Mother Neff State Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mother Neff State Park is a 259-acre (1.0 km²) state park located on the Leon River west of Moody, Texas in Coryell County.
The park's initial six acres were donated by Mrs. Isabella Eleanor Neff, mother of Governor Pat Morris Neff in 1916. Upon her death in 1921, Governor Neff created the Mother Neff Memorial Park, making it the first state park in Texas. The additional land was deeded to the state in 1934 by private owners; Governor Neff deeded 250 acres (1 km²) and Mr. Frank Smith deeded 3 acres. The park was opened to the public in 1937.
Company 817 of the Civilian Conservation Corps built the park from 1934 to 1938. The Company quarried stone and cut wood to build the structures that are still in use in the park today.
Most of Mother Neff Park sits in the flood plain of the Leon River and flooding shut the park down in 1992 and again in 2007.