Forestry and Agriculture Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps carried out improvement work at the Guanica State Forest (Bosque Estatal de Guánica). The work included “roads, trails, timber stand improvements and tree planting, as well as recreational developments.”

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) developed what is now the Hackensack Meadowlands Conservation and Wildlife Area in Carlstadt, New Jersey. NYTimes: "The Federal Government is cooperating in the important mosquito extermination program in the Hackensack meadows where a grant of $93,000 is giving work to 600 men. By the construction of dikes and tide gates large swamp areas are being drained and a considerable portion of land is being reclaimed."

"THE HATCHERY GETS A “NEW DEAL” Oddly, the Great Depression brought a new wave of improvements at Hackettstown. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal created the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC), a public work-relief program related to the conservation and development of natural resources on lands owned by federal, state and local governments. In October of 1933, CCC Camp #62 was established in Hackettstown. The camps were comprised of young men between the ages of 18 and 25 who enrolled for six-month time segments for a maximum of two years. The men were paid $30 a month and provided room, board and...

"HAMLIN BEACH PARK is one of the largest county parks of Monroe. It has an area of 600 acres and includes a mile and a quarter of lake frontage with an excellent bathing beach. Extensive road building and other improvements are in progress, carried on by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which maintains a camp near the park. This project includes the construction of a concrete sea wall and promenade along the entire lake front, six long stone and concrete jetties to hold sand for bathing beaches, 3 miles of macadam and 2 miles of hard-surfaced roads, 2 miles of concrete...

Hanging Rock State Park was developed as a federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project during the 1930s. "Many facilities in the park were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1935 and 1942. A concrete and earthen dam completed in 1938 impounded a 12-acre lake, and a stone bathhouse, diving tower and sandy beach also were built. Other facilities constructed by the CCC include a park road and parking area, a picnic area and shelter, and hiking trails. In 1991, the bathhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places." The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is also cited in some...

An onsite marker commemorates the extensive work of the CCC at this site, reading in part: "This park was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal program sponsored by President Roosevelt. It was administered as a division of the U.S. Army to reclaim unusable farm land, create recreational areas, and teach young men a skill or trade. Enlistees of the CCC were paid about $30 for a six-month enlistment, $25 of which was automatically sent to the enlistee’s family. There were two CCC camps housed at the Park. The first camp, District “B” Company 450 Ga. SP-8,...

"The Harney Peak Lookout Tower was built by Camp F-23, Doran to replace the old wooden structure. Over 7,500 rocks had to be hauled up the mountain on specially built horse-drawn sleds. Everything necessary was sledded up or carried by the men as they climbed to the job site. The U.S. Forest Service recently did repairs at the tower in the hope that the shelter will be respectfully used." (Sanders) "The Harney Peak Fire Tower was constructed at Harney Peak by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935 to 1938. Stones gathered from French Creek were used to construct the tower. All of...

The camp for Harrison Experimental Forest research was constructed between 1935-1938 in Harrison County. The forestry research complex contained Rustic Style dwellings and offices, including laboratories, two residences--one of which was designed by New Orleans architect Gerhardt Kramer in 1938, cone shed, two garages, equipment shop, machine shop, and warehouse. The cone shed was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the remaining buildings are extant and in use. There were two Civilian Conservation Corps camps in the Saucier vicinity. Camps F-10 and F-12 provided the labor for construction, building of roads and bridges to the research complex, and participated...

President Roosevelt signed an executive order on December 21, 1936 to establish the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge in Lake County, Oregon. This area served the largest, remaining pronghorn antelope herd in the United States. Comprised of Hart Mountain and the surrounding desert range, the 215,516 acre refuge included property purchased from private owners as well as land in the public domain. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees helped establish management of the antelope refuge through work conducted over several years. CCC Camp Hart Mountain operated from 1937 through 1939. CCC enrollees constructed new roads and improved the existing one, laid-out horse and...

