Dams Sites

Pachaug State Forest is the largest forest in Connecticut. After the land was acquired by the state, "Laborers from New Deal programs such as the ... Civilian Conservation Corps then turned these newly acquired lands into usable open space ..." The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)’s Camp Lonergan, which housed Company #179, was stationed at Pachaug State Forest in Voluntown, Connecticut. The camp was established June 6, 1933 and was discontinued May 28, 1942. A CCC Museum exhibit discusses the camp's accomplishments. "The largest state forest in Connecticut was home to a camp named after Senator Augustine Lonergan. A shingle mill was set up near...

Palmetto State Park is located on the San Marcos River between Luling and Gonzales, Texas in Gonzales County and is administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park consists of 270 acres of land purchased from the City of Gonzales and private owners. The park was constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Companies 873, 886, and 1823(CV) between 1934 and 1937, with some funding from the National Park Service and opened to the public as a state park in 1936. The CCC built Park Road 11, a low water crossing on the San Marcos River, water tower/storage building, refectory,...

Parker Dam is diversion dam to channel water from the Colorado River into the Colorado Aqueduct traveling across the Mojave Desert to greater Los Angeles and San Diego. The later are served by a huge wholesale water agency, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).  MWD contracts for the water from the Bureau of Reclamation and resells it to a multitude of cities and local water districts.  Parker Dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation from 1934 to 1938, at the same time as it was finishing Hoover (Boulder) Dam and constructing Imperial Dam on the lower Colorado River. "The metropolitan water district...

This article was found in the January 14, 1937 issue of The Enderlin Independent. It is reprinted here exactly as it appeared in that paper. ************ WORK ON DAM IN PATRICK PIERCE PARK UNDER WAY ------------------------- Rubble-Masonry Dam Will Have Fifty-foot Spillway --------- Work on the new dam across the Maple River in Patrick Pierce Park started this week, according to city engineer, Clifford T. McBride, in charge of the work. The plans call for a rubble-masonry overflow dam with an over-all length of 92 feet and a fifty-foot spillway. A house has been erected over the site to protect the men from the severe winter...

“Construction on the Pensacola Dam that formed Grand Lake in northeast Oklahoma began when President Roosevelt approved $41 million in WPA funds for the project in September, 1937. The marker at the sight of the dam had no indication of any workers being supplied with WPA funds, but an Oklahoma Educational Television Authority documentary made reference to the WPA workers at that site. On the marker, the Federal Works Agency (FWA) and Public Works Administration (PWA) are recognized. At the time of completion, WPA was officially under the umbrella of FWA. PWA had been terminated.” --Leaning on a Legacy

"Pickwick Landing Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Hardin County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The dam is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1930s as part of a New Deal-era initiative to create a continuous navigation channel between the river's mouth and Knoxville, and bring economic development to the area. The dam impounds the 43,100-acre (17,400 ha) Pickwick Lake and its tailwaters are part of Kentucky Lake." (Wikipedia)

The CCC worked to develop Pittsfield State Forest during the 1930s. From BerkshireWeb.com: "In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted large tracts of spruce and red pine on the former grazing land. They also constructed roads, dams, and buildings. The land, which had remained in private ownership, was then sold to the state. Many of the forest's present buildings date from the CCC era, including the ski lodge with its enormous stone fireplace." From the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: "The renovation of this administration building is a victory in the effort to preserve the rustic CCC...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) constructed a dam in Plymouth Township, Grand Forks County, North Dakota; north of Niagara. The location and status of the structure is unknown to Living New Deal. "The Plymouth township dam with a drainage area of 1.5 square miles, makes a reservoir 1,140 feet long, containing 3.9 acres and holding 18.5 acre feet. It is 13.5 feet high and 375 feet long with 9.5 feet of water at the site. It was built to provide water storage for stock in the rural community."

With financing from the Works Progress Administration, the Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District (now the Brazos River Authority) completed Morris Sheppard Dam in 1941 creating Possum Kingdom Reservoir. The district transferred 6,969 acres of land to the State of Texas for parks around the lake. The original plans by the state included east and west units of Possum Kingdom State Park on opposite shorelines. Designers abandoned the east unit and focused on the west side. Civilian Conservation Company (CCC) Corps 2888 arrived in May 1941 and began work. The CCC enrollees provided utilities and basic services. They cleared the park...

Post Oak Dam, which impounds Post Oak Lake, was one of many dams the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) created or improved in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Per The Anadarko Tribune (1934) "Post Oak dam is about miles north of Indiahoma and is near the old quartz mine and beautiful Elk Mountain Falls ... The Post Oak dam is 25 feet high by 100 feet long and is a delightful place to swim. An old miner's log cabin nearby has made this a popular overnight camp for Boy Scouts." Work was begun June 15, 1933 and completed in August 1933.

Pounds Hollow was the first recreational site constructed for Shawnee National Forest. A dam, beach, bathhouse, boat dock, utility buildings, roads, and a caretakers house were constructed by CCC crews from Camp Cadiz.

