Celebrating the Civilian Conservation Corps’ impact on infrastructure and architecture - unique places

90th anniversary of Virginia State Parks

Welcome signs

The first thing visitors will come across when entering a state park is our entrance signs. Before the modern signs you see today, our parks had a menagerie of designs throughout the years. When our original parks were built by the CCC, standard designs were sent out to the parks to follow. A 1935 example, originally illustrated in Happy Days (the CCC’s national newspaper), demonstrates the rustic designs typical of these early parks.

When our parks were being developed, the architects played around with these standard designs, adapting to the local environment, such as the Seashore State Park (now First Landing State Park) and the Hungry Mother State Park examples. Other parks used signs that made more sense to their park, such as at Douthat State Park. However, each of these early examples still followed the standard “parkitecture” rules: rustic, built by hand and using natural, local materials. 

Our entrance signs have changed a lot over the years. None of our CCC-era signs are still extant, but some of their replacements are worth noting! We have always emphasized the use of stone in our signs, as you can see in the early 1970s Fairy Stone State Park sign. 

While these historic pieces are no longer standing, acknowledging them helps us tell a fuller, more accurate story of the development of our state parks. 

Today, you will be greeted by our modern version of a parkitecture sign, like at Virginia’s newest state park, Hayfields; the updated, yet historically sensitive, marker lets you know that you are entering a special place steeped in history and tradition. 

Click to enlarge the image.

Blueprint for a proposed welcome sign at Hungry Mother State Park

One of the early welcome signs at First Landing State Park

Original welcome sign at Douthat State Park

One of the early signs a Fairy Stone State Park

Rustic road sign illustration featured in Happy Days

A standard Virginia State Parks welcome sign today

These landmarks aren’t just historic; they’re living pieces of our shared outdoor heritage, still supporting, inspiring and welcoming visitors nearly a century after they were built.

Next time you visit a Virginia State Park, take a moment to look a little closer. You might be standing beside a piece of history.

We invite you to rediscover the legacy that makes our parks not only breathtaking, but truly one of a kind.