"According to the CCC Camp Directory for Alabama, Camp TVA-9 operated during the fifth period, which began October 1, 1935, as a soil conservation project supervised by the Forest Service. It was reopened on October 1, 1939, designated as Camp BS-1 during the fourteenth period, working on a biological survey project at the Wheeler Pool Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. The NACCCA database shows Company 3403 establishing Camp BS-1 at Hartselle, Alabama, on October 1, 1939. On October 19, the Decatur Daily reported that the Hartselle CCC camp had reopened with the arrival of 99 men, three administrative personnel, and eight technical...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop a fish hatchery near Newcastle, Wyoming. Casper Star-Tribune, 1939: "rojects at Sheridan, Lander, Newcastle and Buffalo had the aid of the WPA and sportsmen's clubs." The location and status of this project is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop a fish hatchery near Guernsey, Wyoming. Casper Star-Tribune, June 30, 1936: "Work Is progressing well on the retaining ponds and warm water hatchery at Guernsey... The work is being done by the CCC." The location and status of this project is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop a fish hatchery near Lander, Wyoming. Casper Star-Tribune, 1939: "rojects at Sheridan, Lander, Newcastle and Buffalo had the aid of the WPA and sportsmen's clubs." The location and status of this project is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop a fish hatchery near Newcastle, Wyoming. Casper Star-Tribune, 1939: "rojects at Sheridan, Lander, Newcastle and Buffalo had the aid of the WPA and sportsmen's clubs." The location and status of this project is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop a fish hatchery near Saratoga, Wyoming. "The 1935-1936 biennium was a heyday of improvements and construction. Over 100 ponds were constructed in the wild and CCC enrollees improved several streams and lakes and constructed fish rearing ponds throughout the National Forests in the state. This work included a series of nine fish rearing ponds in Carbon County near Saratoga." Casper Star-Tribune, June 30, 1936: "Work is progressing well ... on the new retaining ponds at Saratoga. The work is being done by the CCC."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted substantial improvement work at the Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery in 1937. "The collaborative project got underway in May 1937 after an appropriation of $16,000 was approved. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission supplied the materials while the WPA paid for the labor. Most of the construction was completed during the summer of 1937. After an additional appropriation was granted in November, work remaining on the residence was completed. The hatchery would be the largest and most complete hatchery in the state at the time. It was officially designated as the Ten Sleep State Fish Hatchery of...

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted work at the fish hatchery in Montague, Mass.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at the federal fish hatchery in Spearfish, South Dakota, including laying a new 736-foot pipeline that replaced a leak-prone pipe.

WPA Bulletin, 1937: "Work of a WPA crew here will increase the output of the state fish hatchery 30 per cent, according to Louis Horst, hatchery superintendent. Last year the hatchery distributed 100,000 live trout, five to eight inches in length, 100,000 which were seven to twelve inches in length and 200,000 smaller trout, the latter planted in feeder streams. An increase of 30 per cent, over these figures will mean a considerable boon to the sport of trout fishing in Massachusetts. The project at the fish hatchery has built four ponds, each 125 by 40 feet, a catch pool, four small ponds, 15...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed two fish ponds at the state hatchery in Burlington, Connecticut.

The Hattiesburg Homesteads was one of five "industrial communities" established in Mississippi as part of the Resettlement Administration, and was the smallest project in the state. Twenty four frame clapboard units were built at a cost of $3,152 per unit. Industrial communities were "...established for industrial workers and located in the outskirts of cities and large towns..." (Smith, p. 89).

In 1937, when the Resettlement Administration was turned over to the Farm Security Administration, the proposed farmstead community at Haywood Farms, Douglass Community, was still in the land acquisition stage. Within a year, the Farm Security Administration had “built or repaired 100 houses for tenant farmers in West Tennessee at an average cost of $211 per room, or $2,050 per farmstead, including barns, fences, wells, smokehouses and other outbuildings” (100 tenants aided in state, p. 2). This included the Haywood Farms Project, where 19 homes were nearly completed by then. The contract for construction of 34 complete farm units of four...