Prado Dam outside Corona, CA was constructed between 1938-41 by the Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is located at the confluence of the Santa Ana River, Chico Creek, Cucamonga Creek, and Temescal Wash. Following devastating floods in the Los Angeles Area in the 1930s, initiatives for flood control projects were put forward. Although not in Los Angeles County, one of these project proposals was for Prado Dam, situated in Riverside County near the city of Corona. The Prado Dam project became of extreme importance after a devastating flood on March 3rd, 1938 when the Santa Ana River broke its...

Pretty Water Dam was constructed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project ca. 1935-6.

The Provo River Project was initiated under the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of  1933 (almost surely as a Public Works Administration (PWA) funded project) and approved by President Roosevelt in late 1935.  The Salt Lake Aqueduct was approved in 1938.  Construction began in May 1938 and built by the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Most of the features were begun during the New Deal but completed after the Second World War. The key structure of the project, Deer Creek Dam, is located on the Provo River east of...

Located in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Quanah Parker Dam north of Cache, Oklahoma was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): Company #859. The 52-foot-high dam was meant to be a "miniature replica of Boulder dam." Construction occurred in 1935 (possibly into 1936; Living New Deal is not certain). The CCC constructed dozens of dams in the refuge.

"Quartz Mountain State Park (since 2002 called Quartz Mountain Nature Park) is one of ten original sites contemplated by the Oklahoma legislature in 1935, when it appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars to create a State Park Commission to work with the National Park Service in securing funds and labor through the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a federal government job program. The legislature asked local residents to purchase the land and donate it to the state. Citizens of Greer County purchased 158.3 acres of land adjacent to Lake Altus for $51.58. Additional acreage has been added over the intervening years, bringing the...

Plans for the Quasqueton Dam were developed in May and June 1934, shortly after the CWA ended. Federal funding was initially provided by FERA. However, the construction took much longer than originally planned, so the completion of the dam was funded in the fall of 1935 by the WPA. As with other New Deal dams in Iowa, the material was supplied by the State Fish and Game Commission, and the labor by the federal government (FERA or WPA). Construction started in June 1934. The dam was 6½ feet high and 250 feet long. It was identified in newspapers more than...

A small town built for the purposes of housing the "clerks, engineers, draftsmen, technicians, and laborers building the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project, the world’s largest tidal dam. The site was originally the George Rice farm, on the Old Toll Bridge Road and Route 190."   (https://penobscotmarinemuseum.org) "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Quoddy dam project began officially on July 4, 1935. It was estimated that 5,000 workers were needed for the project, and Eastport lacked housing. A model village, named Quoddy, was built three miles from the center of Eastport. It consisted of 128 single family, two-family, and four-family houses; three large...

In 1916, the Pecos Valley of Texas Water Users Association (which consisted of the Porterville, Farmers Independent, Cedarvale/Imperial, Barstow, Big Valley-Grandfalls, Imperial and Zimmerman irrigation districts) filed a petition with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to request that a dam be constructed across the Pecos River to provide irrigation for farmlands from Red Bluff to the town of Grandfalls. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $2,206,000 loan and $722,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $2,982,895. The project was identified as a power and water project in a PWA report. TAMU: "In 1934, construction of the Red Bluff...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a dam in Red Butte Canyon above Salt Lake City, Utah, that was completed in 1938. It created the Red Butte Reservoir, which lies about a half mile above the present Red Butte Garden & Arboretum. The reservoir was meant to improve water supply for Fort Douglas, a mile or so downstream. The fort had utilized water from Red Butte Creek since its establishment in the 1850s and had built a small reservoir in 1883. To protect water quality, the federal government bought out more of the canyon from ~1890 to 1910 and closed down...

In 1938 the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted "extensive improvement and extension" work to the spillway at the Wheeler Pond / Thurman W. Dix Reservoir dam by Barre in Orange, Vermont.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and, later, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) constructed a dam at Riverside Park in Walhalla, North Dakota, creating a reservoir and swimming area. Its exact location and status are unknown to Living New Deal, though it seems likely to have since been removed. "Another completed dam is at the Walhalla Riverside park on the Pembina river. It gives eight feet of water at the dam, provides a reservoir 8,153 feet long, covering 10.8 acres and storing 43.2 acre feet. It is 8 feet high and has a 92-foot fill. It is for recreational purposes." Grand Forks...

The Works Progress Administration built dams at the Robber's Cave State Park. The dams formed Lake Carlton, adjacent to the camping facilities built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Contributor note: "The CCC built the park between 1933 and 1941 with cabins, hiking trails, campsites, shelters and roads. This was a joint effort of the National Park Service, the CCC, and the WPA who were brought in to construct dams to create three lakes. The WPA built a low water dam across Coon Creek forming a 58 acre reservoir. In addition, they built three additional low water dams across Forche Maline Creek and...

Lower Rolling Dam bridge is a 29 foot concrete T-beam over the Rolling Dam Stream. It was one of 26 bridges that were badly damaged or destroyed by a 500 year flood in March 1936. A 1936 Annual Report by the Maine Highway Commission notes that the reconstruction of these bridges were U.S. Works Program Flood Relief projects and were handled under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Public Roads, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Labor was provided to some by the Works Progress Administration. At some point in the past, the bridge was abandoned when Route 24 was changed and...

