• Herrington Manor State Park - Oakland MD
    The Civilian Conservation Corps created Herrington Manor Lake by damming Herrington Creek. They also built ten cabins, the lake concession building (which has been altered since), and a pavilion. The CCC boys also planted trees throughout the area. According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, “The park offers swimming, canoeing, kayaking, picnicking, hiking, tennis, volleyball and 20 furnished log cabins for rental use year round” (this includes the ten CCC-built cabins). The park also offers fishing and cross-country skiing opportunities.
  • Oakland Golf Course - Oakland MD
    The public golf course in Oakland, Maryland is one of 254 new golf courses created by the WPA during the Great Depression (they reconstructed or improved 378 others). According to the Golf Club at Oakland: “On January 7, 1937, over 100 Oakland citizens petitioned Mayor Lawrence M. Fraley and the Town Council to build a golf course. In support of the course were F. D. Bittle, Ralph Towler, and local Works Progress Administration (WPA) chief, Henry Tarring, Jr….On March 15, 1937, federal funding was approved from President Roosevelt’s ‘WPA’ and design of the new golf course began…The original design was a par 34,...
  • Post Office - Oakland MD
    A cornerstone on the Oakland, Maryland Post Office shows it to be a project of the Federal Works Administration from 1940.
  • Post Office Mural - Oakland MD
    Robert F. Gates completed this tempera on canvas mural, entitled "Buckwheat Harvest," in 1942 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.
  • Swallow Falls State Park - Oakland MD
    The CCC built an administrative building, a pavilion, and a restroom at Swallow Falls State Park. All are still in use. The CCC boys also planted trees, performed fire suppression work, and engaged in other projects throughout the area. Visitors to Swallow Falls State Park can camp, hike, picnic, and swim; but extreme caution should be used when swimming due to wet rocks, several waterfalls, and strong currents. There are, however, calm areas to swim, for example, the usually-gentle and more sandy Tolliver Falls area. Swallow Falls is one of the most beautiful parks in the country, and a living testament to...