Turn Key

Cleburne State Park
Construction Up-Date
Early March, 2005


Got out for a little bit of camping last week and headed for Cleburne State Park, Texas. Wanted to get a first hand look at the new construction and see how all was shaping up. Had a great trip that I was able to stretch from two to three days due to a day of “Jury Duty”. Had wonderful weather and a fine time to relax a bit.

Prior to heading out that way, I had phoned and spoken to Officer William Grubbs (Park Manager). I told him who I was and explained my interest in the progress of the new construction. He stated that it would be possible for me to get a tour of the construction area so that I could pass the information on.

True to his word, on Wednesday afternoon (3/9/05) Ofc. Grubbs picked me up at our camp site and we headed for the construction area. Our first stop was at the southern end of the area known as “The Strip”. It is just south of Site 43 where the camp site road connects back to the main park road. From this point you can look south into the woods and see where the new sewer line has been laid in and filled. The new line is complete from this point, south to Site 44. It will later extent north as the sites in “The Strip” (32-43) are closed and completed. At some point, this line is also to head west under the creek to service the soon to be built, new park store and shower houses.

We then headed back into the southern most “full hook-up” area (Sites 44-58). This is where the major part of the work is going on at this time. On this day, workers were busy trenching in new lines for sites 44, 45, 46 and 48. Regular visitors to this park know that these sites were the main cause of all this work. The sewer line for these site was either partially clogged or totally collapsed. I must say, seeing my three favorite sites (45, 46 & 48) torn asunder with 8’ trenches running through them, kind of made my heart go pitter-patter! Oh, well. Got to have a little destruction before you can have any construction. Even with all the heavy equipment and materials around, the contractors seem to be doing their best to get the work done with a minimum of collateral damage to the park. The entire area will ultimately be trenched and have new sewer lines laid in. Ofc. Grubbs also informed me that “clean out” boxes are being added to keep the problem from re-occurring.

Please Note The Following; Ofc. Grubbs has further informed me that even though this work is on a “180 day” contract, due to weather, the work is a bit behind schedule. It is not clear at this time when the work will actually be completed. Due to the work being done and not knowing for sure where the contractors will need to be, the park can not take reservations more then three (3) days ahead of your planned day of arrival. Unfortunately, some of the reservation services are showing Cleburne State Park as either “full” or “closed”. Neither of these are true. The park is open and will accept reservations for camping if you will call the park direct, not more then three (3) days prior to your expected date of arrival. The number to call is 817-645-4215 during normal business hours.

There is other work scheduled to be done during this time. The five “primitive” camp sites running north off of Site 44 are to be eliminated. These appear not to have been used for many years and are in poor repair. It’s doubtful many park visitors even know these sites exist. Further, the shower houses at “The Strip” (Sites 32-43) and at the southern “full hook-up” area (Sites 44-58) are to be refurbished with some new fixtures. Also, the swimming area at the park store is to receive some attention. With all of this work going on, Cleburne State Park is well on it’s way to becoming one of the “premier” parks in North Central Texas. I know that it has long ago become our “home” park.

While gathering all of this information, I took the opportunity to take some pictures. As many know, my computer skills are limited so I’ve never set up something like Web Shots. If you are interested in seeing these pictures, e-mail me and I’ll be pleased to send them to you. I’ll keep the shots available for about two months.

I would like to sincerely thank Officer William Grubbs for the time and information he shared with me. With his help, I was able to compile this up-date to share with you. I hope that if you have the time to take a trip to Cleburne State Park, you will look up Ofc. Grubbs, shake his hand and thank him for a job well done! He’s another one of our wonderful state park employees!

Well, that’s about it for now. Hope you find this information of some help and you can plan a trip to Cleburne State Park some time in the future. You can bet that DW and I will be headed that way again in the near future and our paths may cross. Until then and always, happy camping!

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