Campgrounds and Cabins Sites

"During the Great Depression in the 1930s, the Federal government purchased much of the land used for charcoal production as part of a national project to reclaim marginal lands. This project provided jobs and improved local economies by developing recreation sites called recreation demonstration areas. Two Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps were built at French Creek and operated until the early 1940s. The camps built two dams, two group camps, several tent camping areas, beaches, roads, picnic areas, and started the restoration process for the historic core of Hopewell Furnace." "The National Park Service built five Recreation Demonstration Areas through CCC and...

A Texas historical marker erected in the park in 2007 explains the CCC's involvement in the park's development as follows: "CCC Company 879 began its work at Camp SP-42-T (Garner State Park) in April 1935. During the first phase of development (1935-37), construction included the main entrance portal and road, and the keeper’s lodge. In 1937, the CCC began construction on the heart of the new park, the combination building, known as the Pavilion, and a dance floor, on a high bluff near the Frio River. The building architecture, known as NPS (National Park Service) Rustic, utilized native limestone and wood...

Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Parks were created separately, but because they are contiguous they are administered today by the National Park Service (NPS) as a single unit. Sequoia was the third national park, created in 1893, while Kings Canyon became a national park in 1941, under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.   During the New Deal of the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did extensive work in both national parks, building campgrounds, trails, roads, ranger stations and other facilities.  More specific information is needed on these projects.  

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Vermont's Gifford Woods State Park during the 1930s. "Development of Gifford Woods State Park began in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps ...  In 1933 and 1934, CCC crews constructed the park office and ranger’s quarters, picnic area, stone restroom building, trails, the park entrance and parking area. In 1939 the CCC constructed a camping area."

"Glacier National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Montana, on the Canada–United States border with the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2) and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles (41,000 km2)... The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New...

Raquette Lake is the largest lake in the southwestern portion of the Adirondack Park in  upstate New York.  It is famous as the site of some of the earliest and grandest of the "Camps" established by wealthy New Yorkers in the Gilded Age of the 19th century – which were, in fact, grand summer homes owned by families like the Durants, Vanderbilts, and Morgans). The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Eighth Lake Camp, established in  1933, did improvements to the state campground at Golden Beach on the southeastern flank of Raquette Lake, which the Department of Conservation had created in 1929 (on...

Goose Island State Park is on Aransas Bay near Rockport, Texas. The 321.4-acre park was acquired in 1931-1935 by deeds from private owners and a legislative act setting aside the state-owned Goose Island as a state park. The park is currently administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1801 performed initial development work on Goose Island State Park during two six-month periods in 1934 and 1935. The CCC worked in clearing undergrowth, planting trees, and caring for "Big Tree," a 1000 year old coastal live oak thought to be one of the largest in the...

"Repairing and painting of buildings, including band shells, bathhouses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and playground buildings in the following parks...Gordon Park."

"Camps were set up at several locations in the valley, at Leigh Lake, Lizard Point, and "Hot Springs" near Colter Bay. In 1934, Camp NP-4, the most prominent camp, was built at the south end of Jenny Lake. CCC crews manned this camp through 1942. Civilian Conservation Corps laborers worked on a variety of projects. The Superintendent's Report for August 1936 listed the following: landscaping headquarters; improvement and development of a campground at Jenny Lake; construction of fireplaces; construction of barriers at Jenny Lake campground; construction of table and bench combinations at Jenny Lake; construction of permanent employees' dwellings headquarters; extension...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park occupies large areas of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. The park’s creation was a decades-long process, including advocacy in the late 19th century; legislation signed by President Calvin Coolidge in 1926; and donations and land acquisitions from small donors, the governments of North Carolina and Tennessee, and charitable organizations, such as the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund. Once the park’s existence was firmly established, funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) and labor from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made it both accessible and accommodating to the public. President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the park on...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont during the 1930s. "The Depression-era legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (established in 1933 as part of Roosevelt’s “New Deal”) is reflected on the Forest. At one time during the 1930's there were 5 active CCC camps on the Forest (Mt Tabor, Weston, Peru, West River and Rochester).  The men at these camps built roads, trails and campgrounds, fought fires, planted trees and generally established much of the infrastructure of the early National Forest. Today a few of the buildings and many of the features, travel ways and landscapes...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop Groton State Forest and multiple state parks attendant with the state forest, including New Discovery, Kettle Pond, Stillwater, and Ricker Pond State Parks. The CCC conducted reforestation work, developed trails and roads, and constructed campgrounds and shelters. According to a 1988 Groton State Forest History Guide, the CCC road started the construction of the main forest road (Route 232).  