The Farm Security Administration located 37 farms, developed from land mainly purchased from Willis Burchett Douglass, in the Douglas community near Stanton. The farms included a 5-room wooden frame house, outdoor toilet, waterpump, barn, and smokehouse. "The Project" as it was known locally, was developed as RR-TN-25 for African Americans, and local families participated in renting the farms with option to buy.

In 1936, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the original Kamas ranger station for the U.S. Forest Service, just south of Heber UT on Highway 40. (Baldridge, p. 123)  The work was done by enrollees stationed at CCC Camp F-43 in Pleasant Grove. (Roper, p. 90)  They also built a warehouse in Heber City, presumably at the site of ranger station. The ranger station and warehouse have recently been replaced by new buildings.

The historic Heliograph fire lookout tower in Coronado National Forest was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933. NRHP Nomination Form: "This 99 ft high steel tower lookout is an Aermotor I1C-40 with a 7 ft by 7 ft steel cab. Located on the Safford Ranger District, it was erected by a CCC crew in 1933. The log cabin, wood frame barn and privy were also constructed in 1933. A room was added to the cabin in 1978 in keeping with its rustic style. This lookout tower is the highest one on the Coronado National Forest. With the exception of...

"Hemenway State Forest/Big Pines Natural Area Consisting of glacial carved foothills, this state forest includes Great Hill, Duck Pond and the 135-acre Big Pines Natural Area. The park’s many trails provide great hiking, mountain biking, snowmobiling and cross country skiing opportunities. Don’t miss the outstanding view from Great Hill fire tower, -- a short hike from the parking area on Great Hill Road." Camp 10 was once the location of the Hemenway CCC camp #117 built 5/5/1933.

The Henness Ridge Fire Tower was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934.  It was actively used until 1966, but is now empty. The Henness Ridge Fire Tower was one of several fire protection buildings constructed in the Sierra under the guidance of John D. Coffman as a part of a comprehensive fire prevention plan developed in response to difficulties encountered during a 1928 fire near Sequoia National Park. The Henness Ridge lookout is a fine example of the rustic architecture style developed by the National Park Service (fire towers outside the park are simpler steel and wood structures).  It is...

The Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, or BARC, is a unit of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. BARC is the largest agricultural research complex in the world. It was founded in 1910 and greatly expanded under the New Deal.  Several New Deal agencies were involved in this massive  project, presumably working under the direction of the USDA's Bureau of Plant Industry (which later became part of the Agricultural Research Service). To begin with, the Public Works Administration (PWA) purchased the land and paid for clearing, drainage, water lines, roads, walkways and an irrigation system.  The...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to improve what is now the U.S. Department of Agriculture's High Plains Grasslands Research Station (then Cheyenne Horticultural Field Station), located northwest of Cheyenne, Wyoming. USDA.gov: "1935 – Many inprovements were made to the station; the main road was oiled from the entrance to the buildings. Civilian Conservation Corps camp of 200 men opened on station. They constructed roads, 2 miles of concrete lined ditches, irrigation system, planted thousands of trees and shrubs. They picked up hundreds of tons of stones from the experimental plots. And manure collected from nearby ranches was hauled in and spread over...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) drastically impacted New Jersey's High Point State Park. In 1933, when "the CCC boys first arrived at High Point Park, they found a relatively undeveloped 11,000-acre parcel of land. ... By the time the CCC boys were done working eight years later, they had built 25 miles of roads, two lakes, repaired the badly damaged forest, fought forest fires, cleared trails, built campgrounds and shelters, and partially completed an athletic complex. The park, as visitors enjoy it today, is largely the fruition of their efforts."

