During a brief time after WWII(1948-1958), all southern states had colored state parks that were far inferior to white parks, but served as recreation areas to the black population. In Georgia, George Washington Carver State park, on Lake Allatoona just North of Acworth, was Built by Mr. John Loyd Atkinson SR. after purchasing the land, found he couldn't obtain a permit for a private resort,and after selling the land to the state of Georgia, agreed to run the new state park and he became the first black park ranger in the state of Georgia, operating that fascility for nearly a decade. One of the lifeguards that he hired was Mr. Robert Benham of Cartersville, Ga(now Judge Benham). With the victory of integration came the demise of the Colored State Parks all over the Southern U.S. and left not a single State Park named after an African-American. An e-mail from Robert Benham should be forthcoming .