by the 20th century. Roosevelt first came to the nearby warm springs in 1924 for relief from paralytic illness and helped found the Warm Springs Foundation in 1927. A CCC camp set up in 1935 near the Highway 354 entrance built the Liberty Bell Pool, Roosevelt Lodge, cabins and Lakes Delanor and Franklin; the western half became a National Historic Landmark District in 1997.
The Civilian Conservation Corps camp near Highway 354 built the Liberty Bell Pool, Roosevelt Lodge, several cabins, and the 15-acre Lake Delanor and 25-acre Lake Franklin in the 1930s. The pool's name refers to a Liberty Bell replica; the lodge and cabins use American Craftsman and National Park Service rustic styles. The western half of the park is a National Historic Landmark District for this CCC work and its Roosevelt association.
The park offers 109 tent sites, 21 backcountry camping areas, rental cottages, and two lakes for fishing alongside horseback riding with guided experiences. Trails vary in difficulty by season, so bring comfortable shoes and water, and plan for changes in weather conditions throughout the day.
At Dowdell's Knob, the park's highest point at 1,395 feet, a 1,200-pound bronze statue of Roosevelt was unveiled on April 12, 2007, the 62nd anniversary of his death. Sculpted by Atlanta artist Martin Dawe for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, it shows him seated on his removable car seat and wearing his leg braces. The knob is named for pioneer Harris County settlers Lewis and James Dowdell.
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