Campgrounds and Cabins Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completed this structure in 1935 under the supervision of Denzel Doggett.

Camp Clearfork Historic District: "The ten buildings, one site and one structure that compose the contributing resources to the Camp Clearfork Historic District were constructed by members of the 741st Company of the Arkansas CCC District stationed at the Crystal Springs Camp that was located close nearby. This complex, constructed circa 1935, served as a public recreational area within Ouachita National Forest (ONF) as part of the CCC's emphasis upon recreational construction that began in earnest that same year. This complex, with its dam and lake, staff and caretaker’s buildings, cabins and bathhouses functioned purely as a recreational facility, as it...

The Civilian Conservation Corps built a camp F-23 at Packers Meadows, Selway Forest, Idaho.

"PALO DURO CANYON STATE SCENIC PARK. Palo Duro Canyon State Scenic Park, in Armstrong and Randall counties twelve miles east of Canyon on Texas Highway 217, covers 16,402 acres of scenic geological strata and formations that are estimated to be several million years old... As the Great Depression heightened in March 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the establishment of four CCC camps of about 200 men each to work in the canyon for a period of five months. The park acreage was increased to its present size to better accommodate the CCC crews, who built El Coronado Lodge and six...

Paradise Campground is less than a mile and a half from the McKenzie Ranger Station on the south bank of the McKenzie River. This camping area was laid-out and improved by Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees from CCC Camp Belknap in 1937. When constructed it included both the current Paradise Campground and the adjacent Paradise Day Use Area. At the time, "Paradise Camp" was meant to serve as many as five-hundred campers. Today the Campground's 64 campsites serve visitors to the Willamette National Forest. The campground offers access to the McKenzie River as well.

"The ultimate direction of development in the parks became an important issue due to the increase in construction activity during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. To ensure that this activity was proceeding in an orderly fashion, long-term planning was essential. Serious work along this line began in FY 1931, and resulted in the preparation by Vint and Sager of a master plan program for the National Park Service. The first Service master plans were six-year ones to be revised each year as work was completed. Each landscape architect was responsible for developing plans for his particular field areas. By mid-1932...

"Conservation efforts began in the river valley in 1907 when the Patapsco State Forest Reserve was established. During the Depression years of the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted trees and built trails, picnic areas, campsites and handsome cut-stone pavilions to improve what had by then become "Patapsco State Park". Company 356 of the Civilian Conservation Corps made its encampment near Lost Lake at Camp Tydings in the Avalon Area. The CCC built the stone picnic shelters in Orange Grove and Glen Artney (not visible from the river). The CCC was also responsible for planting trees in...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 572 worked at the Paul M. Demmick Grove in the Navarro River Redwoods State Park. They built a water system and started work on a campground and custodian's lodge.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive recreational improvements on Mt. Nebo, the highest and southern-most peak of the Wasatch Mountains.  The CCC teams worked out of three camps: F-9 at the south end of the Mt. Nebo Loop, F-3 at Hubble Canyon and F-40 near Provo, from 1933 to 1938 – and possibly to 1941 when the last camp closed. After building the Mt Nebo Loop Road (Scenic Byway), the CCC enrollees created campgrounds, picnic areas and trails. Not all this work can be identified precisely, but some can be verified from reliable sources. Payson Lakes Guard Station was built in...

Percy Quin State Park was cleared and constructed by the members of the camp at Percy Quin, established August 16, 1935 (CCC Legacy). The park opened in 1939 after 4 years of construction, and was the 9th of 10 state parks built by the CCC in Mississippi. The rustic pavilion was completed in 1938. The lodge and group cabins were brick, in a Colonial Revival design, atypical of most CCC constructed state park facilities. Lake Tangipahoa, part of the state park, was reported to have been constructed by Works Progress Administration in 1936 (Clarion-Ledger).

"Perrot State Park is a state park in Wisconsin's Driftless Area at the confluence of the Trempealeau and Mississippi Rivers. The 1,270-acre (514 ha) park features spectacular views of steep limestone bluffs and the river valleys." CCC work: roads, campground, picnic facilities, trails, shelter

“V-CCC Company 1781 was assigned to Petit Jean State Park. Being a company of World War I veterans, most of the men were older with experience in construction work. The CCC worked at Petit Jean from 1933 to 1938. The first project was living quarters for the camp. Soon after, construction of Mather Lodge and the cabins began. Work was also started on the dam construction for the formation of Lake Bailey. Once the lake was complete, a water tower was constructed for Mather Lodge and the cabins. During the CCC’s tenure at Petit Jean they made great strides in...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive improvements to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park on the central California coast, developing it for public recreational use. The state parks commission acquired the land in 1933, but had no funds for development.  The CCC worked in the park from 1933 to 1941, but the sources do not always specify exact dates for each improvement.  The CCC enrollees built the original Main Camp and the Weyland campground, though both have probably been expanded since.  Original tables with stone footings and stone camp stoves can still be found scattered through these campgrounds. The Main Campground is...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive improvements to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park on the central California coast, developing it for public recreational use after the state parks commission acquired the land in 1933.  The enrollees worked out of Camp Big Sur from 1933 to 1941.  We believe Camp Big Sur was located either at the present Main Campground or at the Group Picnic Area. The CCC built campgrounds, picnic areas, a campfire center, and several stone restrooms (comfort stations). They also constructed the main lodge with a post office and cabins.  To this, they added a park headquarters and administration...

