Yellow Springs Sites

With establishment of the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) program in 1933, better know as the Civilian Conservation Corp. (CCC) resources became available to develop facilities for the park. Civilian Conservation Corp. Co. 553 SP-16 arrived at John Bryan in June 1935 to begin six years of work.  The men laid out roads and blazed miles of trails (including the Pittsburgh–Cincinnati Stagecoach Trail preserving portions of a 19th century wagon-road). Also, enrollees built two foot-bridges across the Little Miami River.  One bridge featured a dam that, when closed, created a “swimming hole.” The workers also erected the park office, two picnic...

The historic post office building in Yellow Springs, Ohio was constructed with U.S. Treasury Department funds in 1940. The building, which features a New Deal mural in the lobby, is still in use today.

The post office contains a 1941 Section of Fine Arts mural by Axel Horn entitled “Yellow Springs-Preparation for Life Work.” This mural depicts a young man laboring at the edge of a field, having just cut down a large tree with the axe at his side. He is sitting on the tree reading a book with a hat and sports coat with a transept close by. This is a locally inspired mural from Antioch College which had a well-known co-op program where students would take 5 years to graduate with a liberal arts education, but would alternate classroom study with work...