Guernsey State Park is built around the Guernsey Dam and Reservoir, constructed in the 1920s as a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project along the North Platte River in  southeastern Wyoming. In the 1930s, the Bureau worked with the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to develop the area around the reservoir as a recreational park. The land is owned by the Bureau and managed by the state of Wyoming. The CCC developed the park's recreational facilities from 1934 to 1937, working out of two camps: Camp BR-9, on a bluff north of Guernsey Dam, and Camp BR-10, about a...

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 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed roads, trails, and camps in this park. The CCC also built a number of lakes, including Pine Meadow, Wanoksink, Turkey Hill, and Silver Mine.

"Much of the park's development came to a halt in October 1929 when the Great Depression gripped the country. Work did not resume until the spring of 1933 when the young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps arrived at Hartwick Pines. The CCC Boys did a lot of work in the park: They finished the interior work of the Memorial Building, built the two buildings of the Logging Museum, expanded the campground, planted several thousand trees, eradicated the white pine blister rust within the park, built roads, and added a number of visitor amenities such as a campground, picnic area...

Hasselborg Cabin, built in 1937,  is part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1933 and 1937.  This route included shelters, portages, dams, cabins, boathouses, and skiffs and was part of a program to enhance recreational opportunities in Alaska. The cabin has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The registration form for the National Trust says this: "Hasselborg cabin is a standard Adirondack shelter -- a saltbox style that is timber-framed, rectangular in plan view and three-sided. Two features distinguish this shelter from others in the canoe route, the floor and a...

A 1992 survey of the National Register of Historic Places describes the condition of the site: “The Hasselborg Lake East Shelter Cabin, now in ruins, was a three-sided shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route. At one time it was an example of the three-sided Adirondack style shelter cabin built for public recreation in the 1930s, but now it has collapsed and been cannibalized for firewood. The site continues to be used as a recreational camp site.” “Built in the Adirondack style, the three-sided Hasselborg Lake East Shelter Cabin had a peeled log...

The Hasselborg Lake North Shelter Cabin is a shelter in the Admiralty Island National Monument, part of the Tongass Forest. The Civilian Conservation Corps workers built the three-sided shelter Adirondack style cabin with a “peeled log superstructure and shake walls and roof.” “A beaver dam flooded the site some years ago, and water several centimeters high was flowing against one wall when it was documented. Sill logs, the bottoms of horizontal posts, and the lowermost shakes are rotten from contact with groundwater. Headroom inside is restricted because the building has settled, and it leans dramatically. The Forest Service is not maintaining...

The Hasselborg Lake North Shelter Cabin is a shelter in the Admiralty Island National Monument, part of the Tongass Forest. The Civilian Conservation Corps workers built the three-sided shelter Adirondack style cabin with a “peeled log superstructure and shake walls and roof.” “The structure is well-maintained, and its current appearance is similar to its original appearance. The sill logs have been replaced with ones similar to the original. This was apparently not done, however, until the lower most parts of the vertical posts had rotted considerably. Replacement was done by cutting off the bottom foot or so of rotten post, and...

The Civilian Conservation Corps created Herrington Manor Lake by damming Herrington Creek. They also built ten cabins, the lake concession building (which has been altered since), and a pavilion. The CCC boys also planted trees throughout the area. According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, “The park offers swimming, canoeing, kayaking, picnicking, hiking, tennis, volleyball and 20 furnished log cabins for rental use year round” (this includes the ten CCC-built cabins). The park also offers fishing and cross-country skiing opportunities.

"Heyburn State Park is the oldest state park in the Pacific Northwest, created by an act of Congress in 1908. Heyburn includes approximately 5,800 acres of land and 2,300 acres of water. Much of the early construction was performed by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. Today, many of these facilities are still in use the CCCs proud legacy." (www.reserveamerica.com) Between 1934 and 1941, the CCC built roads, trails, bridges, campgrounds, picnic areas, picnic shelters and the Rocky Point Lodge. CCC work includes the Chatcolet picnic and camping area, the Plummer Point picnic and hiking area, and Rocky Point properties.

"In 1935, the National Park Service purchased Hickory Run to create a national recreation demonstration area. These areas were placed near large urban centers to provide fresh air recreation for lower class urban dwellers. In 1936, Works Progress Administration workers arrived and began building roads, trails, fire roads, water lines and the group camps. In 1939, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established Camp NP-6. The CCC camp was adjacent to the current campground by the CCC Dam. A playground and open field now occupy the site where 200 young men had their camp. In 1945, the Hickory Run National Recreation Demonstration...

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."

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.

Six rustic style cabins, park landscape, park manager’s residence, lodge, pavilion, and a 525 foot dam forming a 12-acre lake were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps Company 4429 between 1935-1939. Construction utilized cypress timber from the Big Black river swamps. Architect was B. W. Martin. Holmes County park opened in summer of 1939, off highway 51 five miles south of Durant. It comprised 460 acres, although only about 20 acres hold the majority of CCC resources. During January and February 1936, Park Service and the Emergency Conservation Works filmed a motion picture to show the work being done in...

