This geocache is part of the County of Highlands Centennial GeoTrail. Visit the link below for the official GeoTrail passport to log the codewords for all GeoTrail caches, turn in and receive a set of 5 souvenir tags. Website https://visitsebring.com/sebring-area-geotour/ for more information about the Sebring Area GeoTour and the County of Highlands Centennial GeoTrail. Geocache is located at Highlands Hammock State Park, open 365 days a year from 8 am until sundown. State Park entrance fee required.
In the late 1920s, local residents concerned about losing the hammock to farmland began raising money to purchase the land. In February 1930, the land was considered for a national park, but deemed too small. With no state park system in existence at the time, a private group formed to create the park. Conservation visionary Margaret Shippen Roebling donated $25,000 to purchase the land and later contributed another $25,000, with the condition that the community raise $5,000 to show its commitment. Local residents rose to the occasion, and nearly everyone contributed something, ranging from one dollar (a real sacrifice in the hard times of the Depression) to $1,000. When Mrs. Roebling died unexpectedly that same year, her husband John committed to carrying out his wife's wishes of conserving and opening the park to the public. With financial assistance from the Roebling family, the property was acquired, and trails and basic facilities were constructed.
In March 1931, the 1,280-acre park opened. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs to put young men to work. Thousands of CCC workers laid out trails, cleared forests and worked on conservation-related projects throughout the country. In 1934, a local CCC camp began working on a botanical garden project adjacent to Highlands Hammock Park. When Florida’s state park system was established in 1935, Highlands Hammock became one of the state's first parks. It is one of eight original CCC parks in Florida. In 1941, with World War II looming on the horizon, the CCC camp closed and the park and gardens merged. Over these six years, hundreds of men had planted thousands of plants and constructed roadways, dams, bridges and buildings. Although the gardens never became a reality, the park's natural beauty endures.
Information obtained from Highlands Hammock State Park website