Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored/recarved the The Raven-Finned Blackfish Pole between 1938 and 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. The pole was originally found in the abandoned village of Tuxekan. With the accord of the former residents, the CCC and the U.S. Forrest Service relocated the pole to the Klawock Totem Park on the Prince of Wales Island. This pole belongs to the Wolf clan at Klawock. A niche at the back of the pole contains the ashes of a member of the clan. The pole...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) recarved the Spirit of Hazy Island Pole between 1938 and 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. The pole was originally found at the abandoned village of Tuxekan. With the accord of the former residents, the CCC and the U.S. Forrest Service relocated the pole to the Klawock Totem Park on the Prince of Wales Island. The pole was found in deteriorated condition when it was brought to the Klawock Totem Park from Tuxekan. Only the human figure at the bottom of the...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) recarved/restored the Woodworm Pole between 1938 and 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the conservation of totems and Native cultural assets. The pole was originally found at the abandoned village of Tuxekan. With the accord of the former residents, the CCC and the U.S. Forrest Service relocated the pole to the Klawock Totem Park on the Prince of Wales Island. The Tlingit master carvers made a copy of the original pole for the Klawock Totem Park. At the bottom of the pole the figure of the Tlingit Maiden holds is nursing...

"Kletzsch Park was also greatly improved with the use of relief labor. A Civilian Conservation Corps camp was established in Kletzsch Park in May of 1935 and discontinued in November of 1935. The CCC projects completed included a new dam built across the Milwaukee River with CCC labor. The new structure, built of reinforced concrete in a serpentine design to lengthen the crest, provided increased discharge capacity without widening the river. Models prepared by the landscape design section of the planning department served as guides in erecting the stone facing and the fish ladder built into the face of the dam....

"A sixth CCC Camp was established at Kletzsch Park, a 118.9-acre park adjacent to the Milwaukee River in Glendale. The crew did some landscape work, but its major project was the replacement of the old crib-type dam, which had been badly damaged and partially demolished by recurring floods."

This lookout tower was built as a New Deal project, potentially by the CCC, but the agency in charge is not known definitively. The tower is accessible about halfway up to an observation platform and is about 1 mile off of Hwy 67. Views from the platform are excellent in all 4 quadrants. There are no associated outbuildings.

"Knob Noster State Park is named for the nearby town which itself is named for one of two small hills or "knobs" that rise up in an otherwise flat section of Missouri. A local Indian belief stated that the hills were "raised up as monuments to slain warriors." Noster is a Latin adjective meaning our. Therefore Knob Noster translates as our hill. The park was constructed during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration. The CCC and WPA were both part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal a series of government funded programs designed...

The Kofa Refuge is named for the King of Arizona mine. It includes 666,641 acres of protected land. Kofa Refuge literature notes that the Kofa Cabin and upland water tanks for wildlife were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In 1939, a CCC side camp was set up at the Kofa Refuge. CCC enrollees, most of them of Native American descent, worked to develop high mountain waterholes for the bighorn sheep. This work was part of a statewide conservation effort to save the bighorn sheep. The refuge is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and is currently used for camping and hunting.

"Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Koke'e State Park is located at Hawaii Route 550, in Waimea, on the island of Kauai, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was built in 1935 with lumber that was put into the saltwater and floated to the shore at Port Allen, the seawater adding a natural termite protection to the lumber. The camp was in continual use for forest management, until Hurricane Iwa devastated it in 1982. In the 1990s it was restored through the efforts of the non-profit Hui O Laka environmental group, and is currently open to the public. It was...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted extensive development work at Grand Canyon Village, c 1933-37, including paths, bridges and stairways.  As they rebuilt the Rim Trail and its rock wall, they also created the stone stairway down to the Kolb Studio at the west end of the trail. The National Park Service's CCC Walking Tour notes that: "Crew members from the Civilian Conservation Corps completed the stairs leading up from Kolb Studio in 1936."

