Forestry and Agriculture Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop during the 1930s what is now known as Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park. NYSParks.com: "The original core of land around and including Canopus Lake was developed through the use of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps which were established in the park and began development of the picnic area and campground, comfort stations, bridle paths, shelters, roads, and dams at Pelton Pond, Canopus and Stillwater lakes."

"Clarkco is one of Mississippi's eight original state parks. It was constructed in 1938 by Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1437, which, with other CCC companies, stayed in barracks in a camp along U.S. Hwy 45 within the park. Four of the original cabins and two large picnic shelters built by the CCC men are still in use. Unfortunately the original water tower and lookout tower fell into ruins and were removed... A side trail branches off from the lake circuit trail at the Island Rest Area, leading in 0.8 mile to the site of the CCC camp, which was used between...

Vehicle access within the Willamette National Forest (WNF) was quite limited in 1933. Consequently, developing truck trails or access roads was a high priority for the US Forest Service for fire management. When Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees arrived in the summer of 1933, they were immediately put to work developing a truck trail from Belknap Springs on the McKenzie Highway north to Clear Lake, and ultimately connecting to US Hwy 20 and the Santiam Highway.  Portions of those road improvements are currently maintained as forest service roads while the remainder has been improved as State Highway 126, known at the...

The Works Progress Administration built the Exhibit & Auction Building at the Clinton Fairgrounds in Clinton OK. Contributor note: "This is a two-story building, with randomly laid native sandstone walls. The roof is flat and the windows are casement units with stone sills and lintels. At the south end, the main entrance is a one-story projected entry foyer, with three single doors and sidelights. Above this entrance is a frieze which reads: "19 EXHIBIT & AUCTION BUILDING 41". The building was begun is 1940 as shown on the bronze WPA shield mounted to the right of the entrances. The building is located at N. 6th Street...

In operation from Dec. 9, 1933 to Jul. 30, 1941, C.C.C. Camp Filley conducted extensive development work in the Cockaponset State Forest in Middlesex County, Connecticut. Camp Hadley, Company #2101, also operated on this site, from Sept. 5, 1935 to Apr. 4, 1941. Projects included tree planting; renovations to the Forest Ranger's house; construction of a lumber shed, garage, brick charcoal kiln, a picnic shelter, and clean-up after the flood of 1936 in the town of Middletown. Work also included development at Chatfield Hollow State Park, designated as such in 1949. It was originally a Civilian Conservation Corps recreation area within Cockaponset State Forest.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carried out major work at Colossal Cave and the surrounding park north of Vail AZ (now a suburb of Tucson, but far to the east in the 1930s). They improved access to the cave itself, built a large visitors'/administration center, laid out a campground and picnic area, opened roads and trails and built a water supply system.  The Arizona State Park Service oversaw the work. CCC workers constructed La Selvilla campground and El Bosquecito picnic area below the hillside, as well as a pump house to take water up the hill to the cave and visitors'...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) carried out major work at Colossal Cave and the surrounding park north of Vail AZ (now a suburb of Tucson, but far to the east in the 1930s). They improved access for visitors to the cave itself, built a large visitors'/administration center, laid out a campground and picnic area, opened roads and trails and built a water supply system.  The Arizona State Park Service oversaw the work. Work inside Colossal Cave included widening the entrance and passageways, installing rock walkways and handrails, and added lighting and a water pipeline. This work was done in 1934-37 by...

The West Virginia Department of Commerce writes: “The forest and its amenities are directly attributable to the development CCC Camp Rhododendron, formerly Camp Preston. A priority for the forest was fire fighting and wildlife food plots to increase hunting and thus, increase state revenues from hunters. The construction work at Cooper’s Rock began in May 1936 with some road and trail development. By the spring of 1937 the men were at work on the permanent structures in the Main Overlook area. The camp was occupied for a total of five years and their projects included road and trail development, picnic shelters,...

In 1937, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees constructed four buildings to serve the Oregon Forestry Department and its work in nearby forests. The buildings associated with the State Forestry Complex, as it was known at the time, included a warehouse building, a crew quarters building, a gashouse and a residence. As is the case with other structures built by CCC workers, the buildings are simple wood structures with limited decoration. The cedar lap siding and board and batten gables provide some texture and definition. Only the "pine tree" logo cutout provides ornamentation. The pine tree became a symbol of CCC construction...

