National Park Service (NPS) Sites

Development of Saddle Mountain State Park began with the arrival of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company #1258 in 1935. Over a five-year period, the CCC enrollees built the seven-mile access road to the base of Saddle Mountain, picnic grounds and a parking lot at the trail head, and the hiking trail to the mountain's summit. Saddle Mountain is a north coast landmark, known for its colorful wildflowers and rare plants, its basalt formations, and the impressive panoramic views from its 3290-foot summit. Access to these natural amenities still rely on the CCC-built zig-zag hiking trail that rises 1620 feet over a...

Originally named the Willamette Highway Tunnel, the 905 feet-long Salt Creek Tunnel completed the Oregon Forest Highway Project that ran through remote areas of the Willamette National Forest to link US Highway 99 near Eugene with US 97 on the east side of the Cascades. The Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) designed the tunnel and its masonry rock portals and contracted with the Portland firm Orino-Birkemeier & Saremai to construct the project in December 1937. The length of the tunnel along with the remote location and rugged terrain introduced challenges with its construction. Oregon Department of Transportation historian Robert Hadlow notes...

The early development of Silver Falls State Park can be credited to several of the New Deal programs. A significant portion of the land for the park was purchased by the federal Resettlement Administration (RA) c. 1935, and developed for recreational use through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1942. During that period, a distinction was made between Silver Falls Park, which was accessible to the public, and the area designated as the Silver Creek Recreation Development Area (RDA), which was a special federal program designed to allow urban youth...

In 1934, the Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the creation of the South Gate Entrance Station to Yosemite National Park.  This followed enlargement of the park by the addition of the area from Wawona south and was done as part of the Wawona Road reconstruction.  The new entrance station included a parking area, entrance station, comfort station (restroom), residences for park rangers and a garage. Of this work, the restroom and ranger residence are original New Deal structures.   The Historic American Engineer Record (HAER) report on the Wawona Road provides these details:  "In 1934, roads around the South Entrance station were...

The New Deal contributed many residential buildings for park staff at Rocky Mountain National Park, particularly in the large cluster of housing next to the utility area – the main maintenance station for the park which is near the Beaver Meadows entrance. The National Park Service began construction of the area in the 1920s and completed it in the 1930s with the help of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor.  The New Deal agencies built four residences,  renovated six others and left behind some CCC camp buildings. The overall style of the buildings is national park rustic,...

Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial was created in the 1930s with the aid of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and National Park Service (NPS). Theodore Roosevelt Island sits in the middle of the Potomac between Arlington and downtown Washington, just within the District of Columbia. The island covers some 88 acres and is both a forest park and a memorial to President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1931, Mason's Island was bought by the Roosevelt Memorial Association, which presented it to the federal government in 1932 to be developed as a memorial to the former president and ardent conservationist, Teddy Roosevelt. Congress authorized the...

The Jefferson Memorial was built to honor the author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Such a memorial had long been proposed, but it was only realized under the New Deal, 1939-1943.  It remains one of America's most beloved monuments to this day.   The design is based on the Roman Pantheon and Jefferson's own love of classical architecture, as shown in his design of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. It is built of white Danby marble from Vermont and is elevated on a circular platform of granite and marble, with steps...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Timber Creek Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park (Brock, p 40).  Timber Creek was the first campground on the west side of the park, in the valley of the upper Colorado River. Brock says the campground was done in 1941, but that doesn't jibe with information on the comfort stations, which were built in 1939, according to the national register; presumably the campground and comfort stations were done at the same time. The three comfort stations, or restrooms, constructed by CCC enrollees were designed in 1935 in classic Rustic Style by National Park Service landscape architect...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in making improvements to Timpanogos Cave National Monument in the 1930s. They worked under the supervision of the National Park Service (NPS). A notable contribution of the WPA was to build a lovely stone arch bridge over the American Fork river in 1935.  The bridge gives access to the Superintendent's Residence, built by the WPA in 1941.  The WPA relief workers also faced both sides of the river with 6-10 foot high stone walls for a distance of about 100 feet on each side of the bridge. The stonework is...

