Washington State Park
| Washington State Park | |
| Missouri State Park | |
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Missouri |
| County | Washington |
| Elevation | 673 ft (205 m) |
| Coordinates | 38°05′00″N 90°41′18″W / 38.08333°N 90.68833°WCoordinates: 38°05′00″N 90°41′18″W / 38.08333°N 90.68833°W |
| Area | 1,800 acres (728 ha) |
| Established | 1932 |
| Management | Missouri Department of Natural Resources |
| Visitation | 230,983 (2014) |
  Location in Missouri
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| Website: Washington State Park | |
Washington State Park is a Missouri state park in the central eastern part of the state located on Highway 21 about 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Potosi on the eastern edge of the Ozarks. The park is noted for its Native American rock carvings and for its finely crafted stonework from the 1930s.
The carvings, or petroglyphs, carved in dolomite rock, are believed to have been made around 1000 to 1600 C.E. and to give clues to the lives of the prehistoric Native Americans who once inhabited this part of Missouri. It is also believed that the park served as ceremonial grounds for these Middle Mississippi people who were related to the builders of the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois.
Most of the carvings are of birds, arrows, footprints, turkey tracks, human figures, and various geometric shapes and patterns. The three petroglyph sites in the park are thought to be all that is left of a more extensive site. They make up almost 75 percent of the known petroglyphs in Missouri and contain over 350 symbols.
The park was built during the Great Depression of the 1930s by the African-American stonemasons of the Civilian Conservation Corps known as Company 1743. Their efforts left the park with the historical stone structures that still stand today: hiking shelters, picnic pavilions, and the stones that make up the 1,000 Steps Trail.
The park's nearly 1,800 acres (730 ha) allows for activities including camping, fishing, canoeing, hiking, and swimming either in the modern swimming pool or the Big River. In 2013, the park received some 250,000 visitors, including 3,400 campers.
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Wikipedia