Lakes and Ponds Sites

"A. H. Stephens Historic Park contains tent and trailer sites, picnic sites, and fishing ponds, as well as a nature trail and rustic cabins, and was mostly built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, beginning in 1933." (wikipedia) The park "is located in a beautiful loblolly pine forest planted in the early 1930’s by the CCC."   (https://www.reserveamerica.com) The WPA also worked in the park.  

Big Timber Pioneer reported: "Joseph Parker, state WPA administrator, has approved construction of the Ackley lake project on the Judith river west of Hobson in Judith Basin county. This irrigation undertaking will cost $113,003. It will employ 328 clients for four months."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Alice Whitney Park Dam on the Sauk River in St. Cloud MN in 1938.  WPA workers also built steps going down the riverbank to the dam and a path along the river.  The dam was  meant to provide a swimming hole for park users. The dam was about 4 feet tall and provided a walking path to get across the river, connecting Whitney Park and Sauk River Park.  All of the stone and wood was cut by WPA workers.  The dam’s purpose was to raise the water level of the Sauk River to create a...

At Alley Spring, the CCC constructed many trails, rock walls, 11 buildings, campgrounds, roads, restored the mill including replacing the floor, and diverted the slough adjacent to the mill to insure that it did not silt in. The CCC unit that worked this site consisted of WWI veterans.

Also known as Wild Horse Creek dam, the dam impounding what is now Apache Lake in Wild Horse Canyon was one of many dams the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) created in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Per The Daily Oklahoman, Jul. 1934: "Wild Horse creek dam, since it is within the large buffalo pasture, will not be open to the public soon." (A permit was required to visit the lake.) "It has been stocked with fish. Located at the base of Mount , this lake should prove popular when it is possible to open it for use of the public. The...

In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out improvements on Atascadero Lake Park.  WPA project cards indicate the following work: "Improve the recreational area at Atascadero Lake near Atascadero, San Luis Obispo Co., by improving earthen dam, and performing other incidental work, to provide additional parking spaces." We cannot ascertain what was done to the dam and the parking lots have been greatly enlarged since the 1930s.  Nevertheless, there are stone rings around trees, stone benches along the lake shore and stone drinking fountains that are characteristic of the rustic style used by WPA relief workers.  Further confirmation is needed. WPA Proj....

The Works Progress Administration built the Decatur County lake in Decatur County KS, as part of Kansas' Water Conservation Program.  

"The CCC camp at Bass River State Forest, Camp S-55, lasted from 1933 to 1942, throughout the entire life of CCC. ... There were usually 200 men at the camp, which was a full complement. The CCC members performed wide range of conservation work. The young men of the CCC built park roads, trails, bridle paths, bridges for vehicles, ponds for fish and waterfowl, lookout towers, nature observatory shelters, picnic areas, cabins, fireplaces, campgrounds, recreational lakes, and landscaping. The most noteworthy feat was the creation of the 67-acre Lake Absegami, by damming two streams flowing through the forest."

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built "roads, trails,bridle paths, vehicle bridges, ponds for fish and waterfowl, lookouttowers, a nature observatory, shelters, picnic areas, fireplaces,campgrounds, recreational lakes, and worked on landscaping and firefighting. Today you can also find a museum devoted to the CCC in New Hampshire here."

This appproximately 7-acre Lake impounding log earth dam, located in Yellowwood State Forest, was complete in 1939 with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

“Bear Mountain State Park is located on the west side of the Hudson River in Orange and Rockland counties of New York… In the 1930s the federal government under Franklin D. Roosevelt was developing plans to preserve the environment as part of the Depression-era public works programs; the Civil Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration, spent five years on projects at the park. Pump houses, reservoirs, sewer systems, vacation lodges, bathrooms, homes for park staff, storage buildings and an administration building were all created through these programs.”   (wikipedia) In addition, a report of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration from 1933 records...

Blanchette Park is a large park overlooking the Missouri River Valley in northern St. Charles which was the first Missouri State Capital. The WPA's work in the park included a swimming pool, lake, walks and fences, and remodeling of Memorial Hall in the park.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) pursued a number of improvements at Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota in 1938. Initial improvement plans called for the “construction of a bathhouse, facilities for picnicking and camping and general recreation.” The WPA also built dams and other structures.  In what was then called Mounds Springs Recreational Reserve, “workers in the WPA (Works Progress Administration) built five structures: a latrine and the upper and lower dams on Mound Creek, which created Upper and Lower Mound Lakes. The rustic style of the structures features native materials such as locally quarried quartzite. Rustic-style architecture, as defined by...

