Lake Brownwood State Park

Pecan Bayou drew the Lipan Apache and then the Comanche for its water and game; Capt. Randolph B. Marcy noted in 1851 that it was a favorite spot of the Comanche. Brown County was named for Henry S. Brown, who came through chasing a raiding party in 1828. After a ruinous flood in 1900, the county set out to tame the bayou and its tributary, Jim Ned Creek, and in the late 1920s began a dam where they meet. Skeptics said the reservoir would take years to fill. In July 1932 a record flood came down the bayou and filled it almost overnight, covering more than 7,000 acres and some occupied homes, before the dam was finished in early 1933.

In 1934 the state parks board bought 538 acres on the shore from the water district for one dollar. Work began under the Civil Works Administration, and then CCC Company 872 arrived in November 1934, followed by Company 849, which stayed until February 1942. Working to National Park Service designs from local timber and rock, they built 17 cabins and nearly 100 other structures: patios, stairs, curved benches, the recreation hall and its dance pavilion with a rooftop lookout over the lake, and the grand staircase dancers climbed from their boats. During World War II soldiers from Camp Bowie came here on leave.

The lake covers about 7,300 acres today. Fishing, swimming, paddling and waterskiing are all allowed, and almost six miles of trails wind among the stonework.