This 9,000 acre park opened to the public in 1931 and is one of the earliest examples of grass-roots public support for environmental preservation. Local citizens, concerned about plans to turn the hammock into farmland, acquired the property and pledged to protect it. When Florida’s state park system was established in 1935, Highlands Hammock became one of four original state parks, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a camp there as a base for development.