CCC crews built this fire lookout tower at Coot Mountain. The tower overlooks the Current River and the National Scenic Riverways to the north and east. It is at the end of a gravel road though relatively easily accessible. Outbuildings were for the rangers who occupied the tower in this remote location.

Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery was established in 1889 to raise and stock juvenile Atlantic salmon for Maine waters. Craig Brook currently supports two Atlantic salmon programs. According to a 1937 CCC Yearbook, the Ellsworth-Bar Harbor Co 193, Camp Governor Brann were involved with construction "at the Federal Fish Hatchery at Orland, ten concrete pools of unique design will enable the hatchery to care for two hundred and fifty thousand more fish;" As part of the restoration program for the Penobscot River, Craig Brook receives sea-run adult Atlantic salmon trapped from the Penobscot River for use as broodstock. These adults are...

Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1931 under the Hoover Administration, but was not improved until President Franklin Roosevelt came into office in 1933. The refuge lies on the southwestern edge of the Sand Hills of Nebraska and it 45,000+ acres include one of the great wilderness areas of the NWR system. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “The earliest government actions on the Refuge were tree planting and small construction projects by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Projects Administration (WPA). The CCC built several buildings still in use today at the Refuge headquarters....

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Creston Fish Hatchery, originally called Glacier Park National Fish Hatchery, in Kalispell MT. The construction of the hatchery was completed in 1940. Today, the hatchery distributes around 850,000 fish into Montana waters annually.

This structure was built in 1939 by members of the 768th company of the Arkansas Civilian Conservation Corp. It was designed to be a garage and vehicular maintenance building for use by the members of the Forest Rangers. It is a one and a half story rectangular log built structure with four garage door type opening for vehicle maintenance. It is still in excellent condition today and still serves its original function, even though it is on the registry of historical locations in Arkansas. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

"Crossroads Fire Tower is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places with local significance under Criterion A for its association with the emphasis upon conservation of the abundance of natural resources in this area. This was also the original mandate of the Civilian Conservation Corps.  It is also being nominated under Criterion C as a good example of a fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.  This nomination is also being submitted under the multiple property context of “Facilities Constructed by the CCC in Arkansas, 1933-1942.” ...The State Forestry Commission chose a location known as Crossroads to erect...

The Civilian Conservation Corps built a small shelter above the Eagle Falls Trail (Trail #9) overlooking Cumberland Falls and the gorge downstream.

The CCC-built Pinnacle Knob Fire Tower was originally a lookout tower for forest fires. Decommissioned in 1976, the tower was restored in 2008 and listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.

"Cumberland Homesteads is a community located in Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. Established by the New Deal-era Division of Subsistence Homesteads in 1934, the community was envisioned by federal planners as a model of cooperative living for the region's distressed farmers, coal miners, and factory workers. While the cooperative experiment failed and the federal government withdrew from the project in the 1940s, the Homesteads community nevertheless survived. In 1988, several hundred of the community's original houses and other buildings, which are characterized by the native "crab orchard" sandstone used in their construction, were added to the National Register of Historic...

Dalworthington Gardens (named that for its proximity to Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington) was established in 1934 as a subsistence homestead project by the Resettlement Administration: "In early 1934, the federal government allotted $250,000 to buy 593.3 acres of land south of Arkansas Lane near Arlington, Texas.  It would contain 80 sites for development (U.S. Plat and Dedication).  In June of that year, Civil Works Administration workers arrived to remove all fences and clear out the woods except in the extreme south end of the project.  On July 13, a local contractor, F.A. Mote was awarded the contract to build the...

In the spring of 1940, Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees from CCC Camp Applegate planted 1200 ponderosa pines in an acre of land south of Ashland's Lithia Park on behalf of a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The DAR's leadership chose participation in the "Penny Pine" program as one of the organization's Golden Jubilee National Projects and encouraged such groves across the country. With the help of the CCC, the National Forest Service had started growing pines in nurseries for replanting as a means of revitalizing the nation's forests. Selling them to organizations for a penny a...

From the Texas CCC Parks website: "An extensive mountain range provides the setting for one of the most majestic of the state parks and one of the earliest CCC projects in Texas. Work at Davis Mountains State Park commenced in June 1933..." Skyline Drive, Overlook Shelter, two Mess Halls (both adobe; one used by CCC as recreation hall for a short time, currently a residence; the other currently storage), Stone Picnic Tables, Stone Fireplaces, Stone Steps, and Latrine. The park's adobe 'Indian Lodge' was also built by the CCC, as was a rest stop located just outside the park."  

