A little cabin at Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park

Last January when we visited Callaway Gardens we had lunch at the Country Kitchen Restaurant and saw that the gardens were adjacent to Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) State Park.  We decided to return to the area to see the azaleas in bloom at Callaway Gardens and this time, we rented a small cabin at the state park for four days.  We arrived at FDR State Park last Sunday, April 7, 2013.  The temperature during our stay was between 75 and 82 F (24 to 28 C,)  dry with a slight breeze - perfect.  It took us about 2 hours to drive from our home to reach Pine Mountain, Georgia, where the park is located.  F. D. Roosevelt State Park is operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.  Below is a Georgia map showing the 63 state parks and historical places operated by Georgia DNR.  FDR State Park is at the 9 o'clock point on the map below.

The State of Georgia is very diverse and its various state parks show that - they offer hiking, fishing, golf, swimming and overnight accommodations in cottages, campsites, yurts, lodges, etc., from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north, waterfalls, lakes and marshes to the south - a total of 77500 acres (33,363 hectares) of natural area.  F. D. Roosevelt State Park offers 22 cottages, 109 campsites, group camps, shelters, picnic areas, etc., as well as seven nature trails and a 23-mile Pine Mountain trail which winds through forests, scenic overlooks, waterfalls, and goes up to an elevation of 1,395 feet.  The park entrance is in Pine Mountain and the headquarters are housed in a rustic stone building.

As we walked up towards the building we passed a statue representing a CCC worker.  (Click on collage twice to embiggen.)

Inside there were more photos and information on the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC.)  This program was part of President Roosevelt's New Deal.  It was a public work relief program in the US operating between 1933 and 1942 for unmarried men aged 18-25 left unemployed by the Great Depression.  They did not use machinery but picks, shovels, wheelbarrows, mules and human muscles.  The 15-acre Lake Delanor and 25-acre Lake Franklin were dug by hand by the CCC.

Two and a half million young men participated in the CCC and planted about 3 billion trees to help reforest America.  They upgraded most state parks, constructed more than 800 parks nationwide and built a network of public roadways in remote areas among other projects.  They built the entire F. D. State Park - lakes, pool, bathhouse, hiking trails, roads, cabins, etc., in less than 3 years.  At almost 10,000 acres (4047 hectares) FDR State Park is the largest state park in Georgia.  The stone building which is now the park headquarters was originally a park tavern.  Below is a copy of their menu at the time.

After checking in to get the keys to our cabin we walked around the stone building to admire the beautiful view below.

Then we drove to our little log cabin, one of the original cabins built by the CCC, and one of the smallest in the park.

It was cool inside and smelled like a wood fire had burned earlier in the fireplace.  There was a main room with a loveseat sofa, table, chairs and fireplace.  On the sides of the main room were a tiny kitchen and a small bathroom.  The bedroom and small porch were facing the lake.

It was early afternoon so we went back to the village of Pine Mountain for lunch, then for a drive on Highway 190 which was built in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) another of President Roosevelt's New Deal.  It employed unskilled out-of-work men, women and youth to carry out public work projects such as roads and public buildings.  Highway 190 runs the full length of F. D. Roosevelt State Park along the crest of Pine Mountain.  We stopped at the Callaway Gardens overlook and could see the golf course there.

Highway 190 is a beautiful drive where you can look way down on the right and on the left and stop at scenic overlooks.  We stopped at another overlook on the other side of the crest.  As my husband was going down a trail I took some pictures.  The trees were starting to show color - different shades of yellow to green.  Some clouds were casting shadows in the background of the landscape and gave the illusion that a body of water was running there.

We returned to our little cabin.  My husband went down to take a closer look at the lake.  I sat outside on the cement picnic bench to catch the last rays of the sun.  I read my book "A Covert Affair" by Jennet Conant which is about the establishment of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) precursor of the CIA and how Julia Child and her husband Paul were working in this service.  The OSS had been authorized by President Roosevelt on 13 June 1942.  I enjoyed reading my book but also stopping once in a while to look down at Lake Delanor.  It was not cool enough to build a fire in the cabin but the people in a nearby cabin made an outdoor fire.

During the next three days we visited Callaway Gardens and two other places which will be in future posts.  We drove on Highway 190 again and stopped at the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge.

We passed by some picturesque barns.  Luckily there was not much traffic so I could stop and take pictures from the car.  It was hard not to stop the car and get out to take a look when there was a clearing on the road.  In the picture below little farms can be seen.

Another time we drove by the Liberty Bell Pool.  It was also built by the CCC from local stones and is spring-fed.  Many ages ago Creek Indians used to roam this land and buffaloes drank from this spring.  It is open in summer until Labor Day.

On the fourth day of our stay at the park, on Wednesday April 10, 2013, we decided to drive to Warm Springs which is about 10 minutes away (approx. 6.5 miles.)  We visited "The Little White House" President Roosevelt's house there.  Later we stopped by the pool where President Roosevelt sought relief for his crippled legs by getting therapeutic sessions in the naturally heated mineral springs.  The pool complex was refurbished by the Georgia State parks and is now a museum.  The lady at the desk told us that when President Roosevelt left the pool he would drive on Highway 190 to a place called Dowdell's Knob and gave us directions to find it.  It was about 10 minutes away.  When we arrived there we understood why this was a favorite place - it was high above the valley and the view was breathtaking.

An historical marker explained President Roosevelt's visits to this site.  The picnic grill he had built had been filled to preserve it.  For the 62nd anniversary of Roosevelt's death, on April 12, 2007, a 1,200 pound bronze statue was unveiled.  It seems the president is gazing at the view as he did so often when he came here to picnic with friends or reflect and meditate.

An interpretative panel described the significance of Dowdell's Knob in the president's life.  The bottom right photo explains that on April 10, 1945, President Roosevelt was driven to this point by his Secret Service agents and asked them not to come back until they heard his car's horn.  He stayed there for two hours.  Two days later, on April 12, 1945, he died at the Little White House in Warm Springs from a massive cerebral hemorrhage.

It was awe inspiring, peaceful and at the same time sad to be in this same spot and, as a coincidence, also on April 10, 2013 - sixty-eight years after President Roosevelt's last visit here.  I don't think the view has changed.  It is magnificent as ever with the spring colors and the trees in bloom.  The birds are still visiting it - as I looked up a bird was flying toward me.

We stayed there a long time.  Then we went back to our little cabin and walked by the lake.  Ducks came to take a look at us but went on to eat some vegetation by the bank.  The sun was going down behind the pines but gave a soft pink glow to the lake.

The next morning we went back to the stone building to leave the cabin keys.  We took a last look at the view - clouds were coming.  The weather forecast was announcing bad storms, some tornadoes even.

It was time to go home.