Kooser State Park in Western Pennsylvania is surrounded by the Forbes State Forest. "The park’s original design character was stamped by the Civilian Conservation Corps projects of the 1930s that established the existing lake and most of its use areas, its architecture and site details."   (https://www.dcnr.state.pa.us) "The CCC established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression built a camp on the western edge of Kooser State Park. The young men of the CCC built the dam on Kooser Run creating Kooser Lake. They also built roads, outdoor fireplaces and cabins. Much of their work can still be seen today...

The CCC built several buildings for the Krassel Ranger District in 1937 and 1938.

“The Forest Service’s CCC program blazed new roads and trails into prospective campgrounds, existing mines, or susceptible fore zones. The Forest Service with its ample staff of engineers and natural resource specialists provided technical expertise for CCC projects. Similarly, the technical staff assisted the Soil Conservation Service by supervising construction activities on southern Nevada flood-control projects in the lower Moapa Valley, Panaca, and Caliente. Similarities in construction and design in different forests are no coincidence. Most early ranger stations, roads, and campgrounds were built according to standard regional plans prepared by architectural engineer George Nichols in Utah. After 1938, a manual...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carried out a complete restoration of the  Mission La Purisima in Lompoc CA, 1934-41.  It was an astonishing achievement, given the ruined state of the Mission and scarce historic sources to guide the work. The CCC agree to do the restoration if land could be secured to turn the site into a State Historical Park.  Donations of land by the Catholic Church and Union Oil Company did the trick, and the CCC went to work. From 1934 to 1941 CCC crews uncovered, restored and rebuilt 13 separate structures at the Mission.  The State Historical Park was...

Two Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps were established at what is today the La Purísima Mission State Historical Park: Camp La Purísima and Camp Lompoc.  They were built back-to-back on the mesa above La Purísima Mission, but housed two separate companies that worked on different projects.  They shared a few officers, activities and functions, however, and came to be known as 'the Twin Camps'.  The first camp was set up on the site of Mission La Purísima in Lompoc CA in July-August 1934.  It was called Camp Santa Rosa and housed CCC company 1951, whose enrollees came mostly from Southern California (Savage, pp....

The Civilian Conservation Corps built a viewpoint and picnic spot for travelers along Ruta Panoramica over the central mountains, in the vicinity of Maricao, PR.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed stone buildings and bridges and planted thousands of trees.

The view of the Lafayette Reservoir from Mount Diablo is framed by Monterey pines, softening the massive dam. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted these trees in the mid-1930s to stabilize the slopes around the dam and to prevent silting and soil erosion of the watershed. Construction began in 1927, when the Lafayette Reservoir was developed by the East Bay Municipal District (EBMUD) to supplement local water supplies. The original earthen dam collapsed in September 1928, creating cracks across its crest and face. Subsequent investigations found that the wrong type of soil had been used to build the structure. With officials on edge following...

“After more than twenty-five years of operation…many of the early water-control and -conveyance structures had fallen into a state of disrepair, and existing storage had proven inadequate. In Lahontan Valley, the CCC built or completed new water conservation projects including the Sheckler Reservoir and the S-Canal Dam and regulating reservoir to store more water. They also renovated and enlarged portions of the thirty-two-mile-long Truckee Canal, built several earth- and rock-filled dikes to increase reservoir capacity, and lined the Lahontan Dam Spillways with rock riprap to protect its banks.” –The Civilian Conservation Corps in Nevada

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted riprap and other improvement work at Lake Lahontan (Lahontan Reservoir) during the Great Depression.

"The Alexander Lake Shelter Cabin is a three-sided Adirondack style shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corps on the Admiralty Island Canoe Route in 1935. The natural environment surrounding the cabin is unchanged from the 1930s. Since its construction, the shelter cabin has been maintained with materials similar to the original." "The cabin has a peeled log superstructure and shake walls and roof. The structure is well-maintained, and its current appearance matches its original appearance. The sill logs on the two short sides have been replaced and are beginning to rot again; the back sill log has been replaced and is in...

