In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to create the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of his "New Deal." The program provided jobs to young with families in need, while allowing Texas to preserve land and establish its state parks system. Between 1933 and 1942, the government invested more than 20 million into developing 41 Texas state parks. Twenty-nine still exist.

The preparation and digitization of this collection for online public access was funded in full or in part with a Library Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. § 9121) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.