"Four recently remodeled stone and timber cabins are nestled along the Iowa River. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress administration in the 1930s, these cabins have fireplaces to take the chill off a cool fall day. 'Pine Creek' and 'Bittersweet' cabins accommodate up to 6 people, 'Goldfinch' and 'Sandstone' up to four. 'Pine Creek' is accessible to the mobility-impaired. Each cabin features a shower, restroom, stove, and refrigerator. Cabin users must provide their own dishes, eating utensils, bedding, towels and other camping items. The cabins can be reserved online through the park reservation system." -Iowa Department...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Pokagon State Park into a fully-fledged recreational park in the 1930s, planting thousands of trees, building trails, establishing a group camp, and constructing park buildings, including a gatehouse, bath house (with beach), saddle barn, two-story shelter house, and more. CCC Company 556 occupied Camp SP-7 at Pokagon from 1934 until 1942. To enhance the outdoors experience, projects exhibited designs that were rustic and harmonious with their surroundings, using native materials and adhering to guidelines established through the National Park Service. Pokagon has been home to the longest running annual CCC reunion in the country and continues the...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees worked on Pokagon State Park’s Group Camp from 1934 to 1939. The main area of the camp, which overlooks Lake James to the west, contains five buildings, the centerpiece of which is a lovely octagonal stone dining hall/kitchen. Around the central area, roughly organized into three groups, are 13 identical small frame cabins.    The Group Camp is not marked as CCC. But the old gatehouse is now a CCC Pocket Museum with exhibits and the Nature Center has an exhibit that lists all the structures CCC enrollees worked on.  

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built overnight cabins at Pokagon State Park in 1940, which are still in use. The four cabins are classified as Parks Rustic. The cabins are not marked as CCC, but there is now a CCC Pocket Museum in the old gatehouse and the Nature Center has an exhibit that lists all the structures CCC enrollees worked on.  

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...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made the first improvements to the newly-acquired Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  Company 1903 worked out of a CCC camp established at the north end of the 'prairie' at the present park entrance in 1933.  The first order of business was to develop Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park itself, after which teams from Company 1903 worked at other state parks along the north coast of California.  The CCC camp closed in 1937. According to Engbeck (2002, pp. 21-22), the CCC enrollees laid out a day-use picnic area and a new campground with tables, benches, cupboards, and stoves,...

Prince William Forest Park was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), with help from skilled workers of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), from 1935 to 1942.  It was then known as Chopawamsic Recreation Demonstration Area (the name was changed in 1948).  RDAs were meant for getting inner city children out into the country to enjoy the benefits of nature and outdoor recreation. The New Deal programs built permanent structures, including the park headquarters and five cabin camps, extensive roads and trails, and five recreational lakes.  Almost all these improvements are still in use today.  The National Park Service, which operates...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop Promised Land State Park during the 1930s. Among other work the CCC constructed cabins and blazed trails. "Nestled within evergreens and adjacent to Lower Lake, the Bear Wallow Cabin Colony has 12 rustic rental cabins that were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s."

Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915 to preserve a spectacular section of the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains.  Several new additions to the park have been made over the years, until it reached its present size of 415 square miles. The park saw considerable recreational development in the 1920s under the National Park Service (NPS), but it benefitted enormously in the 1930s from the New Deal.  Most notable of the New Deal agencies was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), but the \ park also gained funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA), road work by the Bureau of...

A developed campsite within the 26,000 acre Groton State Forest, Ricker Pond State Park was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. "In 1933, CCC Company 1217 from New York City was stationed at Ricker Mills and then followed by Company 1162 in 1935. Ricker Pond was originally a picnic area with a log shelter, 10 picnic sites with stone fireplaces, and a staff cabin (rangers quarters). Where the current campsite #1 exists, you can find an 8’ granite picnic table carved into the rock. In 1941-42, another small cabin was built, which is used today as a weekly rental cottage."

"The year 1933 brought many significant changes into the National Park system. Up until that time President Herbert Hoover saw to it that the national parks received their allotment requests for park operations and development. Budgets and staff for the national parks had increased substantially during his administration (Tweed, 75). But the Depression changed all of this when, in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt and a new administration came on board. A variety of innovative and comprehensive relief programs were introduced to alleviate the nation’s growing unemployment crisis. These programs, instituted under the New Deal, provided work opportunities for the unemployed....