This Tioga Pass comfort station was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934.  It sits near the Entrance/Ranger Station at the east entrance to Yosemite National Park, which was built earlier.   The building is done in classic National Park rustic style, with walls constructed of large boulders. Comfort stations was the name used at the time for restrooms with additional washing facilities, which this one does not have; hence, it is literally just a 'restroom'. The Tioga Pass road, which was largely built by the CCC, is closed from the first major snowstorm in November until early summer because...

New Deal agencies realigned and reconstructed 47 miles of the Tioga road from Crane Flat to Tioga Pass over the years 1933 to 1943.  They were not able, however, to complete the road down from Tioga Pass to Lee Vining (Mono Lake), which remained in deplorable condition until it was remade in 1961.  Funding for the Tioga Road project came from the Public Works Administration (PWA); the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) managed construction, using private companies; and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did auxiliary work landscaping roadsides. The National Park Service (NPS) oversaw all work in the park.  The short-lived...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made many improvements around Yosemite National Park during its time there, 1933-42.  Enrollees worked out of two major hub camps and a dozen or so seasonal and 'spike' (temporary) camps. One of the typical activities of the CCC in national and state parks was building and upgrading trails.  Because Yosemite is the second oldest national park, the trail system was already well developed before the CCC arrived.  Nevertheless, CCC teams did extensive maintenance and improvement work on the far-flung trail system of the park.   In particular, after the damage done by the floods of winter 1937,...

In 1935, enrollees in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed a "museum, curios shop and coffee house" at Fall River Pass. Other CCC 'boys' came back in 1939 and added an extension to the building for toilets and a water supply  (Brock, p. 43). Today, the building functions as the Trail Ridge Store and Cafe, and a large, new visitor center has been constructed next to it. The Trail Ridge Store is built of stone and timber, with a shingle roof, in the classic National Park Service Rustic Style.  CCC enrollees were very helpful to the National Park Service as museum guides, as well.

The Tumacácori National Monument was set aside by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 to protect the ruins of the Mission of San Jose de Tumacacori.  In 1918, it came under the administration of the National Park Service and its regional 'custodian', Frank Pinkley.  Congress created the Tumacácori National Historic Park in 1990, adding the ruins of two nearby missions, Los Santos Angeles de Guevavi and San Cayetano de Calabazas. Under the park service's guidance, Tumacácori mission church and its dependencies were stabilized in 1920-21, but intentionally not fully restored.  Only with the aid of the New Deal did the park come...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the Tuolumne Meadows campground in 1933-34, according to a plan laid out by the National Park Service (NPS) and with financing from the Public Works Administration (PWA).  It is the largest campground in Yosemite National Park.  The campground regularized camping at Tuolumne, which had previously been a free-for-all with cars driving across the meadows and people camping wherever they liked. The damage to the meadows had been extensive before the National Park Service brought a halt to the anarchy. First, the NPS restricted camping to designated campgrounds and then implemented a new plan for individual campsites,...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the Tuolumne Meadows campground in 1933-34.  It is the largest campground in Yosemite National Park. The CCC enrollees also built three comfort stations for the campground, done in classic National Park rustic style of boulders and timbers.  At the time, a comfort station was more than a restroom, because it included washing facilities. The three comfort stations still operate and have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.    

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the Tuolumne Meadows campground in 1933-34 and added a "contact station" or entrance station in 1936. The building is done is classic National Park rustic style, with massive boulder walls. An entrance kiosk has been added to the campground in recent years.  

In the late 1930s, the Public Works Administration (PWA) funded a new sewage collection and treatment system for Tuolumne Meadows.  It replaced the original septic tanks for the campground comfort stations and was extended to take in a broader area around the campground. More information is needed on the amount and timing of the PWA funding. The old spray field system for distributing treated sewage has been recently replaced with settling ponds. It is unknown how much of the original piping survives.

The Tuolumne Meadows Visitors Center was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as a road crew camp mess hall in 1934.  Around 1980,  the National Park Service converted the building to a Visitors Center, replacing an older one in the original "contact station" at Tuolumne Meadows campground. This building is a good example of National Park Service rustic park architecture of the 1930's. It was constructed with native materials to blend with the environment, and reflects hand crafted techniques. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2022, a new Visitors Center is under construction nearby and...