Pecan Bayou flooded the city of Brownwood in late September of 1900 causing considerable damage to the business district and washing away the train track that served the city. The citizens of Brown County looked for a way to control Pecan Bayou. They voted in 1926 to create the Brown County Water Improvement District. The water district acquired seven tracts of land for the purpose of building a dam on Pecan Bayou. The water district completed the dam in 1932 just before another flood swept down the Bayou quickly filling the reservoir. The Texas State Parks Board acquired 538 acres of...

Lake Corpus Christi State Park is situated along Lake Corpus Christi southwest of Mathis, Texas. The land was leased from the City of Corpus Christi in 1934 and the 356-acre park was opened the same year. The park is currently administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Lake Corpus Christi State Park was developed by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 886. In 1934, the company formed Camp Kleberg, named for local Congressman Richard Mifflin Kleberg, a supporter of early New Deal programs including the CCC. The enrollees worked at Lake Corpus Christi until their transfer to Palmetto State Park in...

"Lake Greenwood State Recreation Area is a state park located near the town of Ninety Six in Greenwood County, South Carolina. The 914-acre (3.7 km2) park partially sits on a series of peninsulas on the 114,000-acre (461.3 km2) Lake Greenwood. The state park sits on land donated in 1938 by Greenwood County and was one of 16 built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in South Carolina. Many of the structures built by the corps are still prominent features at the present day including picnic shelters, a water fountain, a lakeside terrace and a boathouse. Activities available at the park include picnicking, fishing, boating, hiking...

This is a historic cabin located on the east side of Lake Guerin, part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route. As reported on a registration form of the National Register of Historic Places, the cabin was in ruins as of 1995. “Civilian Conservation Corps workers built the three-sided Adirondack style Lake Guerin East Shelter Cabin as part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route in the 1930s. It had a peeled log superstructure and shake walls and roof. The cabin is a jumble of flattened timbers and shakes, some bleached white and some moss-covered, with galvanized nails jutting from the wood....

"The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Lake Guerin West Shelter Cabin as part of the Admiralty Island canoe route. It is a three-sided Adirondack style shelter. It has a peeled log superstructure and shake walls and roof. The structure is well-maintained, and it looks the same as it did when built. The sill logs on one short side wall and the back wall have been recently replaced; but the sill log on the other side wall appears to be original. Several of the vertical posts have been replaced, and all the angle braces appear to have been replaced....

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the Lake Kabetogama Ranger Station, in Kabetogama State Forest. The structure is still in use.  

This Lagunitas picnic shelter near Fairfax, California was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1936. Lake Lagunitas Picnic Area is on the lands of the Marin Municipal Water District's Mount Tamalpais watershed.

"This nomination seeks to recognize the entire property comprising Lake Leatherwood Park as a National Register Historic District.  Previously, Lake Leatherwood Dam and Recreational Facilities, consisting of the bathhouse and the picnic shelter, were listed individually in the National Register on August 12, 1992.  Since that time, additional AHPP survey efforts through the initiation of the Eureka Springs Parks Commission have revealed a large number of additional buildings, structures, and sites within the park that were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps as well as resources dating before and after the CCC period.  It is being nominated under Criteria A,...

“To accommodate the influx of tourists, new park facilities were in demand. With CCC labor, the NPS developed beaches and outdoor facilities in three different areas of the Boulder Dam Recreational Area (later subsumed by Lake Mead National Recreation Area): Hemenway Wash near Boulder City, Overton Beach, and Pierce Ferry in Arizona. The park service’s CCC program accomplished its goals. NPS director Arno Cammerer was pleased with the ‘fine cooperation from the Civilian Conservation Corps.’ Enrollees and staff from the Boulder City and Overton camps provided the main labor force for the new recreation area. In addition to building campgrounds, other...