"Along the Yellowstone River, the Civilian Conservation Corps put up the buildings at Laurel's Riverside Park as a place for workers to stay. The site later housed World War II POWs who supplied labor for the surrounding farms. Six of those log cabins were moved away from the park to the east end of Laurel, where they still remain, Easton said."

"Repairing and painting of park board buildings, including band shells, bath houses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and play ground buildings in the following parks...Riverside Park."

Roaring River State Park is a large park in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1928. CCC Company 1713 of the CCC (see linked entry for Camp Smokey) did extensive development of the park. CCC work included extensive construction, including a large lodge, cabins for visitors, extensive rock walls, a fish hatchery and enclosure of a large spring, and rock in the river to enhance fishing.  The work is in good shape and is actively being used with the exception of the large lodge. A statue honoring CCC workers was dedicated in Roaring River State Park on May 4,...

The Civilian Conservation Corps built recreation facilities at the Robber's Cave State Park. "Located four miles north of Wilburton on State Highway 2, Robbers Cave State Park, originally Latimer State Park (name changed in 1936), encompasses more than eight thousand acres and includes three lakes and many tourist amenities... In 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1825 was organized and located at the state game preserve. In 1935, under the supervision of the National Parks Service, the State Parks Division took control of the area. Between 1935 and 1941 CCC Company 1825 built a bathhouse, cabins, trails, group camps, shelters, and roads....

Devils Lake, North Dakota's Roosevelt Park was developed as a federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the 1930s. Swimming, picnicking, and camping are noted as available activities in a WPA guide.

After the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps' (CCC) Camp Brice Creek in 1933, the enrollees undertook development of the Rujada Forest Camp. They constructed the forest camp to provide a recreation facility for visiting family, friends and local residents. CCC workers built the campground's registry and information booth in 1934. It's rustic design includes large diameter peeled logs and poles, a flagstone platform and split shake gable roof. The forest camp's current configuration provides twelve single- and three double-campsites.

Sabino Canyon Recreation Area is in Coronado National Forest at the northeast corner of Tucson AZ.  At the behest of the city of Tucson and Pima County, it was developed out of former mining and grazing land in the Santa Catalina Mountains by New Deal agencies, which built access roads, dams and recreational facilities.  Relief workers hired under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and Works Progress Administration (WPA) all contributed to the park's improvement.  A major recreational lake never materialized, as funds ran out in the mid-1930s and, beside, dams in the desert quickly fill with sediment...

From the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation: Before 1935 York Lake did not exist. It is man-made. It was created out of a swampy wetland, built as part of the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a U.S. Federal Government conservation program. The CCC improved the nation’s natural and human resources and created opportunities for the public to recreate and appreciate a healthy outdoor experience. From 1933-37 the 196 Company CCC, whose nearby camp site off Route 183 just south of here, once supplied 200 men a season to work in the state forest. Formerly unemployed men then earned a dollar-a-day,...

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."

"Scenic State Park CCC/Rustic Style historic resources are located in two historic districts that include a public use area and service yard. The park contains ten contributing buildings and structures built among stands of virgin Norway and white pine on the shores of Coon and Sandwick Lakes. Architects for the park buildings were from the National Park Service... Scenic State Park was the first in the state to provide a complete range of recreational facilities developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park’s Rustic Style buildings represent a remarkable collection of log structures that received considerable acclaim from the National Park...

Located north of Fort Mackinac and at the east end of the Parade Ground, the historic Scout Barracks building was constructed by the Mackinac Island Civilian Conservation Corps unit in 1934.

WPA work on the park included “cleaning out the lake, building 3,000 feet of rubble masonry retaining walls, one foot bridge, repairs to fish hatchery, four new growing pools, repairs to superintendent’s residence, a new garage, five tourist cabins, construction of drives, walks and field ovens.”   (NARA)

“The pine tree motif is characteristic of the CCC presence in the national forests, and was used for entrance signs at several Klamath National Forest campgrounds. One of them, Shafter, is located several miles south of Macdoel and Mount Hebron, on the road to Bray in northeast California. Shafter also has several Klamath stoves, designed on the forest by CCC foreman Robert Brown. Klamath stoves have a closed firebox instead of an open grill, to both maintain heat and lessen fire danger. The Klamath stove took several different forms as its popularity spread across the West, and CCC enrollees provided...

Shakamak is an attractive site today, but in 1930 when it opened as a state park, much of the parcel was a wasteland of abandoned strip mines. Shakamak State Park entered a new phase of development during the Great Depression. In the winter of 1933-34, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) employed hundreds of local men to build trails, shelters, and a new lake. The dam was completed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) which also constructed fish ponds and pens for exotic animals. In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) finished the projects. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed...

The CCC completed nine identical family cabins between 1938 and 1939. The cabins are typical of CCC construction, and represent the movement in recreational developed in the 1930s toward promoting group and family camping.