History
The first 2,350 acres (9.5 km2) of land on which the park is situated were donated to the state by the St. Louis Power Company in 1915. The park is named for Pennsylvania financier Jay Cooke, who had developed a nearby power plant, which is still in use. The park remained generally undeveloped until 1933, when a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was established on the site. The CCC camp built a rustic swinging bridge over the St. Louis River just slightly downstream from some torrential rapids and waterfalls. This camp also built a picnic shelter. The camp was disbanded in 1935, but a second camp was set up in 1939. This camp rebuilt the swinging bridge and built the River Inn, which now houses the visitor center. This camp was disbanded in 1942, shortly before the federal government ended the CCC entirely. In 1945, the state began to add more land to the park, eventually giving it its current size of 8,818 acres (35.69 km2).
Read more about this topic: Jay Cooke State Park
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