Alarm over the nation’s disappearing natural landscape helped spark the parks movement and led Richard Lieber and others to promote a state park system as Indiana’s centennial gift in 1916. Land for Turkey Run was offered at auction but lost to a higher bidder, while McCormick’s Creek was purchased in time for the state’s centennial celebration; within the year, Lieber’s group also purchased Turkey Run. By 1932, ten parks dotted the state. Inns provided accommodations for early visitors, many of whom stayed for more than a week, and gatehouses reflected a “User Pays” model that helped support operating costs. Almost from the beginning, nature guides interpreted the parks’ natural and cultural stories. During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps put jobless young men to work constructing buildings, trail systems, and infrastructure in the parks. After World War II, veterans earned college degrees, entered the workforce, started families, and with increased income traveled more, creating greater demand for parks. Beginning in the 1950s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built dams for flood control, and the Division of Reservoir Management managed land for camping, hunting, and fishing before later merging with State Parks. In the 1960s, growing environmental concern led to management practices aimed at conserving and maintaining valuable ecosystems, and Indiana State Parks continued into its second century as a leader in conservation and management.