Park Road 4 Historic District
Why it's listed
Park Road 4 is a 15.5-mile, two-lane scenic parkway in Burnet County, Texas. It begins at US 281 south of Burnet, passes through Longhorn Cavern State Park and skirts the eastern edge of Inks Lake State Park before reaching SH 29. The historic district covers the road right-of-way and all of Longhorn Cavern State Park. Civilian Conservation Corps crews began the road in the mid-1930s to give visitors access to the renovated cavern, and WPA workers and the State Highway Department extended and finished it in the early 1940s. Its features include sandstone entrance portals, masonry bridges, retaining walls and guardwalls, 62 stone and concrete culverts, designed vistas and overlooks. Within the park are CCC-era buildings such as the museum, caretaker's residence, observation tower and cabin. The district was listed because it has seen little alteration since its 1934-1942 construction and shows strong design integrity as a New Deal parkway landscape.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Styles | OTHER: NPS Rustic; no style |
|---|---|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Education, Entertainment/Recreation |
| Acreage | 953 |
| Boundary source | NPS cultural-resource GIS polygon |
| Full listing page | Park Road 4 Historic District (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.