11 Most Endangered Historic Places

Historic Structures in Mark Twain National Forest

Year Listed: 2007
Location: Missouri
Threat: Development, Poor Public Policy

Ava Ranger Station in Mark Twain National Forest, Ava, Missouri. Mark Twain National Forest was on the 2007 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

Credit: National Trust for Historic Preservation

Significance

Established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, the 1.5-million-acre Mark Twain National Forest is known for rocky bluffs, pastoral views and historical sites which speak to the region's rich heritage - from intact 19th-century frontier farmsteads to New Deal-era fire lookouts and ranger stations.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to employ thousands of men who were affected by the Great Depression. In the area that would later become the Mark Twain National Forest, hundreds of young men at over 50 CCC sites worked to build roads, construct ranger stations and fire lookouts and plant numerous acres of pine to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of southern Missouri.