"The new sixty-foot fire tower on High Rock is nearing completion. The work has been done by the men of the C. C. C. The glass-enclosed observation room at the top of the tower will be occupied during the period from April to October next year, by a man whose duty it will be to detect forest fires and notify the fire fighting forces where the blaze is located. By triangulating with maps and instruments these observers locate the blazes with amazing accuracy." A personal visit to this site in 2014 suggests that the CCC structure has been demolished and replaced.

"Opened in 1938, Hillsborough River State Park is one of Florida's first state parks; this original CCC Park is divided by the swiftly flowing Hillsborough River with a set of Class II rapids. The river provides opportunities for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking..."   (www.floridastateparks.org) "Land acquisition for Hillsborough River State Park began in 1934, and the park officially became part of the Florida state park system in 1935. The CCC began work at Hillsborough River State Park in 1934, when Company 1418 was transferred from Sebring to the small community of Sulphur Springs, northeast of Tampa. CCC Camp SP-71 served primarily as...

"Originally known as “Colonization Project Number 1,” Dyess Colony was first controlled by the Arkansas Rural Rehabilitation Corporation.  This corporation was set up by the Rural Rehabilitation Program of the Emergency Relief Administration in Arkansas.  In 1936 the Resettlement Administration took over management of the Arkansas Rural Rehabilitation Corporation.  The legal structure of the colony was revised, and Dyess Colony Corporation was organized.  When the Farm Security Administration was established in 1937, it became the third agency to administer Dyess. Dyess Colony was an experiment in permanent reestablishment of the independent farmer.  Intended as a pioneer effort, the colony was, in...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) ran two camps at Hocking Hills State Park in Logan OH. The CCC built Hiking Trails and Old Man's Cave Unit.

Originally the first aid cabin of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp, then a ranger station. Presently (January 2023) a venue for nature programs at the Hocking Hills State Park Visitor Center.

“WPA projects both directly and indirectly affected fish and wildlife. More than 300 fish hatcheries were built or enlarged nationwide. Creating fish hatcheries was important economically, as well as for sport fisherman….Some of the fish hatcheries established or improved by WPA were located in or near Cherokee, Durant, Lawton, Tishomingo, Krebs, Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City, and Mohawk Park in Tulsa. A fish hatchery is on the city lake at Holdenville in Hughes County, where the WPA built a caretaker cottage and office building. With few details of location given, fish hatcheries have been hard to locate 70 years later. At...

The homestead housing in Bethlehem, St. Croix was built by the Virgin Islands Company with the aid of PWA funding. A partnership program between the Government of the United States and the people of the Virgin Islands, the Virgin Islands Company sought to expand the homesteading and housing programs alongside industrial development on the islands. In Bethlehem, in addition to running the homesteading and housing programs, the Virgin Islands Company took on the reconstruction of the Bethlehem sugar mill, the island’s largest sugar mill. The 1934 Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands provides details about a homestead housing program funded with...

A homestead housing program funded with the aid of a $45,000 grant from the Housing Commission and a $242,000 loan from Subsistence Homesteads Corporation, sought to improve housing conditions on the Virgin Islands. The program included housing on farm land in the vicinity of Frederiksted on St. Croix. The 1934 Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands describes the housing conditions on the islands and the details of the new housing program. "A housing survey in October 1933 in St. Croix, where the need is greatest, showed 2,623 one-room houses, with from 1 to 12 persons in each house. Perhaps...

A homestead housing program funded with the aid of a $45,000 grant from the Housing Commission and a $242,000 loan from Subsistence Homesteads Corporation, sought to improve housing conditions on the Virgin Islands. The program included housing on farm land in St. Thomas. The 1934 Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands describes the housing conditions on the islands and the details of the new housing program. "A housing survey in October 1933 in St. Croix, where the need is greatest, showed 2,623 one-room houses, with from 1 to 12 persons in each house. Perhaps half of them are relics of...

Seawall constructed on Hope St. Built by the Works Progress Administration between 1935 and 1939.