Among the first of their recreation related construction projects, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees from Camp Belknap laid out and built the Horse Creek Campground in 1934. The group campground is located one-and-a-half miles south of McKenzie Bridge on the banks of Horse Creek. The campground can accommodate approximately 100 people and 23 vehicles. An interesting bit of CCC history in the Willamette National Forest (WNF) is associated with Horse Creek Campground. Forest Supervisor Perry Thompson hired landscape architect William Parke as a recreational planner for the WNF, instructing him to prepare site plans for campgrounds, picnic areas and organization camps...

The Arkansas State Parks Commission acquired the land for Lake Catherine State Park in 1935, now a park of Hot Springs National Park. Several rustic style stone and wood buildings were constructed, including three cabins, a former concessions building (now known as the Nature Cabin), and a stone bridge. Work was completed by the 3777th Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

  In 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) initiated the development of Humbug Mountain State Park. From their camp, located on park property, the CCC enrollees undertook construction of roads and a trail to the top of Humbug Mountain, benches and fireplaces, park buildings, and provision of a water system. At the time, the trail to the top of the 1750-foot-tall Humbug Mountain distinguished the park and the CCC enrollees' accomplishments there.    

The Canyon Creek Crier: 1940 provided the following description of work to be undertaken by CCC workers in the fall of 1940: "Tall, yellow pine timber stands like primeval cathedrals near the southern bounds of the Malheur National Forest and here we find Idlewild, a most ideal locality for an overnight camp. With this in mind the Forest Service plans the construciton of a camp site water system, outdoor kitchen stoves, picnic tables and benches and the customary sanitary facilities essential for a recreational campsite." The Idlewild Campground was the more ambitious of the two campgrounds built by members of Company 1231...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed the International Peace Garden during the 1930s.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a camp at Steamboat Creek from 1933 to 1941.  The enrollees made many improvements around area in Umpqua National Forest, working under the US Forest Service, including campgrounds, trails and bridges. One of the campgrounds developed by the CCC was Island Campground along the North Umpqua River and Highway 138.  It is a small, plain campground without special features.

Between 1933 and 1942, relief workers stationed at two Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps and one Works Progress Administration (WPA) camp carried out extensive development of Itasca State Park at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.  They constructed 45 buildings in the Rustic Style, and myriad other structures, as well as creating campgrounds, picnic areas and a trail system. Buildings were constructed under the supervision of the Minnesota Central Design Office of the National Park Service and Edward W. Barber and V. C. Martin were the principal architects. According to the Minnesota Historical Society “Log construction was generally used because timber...

The CCC conducted substantial development work at J. W. Wells State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: they constructed roads, signs, kiosks, a pump house, a comfort station, a laundry facility, a bath house, Bay Stone Lodge (was staff residence), cabins, and trail shelters.

Originally a lumber shed adjacent, and sawmill building nearby. A long concrete foundation remaining may have been one of these. A 1935 photo shows a building where the foundation is. About 750’ N of the barn is a ruin- a concrete basement of seemingly 1930s vintage. Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did the initial development of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in the 1930s.  The major CCC contribution was the Jedediah Smith campground, which is just off state highway 199 west of the village of Hiouchi. Engbeck (2002) notes that, "CCC Company 1903, of Camp Prairie Creek, built a new entrance road and a park custodian's residence. They built a campground near the Smith River with a footbridge over the river, connecting the campground with the ancient redwoods of the Stout Grove. The campground included tables, stoves, cupboards, and restrooms." The large campground is still there and in...

“In 1930, the Henderson Audubon Society requested $100,000 from the Federal government to help construct an Audubon Museum. The Society had a large and growing collection of Audubon artifacts that needed proper housing. National interest in the works of Audubon had increased through the years and now seemed the right time to involve the government in helping preserve and promote the Audubon collection. A bill introduced in Congress to appropriate money for the Audubon project failed to pass. Undeterred, local citizens continued to raise funds for the proposed museum. By 1934, 275 acres had been acquired through donations and purchase....

One of many campgrounds that the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed throughout Maine, this one in Baxter State Park in 1934. Katahdin Stream is a popular family campground providing access to Mount Katahdin via the Appalachian Trail as well as access to numerous streams and ponds in the Kidney / Daicey area.  

"Repairing and painting of buildings, including band shells, bathhouses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and playground buildings in the following parks...Kern Park."

Kettle Pond Campground is a developed campsite within the 26,000 acre Groton State Forest "located on the shores of Kettle Pond, an undeveloped pond." (www.vtstateparks.com) A Vermont State Park document on CCC sites in Groton State Forest lists: "Six remote lean-tos dot the hiking trail around Kettle Pond. Three are still in use, and five stone fireplaces are still in existence. Site #11 is one of the few remaining vertical log leantos built by the CCCs."   (www.vtstateparks.com)