The state acquired the land for Bonham State Park in 1933 from the City of Bonham. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed the 261-acre park, landscaping the rocky, hilly terrain for erosion control and recreational purposes, and constructing an earthen dam to impound a sixty-five-acre lake. CCC Company 894 constructed buildings of local cream-colored limestone and Eastern red cedar, working under the supervision of Bonham architect Joe C. Lair and San Antonio architect William C. Caldwell. The overall design exhibits a WPA rustic style. The CCC built the entrance portal, concession building (currently the park headquarters and storage facility), waterfront storage building...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Boykin Springs Recreation Area in 1937 and 1938. The park is set in a forest of longleaf pine trees in Angelina National Forest.  It includes a nine-acre, man-made, spring-fed lake and a picnic shelter in classic Rustic Style built by the CCC enrollees. Those men probably came from either Camp Nancy or Camp Pineland. In the early 1900s this area was the center of a thriving community built around the logging industry harvesting the old growth pine trees of East Texas. The loggers "clear cut" the land, and by 1920, with the trees gone,...

The CCC conducted extensive work on Breakheart Reservation to turn it into a public park. From the Friends of Breakheart Reservation website: “undreds of men lived and worked here, paid $30 a month, out of which they kept $5 and sent the rest home to their families. It was the CCC who helped develop this land into a recreational area with bridle paths, trails, and picnic areas.” From Wikipedia: "In 1934 the executors for Johnson and Clough sold the Breakheart Hill Forest to the Metropolitan District Commission for upwards of $40,000. The MDC then turned the land over to the Civilian...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers worked at Breeds Pond in Lynn, Mass. WPA Bulletin: Bacterial dangers are eliminated by the WPA construction of several thousand yards of large-stone, rip-rap work, along the vertical banks of Breed's Pond, one of Lynn's main water storage units. This wall prevents road embankment dirt and clay-bearing silt from being washed into the pond.

The CCC laborers completed Ogle lake between 1934 and 1935. The workers also created an earth dam and spillway.

According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce: “Cacapon Resort State Park was the first CCC state park to be completed. Camp Morgan was established October 4, 1934 in what is now the main picnic area in the park. The land was devastated by clear-cutting of the timber and by poor agricultural practices of small subsistence farmers during the Great Depression. The men were responsible for the construction of 27 miles of roads and trails within the park, bath house, lake, dam and beach, picnic areas and shelters, stables, supply house, staff residences and rental cabins. The 12-room Old Inn was...

Caddo Lake Dam, originally known as Headquarters Dam, was one of many dams the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) created or improved in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Per The Daily Oklahoman, Jul. 1934: "НEADQUARTERS dam was completed May 12 and has not had time to be filled with water. Plans have been made to stock it with fish as soon as possible. This structure is 150 feet in length and is 30 feet high. Located within a mile of the reservation headquarters, the lake to be formed will be near the main highway through the federal preserve." This description is consistent with...

Both the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) contributed to the development of Canyon Lake Park in Rapid City, South Dakota. "Canyon Lake Park was developed around the 1890s by the Upper Rapid City Company, who planted the Lombardy poplar trees that still line the roads of the park. Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy was a partner in the company that planned to develop Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake as a resort with a hotel and a railroad from the downtown area. The lake flooded out in 1907, and thirty years later the WPA rebuilt the lake and dam, adding...

Among the earliest of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camps in Oregon, Camp Hebo (occasionally referred to as Camp Mt Hebo) was established in the spring of 1933 and remained active until 1936. Without the benefit of a permanent campground, the earliest enrollees arrived from Chicago to tent living and quickly learned about the rain and mud of the Oregon Coast Range's western slope. Despite difficult living conditions, the 220 young men of Company 622 went to work under the management of rangers from the Siuslaw National Forest on a variety of tasks required for the forest's management, including building...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) maintained a camp on French Creek east of Custer State Park in South Dakota from 1934 to 1941.  It was officially camp SP-3 (meaning State Park #3).  The recruits worked on projects in region under the supervision of Custer State Park rangers and the National Park Service (NPS). The CCC enrollees built many miles of road, telephone lines and boundary fences. To this they added 20 bridges.  They constructed a fire lookout on Mt. Coolidge, along with a ranger's residence there, and fought fires and bark beetle infestations. They developed the Blue Bell Lodge and cabins...

"SCS-10 Camp Cabell was located in Cabell County about two miles east of Milton on bottom land of the Thomas Joseph Berkeley farm, south of US Rt. 60 and between the highway and the railroad tracks... Due to its location, the camp was able to obtain water service from the Town of Milton. The camp was occupied July 31, 1939 by CCC Company 1512 which had been transferred from Camp Crawford, SCS-2, Elizabeth, WV. Work on local farms included fence construction, gully treatment, surveying and land preparation for strip cropping. A major project was the construction of a dam, creating a one...

In 1933, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers stationed at Camp Fremont in Pinedale, Wyoming built a large system of ponds for environmental and recreational purposes. Additional camp work included a variety of other projects such as reforestation, flood control, and road building. Following the closure of Camp Fremont in 1942, the CCC Ponds went out of use and became derelict. The ponds were reconstructed in the 1990s, however, and were given thematic names after resident wildlife, including the Fish Pond, Duck Pond, Beaver Pond, and Frog Pond. Today, the CCC Ponds are a popular recreation area for fishing, walking, biking and watching...