A historical marker erected in 1994 explains the CCC's role in the area: "J.H. Ratcliff's 1880s sawmill and village here gave way to major timber industry operations that by the early 1930s had decimated Houston County's densest virgin forest. As part of federal efforts to restore the nation's natural resources, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp F-4-T was built at this site in 1933-34, and the Davy Crockett National Forest was established in this area in 1935. CCC workers constructed fire towers, built roads, developed an old sawmill pond into a public lake with recreational facilities, and planted about 3,000,000 trees. Ratcliff...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Decatur Co. CCC camp in Decatur County KS in 1936. According to the Kansas Historical Society, "The former camp ground eventually was consumed by residential and commercial development. Today no remnants of Camp Decatur are visible.  Property divided into multiple lots including housing and industry."  

Decatur Homesteads is a housing project designed for part-time workers and their families on 79 acres on the southern outskirts of town. The original division was 48 tracts of 1 acre each designed so that the families could grow subsistence gardens. According to Max Miller of the the Adams County museum, a couple of the houses remain as they were built but most have been modified to some extent. The design of the houses was described thus: "Each of the 48 tracts contains a 5 room house and garage. These houses are 1 1/2 or 2 story frame structures with...

The Dee Wright Observatory in the Willamette National Forest was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and was completed in 1935. It was named after the construction crew's foreman who died a year before the observatory was completed. "The observatory is an open shelter built with lava stone found at the construction site. The viewing windows are cut to specifically highlight the neighboring mountains. These "lava tube" viewing holes allow visitors to easily identify the different Cascade peaks. There is also a 36 inch (90 cm) diameter, bronze azimuth-like "peak finder" on the observatory’s roof to help visitors locate nearby geologic features as...

The WPA conducted extensive work at former Delaware Ordnance Depot, located on the west side of Route 130 about halfway between Penns Grove and Pedricktown. Many buildings and much of the infrastructure from the time is still extant. WPA projects at the old Ordnance Depot included: "Improve buildings and grounds by constructing magazines and rail facilities, barracks, dispensary, offers and non‐commissioned officers quarters, roads, sidewalks and utilities, landscaping; and performing appurtenant and incidental tasks." Official Project Number: 713‐2‐19 Total project cost: $900,000.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Delaware Ordnance Depot, and War Department "A non‐construction project to improve and rehabilitate buildings, public utility systems, water supply and gypsy...

The Delilah Lookout is in the Hume Lake Ranger District: "Delilah Lookout, elevation 5,176, is approximately 45 miles east of Fresno California in the Southern Sierras. Delilah was established in 1916 as a site for fire detection. It has seen several incarnations including a 50 foot metal tower with live-in cab constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937. In 1960 this structure was replaced with a 70 foot tall metal tower from Lemoore NAS."

In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed living quarters, roads, fences and a well at the Desert Experimental Range Station in Pine Valley UT. The station was established in 1933 by President Herbert Hoover, who set aside an 87-square-mile area of high desert in the Great Basin.  The CCC improvements made the range station functional. The Desert Experimental Range focuses on cold desert rangeland research. In 1976, it was designated a world biosphere reserve by UNESCO, the only cold desert reserve in the Western Hemisphere.  It is administered by the US Forest Service. 

This barn was given new siding and doors, a concrete foundation, and a concrete and wood wall by the Resettlement Administration (RA), between 1937 and 1938.

There are a variety of structures on this property. All were constructed by the Resettlement Administration (RA) between 1937 and 1938. There is a home with aluminum siding and a side porch (moved from Deshee Farms in 1945), a rear shed, and an attached garage.

Construction began on the Airey Work Center in the DeSoto National Forest in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Initially known as the Biloxi National Forest, the buildings included the lookout tower, office, and equipment shop as part of the original site development. The Work Center was a 2.5 story, timber-frame maintenance and storage building with a one-story residence. The lookout tower was a prefabricated steel fire tower with stairs, and a cabin at the top. Physically located closest to McHenry, and official address listed as Perkinston.

