Preservation Work at Mark Twain National Forest
Mark Twain National Forest Volunteer Week
Volunteers gathered at the Sinking Creek Tower from October 26 to November 1, 2008 for a week of hands-on preservation work.
The National Trust joined Forest Service staff, Passport in Time and Mennonite Church volunteers and staff from the Missouri Alliance for Preservation, at the Sinking Creek Lookout complex in Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest for a week of hands-on preservation work. The beautiful fall weather was cooperative as scores of happy volunteer laborers descended on the picturesque site near Van Buren, Missouri.
The complex, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), includes a fire lookout tower, a tower man's residence, a garage and outhouse. The week included a large number of projects included scraping and painting all of the structures, removing and replacing roofing, repairing the porch on the residence, installing a handicap ramp, and rewiring the residence to name just a few! Interesting discoveries included a number of old children's toys in the walls, a CCC-issued bottle of Listerine, and inscriptions from CCC workers on kitchen drawers.
The project marked some "firsts" for the Forest – the first time a Passport in Time crew had worked on historic buildings at Mark Twain and the opportunity for the Forest's first recreational rental facility. The goal is for the Sinking Creek complex, which is located on the Ozark Trail, to be available as a rental property, catering to hikers and recreational enthusiasts.