The Harlem Meer is an artificial lake at the north end of Central Park, added to the original park by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux on the site of a former marsh. The New York Times reported in Sept. 1941 that the WPA, in conjunction with New York's Department of Parks, was working to improve Central Park for Harlem residents in "the area from Conservatory Gardens to 110th Street." "Major attention," The Times wrote, was being "given to the fourteen-acre lake and the series of rocky knolls rising from its southern bank." The WPA constructed a masonry wall "a foot high"...

Charles R. Adams Park is a 32-acre public city park located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. The park is surrounded by the neighborhood of Cascade Heights. Construction of the park began in the mid-1930s, and the dedication ceremony took place in 1940. The park used county funds, federal relief money and Works Progress Administration labor to construct many of the facilities and landscape features. William L. Monroe, Sr., a noted Atlanta landscaper, is credited with the design. "The property consists of a 32-acre designed landscape including passive greenspace, a lake and stream, and active recreational and community facilities. The...

Camp Roosevelt: C.C.C. Company #171 operated from May 23, 1933 to March 31, 1937, and worked to develop what was later designated as Chatfield Hollow State Park. It was originally "developed as a Civilian Conservation Corps recreation area within Cockaponset State Forest."

"The park’s history is tied to Camp Morehouse, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp that was located nearby, and a company of young men who began construction of the park in the 1930s. The Morehouse Enterprise reports June 8, 1933 that CCC Company 1491 under the command of U.S. Army Capt. Ralph L. Ware had arrived in Bastrop via train from Camp Beauregard. The company included 188 enrollees from Morehouse and surrounding parishes. The men would be stationed at Camp Morehouse about 12 miles north of Bastrop  on land owned by the Crossett Lumber Co., where they planned to build a lighting plant,...

Chickamauga Dam is located on the Tennessee River in south-central Tennessee just east of downtown Chattanooga. Construction began in 1936 as a part of Tennessee Valley Authority’s area improvements and was completed in 1940. Before the dam’s construction, the city of Chattanooga often experienced major flooding. The dam provides hydroelectric power to the area and creates Chickamauga Lake, which is used for recreation and a wildlife reserve. Two segregated recreation areas- Booker T. Washington State Park and Harrison Bay State Park- were also created with the construction of the dam and lake. "When the Tennessee Valley Authority was formed in the...

"Veterans Lake is located in the western portion of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area's Platt Historic District. The lake is an excellent fishing venue, hiking and picnicking nearby. No-wake boating is allowed on the lake. It was created by the damming of Wilson Creek. Veterans Lake was built in in the mid-1930s by the WPA and became part of Chickasaw National Recreation Area in 1983. Land for the lake was funded by local citizens in the Sulphur area. The 67-acre lake was named in honor of American war veterans. The lake offers three miles of shoreline, along with a boat ramp,...

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."

7-acre Lake impounded by Earth Dam with concrete overflow outlet. Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1935.

Earth Dam impounding 13-Acre Lake. Early services (Outdoor Indiana 1934-1935) refer to Lake as “Frankey." Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Co. 513 constructed it in 1934.

Earth Dam impounding 2.5-acre lake. Small concrete spillway roughly centered in Dam. Similar to known Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)-constructed dams, but records are sparse and conflicting. Possibly pre-New Deal.

2-acre “lake” impounded by Earth Dam (N-S) with small concrete spillway. Small frame square building with hipped roof, presumably preprocess, SW of spillway. Small open picnic shelter with hipped roof, NE of dam (may be of Lake Vintage). Similar to known Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)-constructed dams, but records are sparse and conflicting. Possibly pre-New Deal. Possibly water source for nursery that had been established in the section of forest.

Earth Dam impounding 18-acre lake. Small frame gabled structure below dam at spillway outlet. Constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Co. 513 in 1934.

Clear Springs Recreation Area lake was constructed between 1935 and 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The lake retains its original design even though restoration work has been done on wooden shoring and spillway. The picnic pavilion was constructed in rustic style, and is a one-story, T-plan structure of logs. The structure includes a brick fireplace and wooden slab benches. The gazebo is a hexagon shape. The lake is a landscape element after the land was acquired in 1933 for the Homochitto National Forest. State forester was Fred B. Merrill and Supervisor was R. M. Conarro.

The park was built by CCC Co. 3804 who were at the park from the spring of 1935 to Aug 1940. According to "Parks for Texas," CCC work includes the dam and lake, a limestone residence and maintenance area, entrance portals, and fireplace units. Additional work was completed by the WPA in 1941, including a bathhouse and concession building, plus a water and sewer system.

The Crawford State Park in Farlington KS has a nine hundred fifty acre lake built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The park now includes a monument to CCC workers.