The historic Diamond Point fire lookout tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). NRHP Nomination Form: "This 30 ft high steel Aermotor MC-24 tower with a 12 ft by 12 ft cab is located on the Payson Ranger District and was erected in the fall of 1936 by a CCC crew. The wood frame cabin was built in 1941. The lookout tower has been modified. Metal steps were added in 1984 and at an unknown date the original windows were replaced with sliding aluminum windows and the wooden shutters removed. The wood frame cabin with a simple gable roof and...

"C.C.C. Company 2725 established camp DSP-3 (now SP-6) in Dolliver Memorial State Park on August 7, 1934, and immediately set to work constructing a series of barracks (Fig,.10) and a shop (Fig. 11). Aerial photography of Webster County from 1939 by the A.A.A. (Agricultural Adjustment Agency – a New Deal program to pay farmers to reduce their crop production) captured the area of the C.C.C. camp at Dolliver shorly after the barracks were constructed (Fig 12a). It shows the loge, cabins, the mess hall, rest room facilities, shortly after they were constructed and the remains of a baseball diamond. It...

The Agricultural Experiment Station was built with the help of PWA funds, near Dorothea. The total expenditure for the removal of the "agricultural station from Lindbergh Bay, St. Thomas, to new site at Estate Dorothea, St Thomas, including the purchase of land at Estate Dorothea and the construction of buildings for the agricultural station thereon" was $28,709.

J.D. Sutton, a private in the 10th West Virginia Infantry, was a veteran of the Battle of Droop Mountain. As a visionary he began the movement to preserve Droop Mountain. He and other veterans began to worry in the aftermath of World War I that their role will be forgotten. In the 1920s the veterans of the battle began to meet at the battlefield making locations of the engagement. In 1928, Governor Howard M. Gore accepted the first 141 acres for the state from the veterans. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop West Virginia's Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park. "A...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established a camp 23 miles north of Monticello  in San Juan County, in the southeast corner of Utah. CCC teams worked around Dry Valley, Indian Creek, Blanding, Monticello and La Sal, building fences and corrals; flood control and erosion works, including reseeding, revegetation and cultivation; telephone lines; and  campgrounds.  The CCC men also built the road through the Abajo Mountains from Monticello to Blanding.  Nothing remains of the camp except ruins of the camp gate, building foundations, the access road and an old Pontiac -- all of which are well documented by Mary Cokenour on her blog site...

The Dundee State Fish Hatchery was built in 1927 with 44 ponds. The Works Progress Administration built stone bridges and concrete drainage ditches at the hatchery. The hatchery is currently the largest Texas state hatchery in operation with 97 ponds. The current manager of the hatchery relayed that the structures pictured in the historical photographs have either been removed or covered over in the expansion of the hatchery.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed Oklahoma's Durant State Fish Hatchery, asserted in newspapers to be the largest fish hatchery in the world. A Caddo Herald article cites the fish hatchery as a WPA project being undertaken in Bryan County in Oct. 1936, employing 172 men at an estimated cost of $6,465,40 that month. Work was suspended in Jun. 1937, resumed in Dec. 1937 and was completed in Nov. 1938, with a massive dedication ceremony on Nov. 10, 1938. Leaning on a Legacy: WPA projects both directly and indirectly affected fish and wildlife. More than 300 fish hatcheries were built or enlarged...

Although the Eagle Creek Campground opened as the first "auto camp" in the northwest region in 1915, Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) workers made significant improvements to the campground from 1934 to 1937. As early as August 1934, the Oregonian reported that "Eagle Creek Campground is being improved so it will accommodate more picnic parties, through labors of boys from the Benson CCC camp . . . ". Their work included clearing additional campground space, building fireplaces and cutting up fallen snags to create wood for campfires. Headlines from the same Portland newspaper announced later in the fall that a record number of visitors...

In 1937, CCC workers from Camp Cascade Locks began improvements on recently acquired park land to extend the Eagle Creek campground and picnic area to the shores of the Columbia. These twenty-one acres were acquired to provide access to land overlooking Bonneville Dam. This new campground and picnic area is referred to as the Eagle Creek Overlook Group Site. In addition to landscaped trails and new picnic facilities and campsites, the CCC workers built the Eagle Creek Overlook Shelter to serve as a community kitchen, picnic shelter and restroom facility. As a 1984 US Forest Service report states: "The overlook building...