Ava Ranger Station Historic District: preserving conservation in Douglas County, Missouri

An old tractor by the Ava Ranger Station (2014).Photo byVsmith, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Ava Ranger Station Historic District is located at State Route 5 in Ava, Missouri (Douglas County) and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 4, 2003.

This historic district includes five limestone and frame buildings which were built by Pond Fork Camp of the Civilian Conservation Corps. (CCC). and Emergency Relief Administration (ERA) workers in 1936. The construction was supervised by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. They are listed below.

• The one-and-a-half story Ranger's Office styled in Colonial Revival
• The one-and-a-half story Ranger's residence carries the architectural style of Colonial Revival
• A garage
• A warehouse
• An oil house

The Ranger Station still operates for the Mark Twain National Forest. It's connected to the residence by a walkway. To the east is the garage. The warehouse and oil house are northeast of the residence. A common feature of these buildings is their frame construction with limestone veneer exteriors.

The Ranger's Office has a concrete foundation. The windows have their original wood lintels and concrete sills. The parking area in front is gravel and paved.

Carpet was added to the inside and the ceiling was dropped with acoustical tiles. In 1999, the bathroom was remodeled and is handicap accessible. The upper floor has the original built-in wood cabinets and hardware.

The Ranger's residence is made of stone with a concrete foundation. The windows have their original concrete sills and wood lintels. This building now serves as office space and was modified inside accordingly. In 1994, a wall was added in the living room to provide separate spaces. Carpet and linoleum were added in 1997 and an acoustical tile design was added to the ceilings which were dropped.

The building still contains the original limestone fireplace and mantel, and the staircase. The basement has a concrete floor, dropped tile ceiling, partition walls, and added wood paneling.

The garage has its original interior space. The rectangular warehouse has a concrete foundation with limestone veneer on its exterior. The garage consists of five original bays and a door entrance. The warehouse also includes a workshop. The oil house is near the warehouse and is used to store oil, gas, and other items. It has a concrete floor with wood shelving.

The Ava Ranger Station Historic District is important because of its association with the conservation programs of the USDA Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the 1930s.

The Mark Twain National Forest was created in the 1930s and is Missouri's only national forest. At the time, it was viewed as a forest that needed to fix its land abuse. Forest resources needed to be protected and rehabilitated. The forest was established during the Depression.

A kayaker on the St. Francis River at Silver Mines Recreation area in the Mark Twain National Forest.Photo byKbh3rd, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Natural resources were becoming lost and unemployment issues prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt set up some federal programs referred to as the New Deal. The first act under the New Deal was the Emergency Work Program. This was also known as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This program was created to help look at he unemployment problems and the problem with natural resources.

The CCC constructed a lot of facilities for the USDA Forest Service. The administrative site at Ava was established in 1936. Members of the Pond Fork CCC Camp quarried the stone and performed the landscaping.

Few changes have occurred since its initial construction during 1936, and the overall character and integrity of the district have been retained. The district operates as an administrative center for the Mark Twain National Forest.

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