Hard Labor Creek State Park was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program sponsored by President Roosevelt and administered as a division of the U.S. Army to reclaim unusable farm land, create recreational areas, and teach young men a skill or trade. Enlistees of the CCC were paid about $30 for a six-month enlistment, with $25 automatically sent to the enlistee's family. Two CCC camps were housed at the park: District "B" Company 450 Ga. SP-8, Rutledge, GA., operated from 1934-1939, and 3442nd Company CCC Camp Ga. SP-11, Rutledge, GA., operated from 1935-1937. The National Park Service designed the park's layout after the government purchased this vacant, overworked agricultural land for a recreation demonstration project. Plans included two lakes, camping areas, an observation tower, a boat house, trails, and other amenities. A February 1935 nursery plan called for cultivating over 850,000 trees on site, including pines, oaks, maples, and sweet gums, to reforest the park. These CCC camps, together with the U.S. Forestry service, were responsible for many of the park's original structures and landscapes, including roads, bridges, retaining walls, Camp Rutledge, Lake Rutledge, the superintendent's home, and several structures at Camp Daniel Morgan. Much of the work stopped at the start of World War II. Hard Labor Creek Park became a National Park in 1939 and remained one until 1946, when it was turned over to the state of Georgia, which continues to operate and maintain it today.