New Deal agencies realigned and reconstructed the Old Tioga road from 1933 to 1943, from Crane Flat to Tuolumne Meadows.  An important element of the road project was the bridge over the Tuolumne River, just east of the Tuolumne Meadows campground. The bridge was constructed in 1933-34. Funding came from the Public Works Administration (PWA); the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) managed construction, using private companies; and the National Park Service (NPS) oversaw all work in the park. The Tuolumne River bridge is a modern design of steel beams and concrete, but is dressed up with stone siding to accord with the...

The utility area is the principle maintenance station of Rocky Mountain National Park. It is located near the Beaver Meadows entrance at Estes Park CO. It is a large complex of functional buildings, including offices, shops, garages, and storage, centered around a maintenance yard and machine shop (plus a substantial residential area for park employees).  The National Park Service began construction of the area in the 1920s and completed it in the 1930s with the help of Public Works Administration (PWA) funding and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor.   The CCC was present in the park from 1933 to 1942 and...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a school house at Wawona in 1937. The enrollee work teams came from the nearby Wawona CCC Camp YNP #7. The building is a shingled, rustic wood structure set on a stone foundation, with large windows for good interior lighting. Its appearance is unchanged over the years. A new, large school has replaced the New Deal building sometime around 1970, built in a modern style at odds with the old idea of park rusticity.  The old CCC school was used for many years as a community center, until that, too, was replaced by a new, larger,...

The New Deal made possible the construction of a ranger station in the Wawona area, which was added to Yosemite National Park in 1932.  The ranger station complex includes two ranger residences and accompanying garages.  These buildings still exist, but are now used for different purposes. According to the Superintendent's Monthly Report of December 1934, the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided the funding to the National Park Service (NPS) for the ranger station complex (Broesamle 2022). This contradicts the 2012 NPS report on design in the park, which attributes the buildings to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (see quote below).  The latter...

New Deal agencies played a major role in the transformation of the narrow and dangerous Wawona wagon trail into a safe and comfortable route into Yosemite Valley. The route from the South Entrance to the Valley floor is 27 miles.  It is one of three access roads to Yosemite Valley, along with the El Portal road and Big Oak Flat Road. The National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) signed a Memorandum of Agreement in July 1925, authorizing the planning and construction of new roads within Yosemite National Park. Surveying was begun in 1928 and initial construction was...

The Civilian Conservation Corp’s (CCC) work at Yellowstone National Park was extensive and lasted for the entirety of the CCC program, 1933-1942.  Projects included water and sewer line installation, landscaping, tree planting, the construction of fire lookouts and weather stations, firefighting and fire prevention, trail maintenance, museum assistance, snow removal, campground development, building amphitheatres, and the “Construction of buildings ranging from many of those at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch to the residences in Lower Mammoth, sheds and utility buildings throughout the park’s developed areas” (Manns, 1981). There were six main CCC camps in Yellowstone: Mammoth Camp (YNP-1), Canyon Camp (YNP-2), Lake...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees made many improvements at Yosemite Village and Curry Village at the east end of Yosemite Valley, in the heart of Yosemite National Park. At the time, these were known as the Old Village, New Village and Camp Curry. At Yosemite Village, the CCC teams installed log curbing, laid out new paths, and planted ferns, trees, and shrubs around the administration building, new hospital, residences, and Yosemite Museum. Some of the landscaping was done with native plants transplanted from various places outside the valley.  CCCers placed flagstones around the telescopes in front of the museum. Under the direction of...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completely reconstructed the public campgrounds at the head of Yosemite Valley, which are today known as the North, Upper and Lower Pines campgrounds. There had long been camping all over Yosemite Valley, but it had been an unrestricted free-for-all with cars driving across meadows and people camping wherever they liked. The damage to the valley's meadows and streams had been extensive before the National Park Service (NPS) brought a halt to the anarchy.   First, the NPS restricted camping to designated campgrounds at the head of the Valley in the late 1920s.  It then implemented a new...