Twin Lakes State Park (formerly known as Goodwin Lake Park and Prince Edward State Park for Negroes), is a
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...
in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, United States. It is located in Central Virginia in
Prince Edward County. Twin Lakes State Park, centrally located in Virginia's Piedmont region, provides visitors from all over the Commonwealth with a variety of lakefront activities in a secluded setting. Swimming, camping, fishing, biking, canoeing and hiking are popular activities. The park is home to Cedar Crest Conference Center, a perfect facility for group meetings, family reunions, birthday parties, wedding receptions and company picnics.
History
The land for Twin Lakes State Park was initially bought from struggling farmers by the federal government during the Great Depression. Two parks, Goodwin Lake and Prince Edward Lake, were founded in 1939 and until the early 1960s were run as two racially segregated parks.
In 1948, businessman Maceo Conrad Martin and his family embarked on a vacation to
Staunton River State Park
Staunton River State Park is a state park in Virginia. One of the Commonwealth's original state parks, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and opening in 1936, it is located along the Staunton River near Scottsburg, Virginia. It is an In ...
. As expected, Park authorities denied the Martins entry to the state park based on their race. The Martins consulted the
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
-based civil rights law firm of Hill, Tucker and Robinson, led by
Oliver Hill. Hill's firm filed a civil suit against the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
under the “
separate but equal
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protectio ...
” doctrine. The suit alleged that Staunton River State Park's policy only allowed white citizens to use its facility, with no accommodations for African Americans. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Development first responded by converting a segregated African-American/"Colored Only" recreation area into a state park facility: the "Prince Edward State Park for Negroes" (now the Twin Lakes State Park). In 1949, Virginia Governor
William Tuck allotted $195,000 to create 6 housekeeping cabins, an expanded swimming area, expanded parking, a bathhouse, and concession stand.
Opened to the general "Colored Only/African-Americans Only" public in June 1950, Prince Edward State Park for Negroes became Virginia's eighth state park and the only pre-Civil Rights Era state park for African-Americans. African Americans from across the mid-Atlantic states visited the park for its swimming, recreation, camping and dancing.
The parks merged in 1976 and became Twin Lakes State Park in 1986.
In 1995, Virginia erected a marker to acknowledge his lawsuit's contribution to desegregating the park.
The marker reads:
See also
*
List of Virginia state parks
This is a list of state parks and reserves in the Virginia state park system.
Virginia opened its entire state park system on 15 June 1936 as a six-park system. The six original state parks were Seashore State Park (now First Landing State Par ...
*
List of Virginia state forests
References
External links
Twin Lakes
Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
State parks of Virginia
Parks in Prince Edward County, Virginia
Civilian Conservation Corps in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Prince Edward County, Virginia
African-American history of Virginia
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