EMINENCE, Mo. (AP) — A 440-acre swath of southern Missouri that once included an outdoor music venue is the newest state park.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Echo Bluff State Park in Shannon County features trails, caves and streams.
About 330 acres of the property once had been called Camp Zoe. Law enforcement officers raided the camp in 2010 because of outdoor drug sales, and owner Jimmy Tebeau forfeited the camp to the U.S. government and went to prison.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources bought the land at auction and added 100 acres. Tens of millions of dollars later went into building a lodge, playground, campgrounds, pavilions and two-bedroom cabins.
Gov. Jay Nixon calls Echo Bluff a centerpiece to the region’s tourism.