Located on Blue Beaver Creek, "Rush Lake Dam was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934." The dam and lake are one of many developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge.

The Rye Patch Dam lies in the Humboldt River valley, which crosses Nevada from east to west.  The California Trail went along the Humboldt River and the Lovelock Valley has been a gateway for gold and silver prospectors since the 1860s. It has also been home to irrigated farming, which benefitted greatly from the New Deal of the 1930s. The Bureau of Reclamation constructed Rye Patch dam in 1935-36, as part of the larger Humboldt Reclamation Project.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did ancillary work during the final stage of construction of the dam, clearing acres of brush in and around the reservoir...

The New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps camp was located just below San Pablo Reservoir. CCC laborers living at the camp did work to support water infrastructure improvements for the East San Francisco Bay area. In addition to dam-building, workers at the San Pablo Dam camp planted trees and built fire roads for the new San Pablo check dam and reservoir area. The San Pablo Dam camp was also one of the CCC's African-American camps. In the agency's early years, federal work crews were intentionally integrated communities, with stipulations that each unit enroll African-Americans at a rate proportional to their representation in the...

Santa Fe Dam was authorized in the Flood Control Act of 1941. It began construction on the San Gabriel River south of Azusa near Irwindale, CA in 1942. Santa Fe Dam was completed under a contract between the Army Corps of Engineers, the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The project broke ground in 1942 but was paused at 95% completion in the summer of 1943 when steel was reallocated towards the war effort. Following the war, construction resumed and the dam was completed by 1949. 

The colossal Santee Cooper Project in South Carolina was enabled by a $31 million grant-loan by the Public Works Administration (PWA), "the most expensive PWA project on the East Coast." A state law enabling the project was passed years before work was able to begin thanks to court challenges. The dams, lakes, and electricity created by the project have had immense positive long-term impacts on the state. The project entailed the clearing of 160,000 acres of land using manual labor, mostly utilizing Work Projects Administration (WPA) labor; constructing a dam to impound Lake Marion; constructing a power station and a dam...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a work project at Sapulpa Reservoir ca. 1935-6. The lake was originally constructed in 1907.

"...the vast New Deal flood-control project (1938-42) that dammed the Tallahatchie River and created Sardis Lake, an artificial reservoir that covered hundreds of square miles in western Lafayette and eastern Panola counties. The dam itself was a giant, mile-long mound of earth, one of the world's largest, with sculpturally modernist steel and concrete elements framing the spillway and the water level control towers" (Hines, 1996, p. 112). Later, the Sardis State Park was added. The site was renamed the John W. Kyle State Park and Dam, though the name Sardis Lake is still used as well.

The CCC worked to develop Savoy Mountain State Forest during the 1930s. From the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: "Savoy Mountain State Forest was created in 1918 with the purchase of 1,000 acres of this abandoned farmland. During the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) reforested much of this area with Norway and Blue Spruce, and built new concrete dams at Bog, Burnett and Tannery Pond to replace older dams."

"The CCC created Schreeder Pond in 1934 by building a horseshoe-shaped earth and stone dam across Chatfield Hollow Brook."

Casper-Alcova Project, Wyoming - The Casper-Alcova Project is being developed initially to irrigate 35,000 acres of land in the vicinity of Casper Wyoming. The more important features are the Seminoe Dam and power plant, the Alcova Dam and the canal system. The revenues from the power plant are expected to repay a large portion of the cost of the project. the Seminoe Dam is of the concrete arch type, with a volume of about 161,000 cubic yards and a maximum height of 161 feet. The storage capacity of the reservoir will be 1,000,000 acre feet. The Alcova Dam on the...

The Sepulveda Dam in Van Nuys, CA was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1940-41 as part of an enormous flood control project in Los Angeles County. The $8,000,000 project was completed under a contract between the Army Corps of Engineers, the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD), and the WPA. At the height of construction, 850 workers were employed building the 50-foot concrete dam on the Los Angeles River. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, "The flood of 1 January 1934 emphasized the need for flood risk management projects in southern California. The New Deal Relief...

In 1936, after an earthwork dam that protected local roads from being flooded by Shadow Lake washed out, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) re-built it.

The dams were completed by Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) in 1937.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) started construction on a new lake. Lake Jason, now known as Lake Lenope, was completed by Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937.

"Sharon Woods Park was first established in 1932, making it the oldest park managed by Hamilton County. Many of the park's amenities, including the dam and golf course were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Today it remains a popular recreation destination for local residents and boasts miles of multipurpose trails, boat rentals, picnic shelters, and much more."   (https://recplanet.com/node/26678) The WPA was also involved in developing the park.

Shasta Dam is the keystone of the Central Valley Project, a complex of several dams, reservoirs and canals across Northern California.  It is a high-arch concrete dam over 600 feet high and almost 3,500 feet wide at the top, situated in the former Iron Canyon. At the time it was built, it was the second largest dam in the world, after Grand Coulee on the Columbia River (another New Deal project), and it is still the 8th highest in the United States.  It impounds the largest reservoir in California, with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet. Shasta Dam had been originally conceived...