{"nrhp_refnum":"07000303","name":"Hungry Mother State Park Historic District","other_names":["Hungry Mother State Park","DHR Number: 086-0015"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"2854 Park Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Marion","county":"Smyth County","state":"VA","lat":36.88326455850006,"lon":-81.53455323964727,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-04-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Landscape Architecture","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A state park historic district of about 2,215 acres surrounding the manmade Hungry Mother Lake in Smyth County, near Marion, Virginia. It was developed from 1933 by Civilian Conservation Corps crews and includes cabins, picnic shelters, a restaurant, roads and stonework.","why_significant":"It was one of the six original state parks planned in Virginia and was built with Civilian Conservation Corps labor using National Park Service design concepts. It retains most CCC-era buildings and its original park plan. It is significant for its association with the CCC and state park development, and for its park plan and buildings.","narrative":"Hungry Mother State Park occupies a valley in the Allegheny Mountains of Smyth County, Virginia, around a 108-acre lake created in 1934 by damming Hungry Mother Creek. The park grew from the Civilian Conservation Corps program of the 1930s, when three companies of 200 men built its dam, roads, cabins, log picnic shelters, restaurant and staff housing. Designs and plans came from the National Park Service, working with the Virginia Commission on Conservation and Development. The district follows rustic park design principles, with roads shaped to the terrain and hand-cut stone culverts, bridges and retaining walls. Parking curbs are shaped like construction tools. Later additions include a 1999 visitor center, mid-century campgrounds and the former Hemlock Haven and Camp Burson areas, which are not counted as contributing. The park was one of Virginia's six original state parks and keeps most of its CCC-era buildings and original plan, which is the basis for its listing for architecture, landscape design and recreation history.","period_of_significance":"1933-1942","architect_builder":"E. L. Myers, Jr.; National Park Service; Virginia Commission on Conservation and Development; A. C. Barlow; Mattern and Mattern; Thomas B. Staley; Lee H. Williamson","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements; Modern Movement","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Park still in use for camping, cabins, restaurant, recreation and trails; many CCC-era resources retained alongside later additions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.166327-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/6836/41683666/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000303.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000303/da2a050c2c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000303/da2a050c2c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Virginia State Parks staff","credit_html":"Virginia State Parks staff, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22One_Fine_Day%22_at_Hungry_Mother_State_Park_(7177719353).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683666","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Mother_State_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5943531"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/smyth-county/hungry-mother-state-park-historic-district-07000303/"}