Cook Forest State Park River Cabin District
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
Fifteen log family cabins and latrines stand on a hillside above the Clarion River at Cooksburg, Forest County, within Cook Forest State Park. Civilian Conservation Corps Camp SP-2, which operated in the park from October 1933 to September 1935, built the cabins between 1933 and 1935. Most are four-room, gable-roofed log buildings with saddle-notched corners and white cement chinking. Several have inset porches supported by timber poles with ornamental timber railings, and some have large uncut stone chimneys. The buildings are in the rustic style promoted by the National Park Service, designed to blend with the natural setting and built from local materials. They are significant for their link to the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of the principal New Deal relief programs, which employed many young men who had been jobless or homeless during the Depression. The cabins also show the cooperation between state and federal government on state-owned land. They have been used for recreation for about fifty years.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its association with the Emergency Conservation Work program of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal relief effort, and for its rustic architecture, which follows the style promoted by the National Park Service. The buildings were built on state-owned land through federal and state cooperation and employed many young jobless men during the Depression.
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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 87000053, listed February 12, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Off PA 36 at Cooksburg, Cooksburg |
|---|---|
| County | Forest County |
| Listed | February 12, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87000053 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1933-1935 |
| Architectural style | Rustic |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Conservation, Politics/Government, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Cabins are in good condition and in use as family cabins. |
| Acreage | 34.4 |
| Coordinates | 41.32648, -79.19174 (NPS GIS) |
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.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 87000053.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q98844668
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.