Big Spring State Park, opened in 1936 on Scenic Mountain above the city of Big Spring, preserves a site whose importance began with a dependable natural spring. Native American groups, including Comanches, likely used the water source, and the Spanish may have reached it by 1768. Captain R.B. Marcy recorded the spring on October 3, 1849, and later carvings suggest cattle drivers and other travelers passed through the area. After the city transferred the land to the state in 1934 and 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps built park structures and stone walls. Today it is valued for broad views, outdoor recreation, wildlife, and West Texas plant life.