“To accommodate the influx of tourists, new park facilities were in demand. With CCC labor, the NPS developed beaches and outdoor facilities in three different areas of the Boulder Dam Recreational Area (later subsumed by Lake Mead National Recreation Area): Hemenway Wash near Boulder City, Overton Beach, and Pierce Ferry in Arizona. The park service’s CCC program accomplished its goals. NPS director Arno Cammerer was pleased with the ‘fine cooperation from the Civilian Conservation Corps.’ Enrollees and staff from the Boulder City and Overton camps provided the main labor force for the new recreation area. In addition to building campgrounds, other...

“To accommodate the influx of tourists, new park facilities were in demand. With CCC labor, the NPS developed beaches and outdoor facilities in three different areas of the Boulder Dam Recreational Area (later subsumed by Lake Mead National Recreation Area): Hemenway Wash near Boulder City, Overton Beach, and Pierce Ferry in Arizona. The park service’s CCC program accomplished its goals. NPS director Arno Cammerer was pleased with the ‘fine cooperation from the Civilian Conservation Corps.’ Enrollees and staff from the Boulder City and Overton camps provided the main labor force for the new recreation area. In addition to building campgrounds, other...

“To accommodate the influx of tourists, new park facilities were in demand. With CCC labor, the NPS developed beaches and outdoor facilities in three different areas of the Boulder Dam Recreational Area (later subsumed by Lake Mead National Recreation Area): Hemenway Wash near Boulder City, Overton Beach, and Pierce Ferry in Arizona. The park service’s CCC program accomplished its goals. NPS director Arno Cammerer was pleased with the ‘fine cooperation from the Civilian Conservation Corps.’ Enrollees and staff from the Boulder City and Overton camps provided the main labor force for the new recreation area. In addition to building campgrounds, other...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed this lake in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Built by the Greenville 160th CCC company from a side camp in the tiny village of Shirley.

Both the CCC and the WPA worked extensively on Lake Murray State Park in the 1930s. The lake itself was completed in 1937 and opened to the public in 1938. The Lake's iconic Tucker Tower was started by the New Deal workers, but not finished until the early 1950s. An article on www.americasstateparks.org describes CCC work in the park in detail: "Members of the CCC constructed 10 state parks in Oklahoma, beginning with Lake Murray State Park, the first and largest of the original parks. Recruits began construction on park structures in 1935, two years after the inception of the CCC....

“One of the most conspicuous reminders of the CCC program located along any state highway in Oregon is the Lake of the Woods Work Center. Situated about 30 miles northwest of Klamath Falls on OR-140, these structures were built from standard plans provided by the U.S. Forest Service architects. The ‘pine tree’ cutout, a symbol associated with both the USFS and the CCC, is clearly seen on the ranger station. Beyond the highway are Forest Service campgrounds originally developed by enrollees from Camp South Fork near Butte Falls during the 1930s.” –“CCC Landmarks: Remembering the Past”

Lake Owen, located within the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin, features a typical Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) wood frame park shelter on its northeast shore. Upon completion, the shelter had changing rooms for men and women, which have since been removed. A stone fireplace remains. The shelter underwent significant structural changes in 1960 is thus ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Today, Lake Owen is a popular spot for camping, boating, picnicking, and swimming. Hikers can access the North Country National Scenic Trail from the parking area adjacent to this shelter.

In the summer of 1933, the City of Sweetwater offered land on Lake Sweetwater to the State of Texas in exchange for the state developing a park. Development started with the Civil Works Administration in the winter of 1933 with construction of a refectory at the site. In fall 1934, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1823(V) arrived to continue work. The company was a mix of white and black enrollees. Six months later the unit became the state's only all black company. As a result, politicians demanded the removal of the camp, and the company moved to Lake Abilene State Park. While...

NYSParks.com: "The park was donated to the State of New York in 1929 by Dr. McRa Livingston with the provision that the lake and park be named Lake Taghkanic. The lake had been previously known as Lake Charlott. In 1933 a Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camp was established at the park. C.C.C. projects in the park included construction of the East Bathhouse, the East Beach, the camping and cabin areas and the water tower."