Cowans Gap State Park Family Cabin District

Built between 1933 and 1941 by the Civilian Conservation Corps at Camp S-54, the family cabins stand within Cowans Gap State Park in Fulton County, Pennsylvania. The district contains eleven L-plan cabins with cross-gabled roofs, most with two stone walls, one incorporating a stone fireplace, and wood-frame walls clad in wane-edged siding. Deep porches supported by log posts shelter the entrances. The cabins are regarded as typical examples of the rustic style promoted by the National Park Service, which used local materials and sited buildings to blend with their surroundings. Their construction was part of the Emergency Conservation Work program, one of the major New Deal relief efforts that employed thousands of unemployed young men during the Depression. The district has been used for recreation for roughly half a century and reflects the federal and state cooperation that built many of Pennsylvania's state park facilities.