EISENHOWER STATE RECREATION PARK. Eisenhower State Recreation Park is five miles northwest of Denison near Farm Road 1310 in northern Grayson County. The Texas legislature voted in 1947 to honor World War IIqv hero Dwight D. Eisenhower,qv who was born in Denison, by establishing a state park on the south shore of the recently completed Lake Texoma. Not until 1954, however, when Eisenhower had been president of the United States for two years, did state officials purchase the 457-acre site from the United States Army and construct the park. Most of the park sits high above the lake, and its shoreline consists predominantly of cliffs, although part of it is a swimming beach. Lake Texoma is noted among fishing enthusiasts for bass, crappie, and catfish. Four fishing piers and a fish-cleaning shelter have been constructed in the park. In addition to fishing, waterskiing and sailing are popular activities among visitors to the park. Animal-watchers and bird-watchers are attracted to the wooded areas, which are home to white-tail deer, raccoons, grey foxes, and various birds. Eisenhower State Recreation Park maintains thirty-five screened shelters and forty-eight campsites for rent to park visitors.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mildred J. Little, Camper's Guide to Texas Parks, Lakes, and Forests (Houston: Pacesetter, 1978; 2d ed., Houston: Lone Star, 1983). Ray Miller, Texas Parks (Houston: Cordovan, 1984).
Brian Hart
