Lakes and Ponds Sites

"The grew rapidly in the 1920s, acquired additional lands; during the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps made many park improvements. CCC men laid out campgrounds and picnic areas, built a massive park museum, miles of roads, sturdy bridges and a stone fire tower, but, most importantly, constructed three dams creating Stockade, Center and Legion Lakes, all of which provide for water-based recreation." --John R. Thune, "Custer State Park"

Between 1933 and 1939, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided labor for the construction of the Virginia Kendall Park Reserve, now Cuyahoga Valley National Park (est. 2000), in Peninsula, Ohio during the Great Depression. 530 acres of land willed and transferred to the Akron Municipal Parks Board and under the leadership of Harold S. Wagner and F.A. Sieberling petitioned the CCC in August 1933 for a camp. It was granted and in December of that year Unit #576 arrived with 208 recruits first under the command of of Lt. JR Tobin and soon replaced by Captain AW Belden. The CCC camp...

Daingerfield State Park, located in Morris County, Texas, is a 506.913-acre recreational area (including an 80-surface-acre lake), deeded in 1935 by private owners and opened in 1938. The park offers picnicking, camping, boating, fishing, swimming, hiking and nature study. The original improvements were made by two companies of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Company 2891 and Company 1801(C) developed the park from 1935 to 1939. Both companies used local timber and stone as well as concrete to construct distinctive features. The companies built the entrance sign, boat house, fisherman’s barracks, combination building, Lake Daingerfield, retaining walls, culverts, steps, trails, two cabins and Park...

The Daniel Boone Homestead is a 579-acre park with multiple historic structures including the birthplace of famed pioneer Daniel Boone. The site is owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The National Youth Administration (NYA) played a key role in the development of the site. Over 100 NYA workers graded the landscape, built roads, trails, fences, and campsites, installed picnic tables and planted trees. They excavated the Daniel Boone Lake, constructed the Wayside Lodge, and a few of the most skilled workers assisted in the restoration of the homestead. Architect G. Edwin Brumbaugh and landscape architect Markley...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed a "dam to create Darling Pond" during the 1930s.

In ca. 1939 at Kanawha, CCC workers built Davis Creek Dam to form the 1.5-acre Ellison Pond. Pinned to the solid rock streambed and built of concrete and cut sandstone, the impoundment dam is 100 feet in length and approximately 10 feet high. The dam was recently removed to re-establish the original stream.

A historical marker erected in 1994 explains the CCC's role in the area: "J.H. Ratcliff's 1880s sawmill and village here gave way to major timber industry operations that by the early 1930s had decimated Houston County's densest virgin forest. As part of federal efforts to restore the nation's natural resources, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp F-4-T was built at this site in 1933-34, and the Davy Crockett National Forest was established in this area in 1935. CCC workers constructed fire towers, built roads, developed an old sawmill pond into a public lake with recreational facilities, and planted about 3,000,000 trees. Ratcliff...

Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers worked to clear land in preparation for the creation of a seven-mile diversion canal that would connect Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, part of the Santee Cooper Project. South Carolina Encyclopedia: "Following a four-year court battle, construction began in 1939. At its peak, the project employed nearly fifteen thousand workers, most of whom came from Depression relief rolls. Living in military-style camps scattered throughout the Santee and Pinopolis basins, the laborers cleared more than 160,000 acres with handsaws and mule-drawn wagons. They hauled dirt and clay to dam sites, built railroads, relocated cemeteries, and aided in...

The Dixie Springs Lake was one of the first projects initiated in Pike County by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Work began in early November 1935 when 20 men began clearing the site. Efforts were made for early completion of the Dixie Springs Lake project, which was also sponsored by the State Game and Fish Commission and would serve as a refuge for waterfowl and for fish breeding. Engineer J. Wesley Brown completed the survey and plans for the Dixie Springs dam and lake project. After a number of delays, the spillway was almost completed by 1939. Dixie Springs Lake...

A chain of lakes for the hill counties of Mississippi was proposed in 1936 by Si Corley, director of conservation of the State Game and Fish commission. Funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in concert with the sponsorship of the Game and Fish commission began the construction of a series of lakes adjacent to cities including Dockery Lake near Byram. Dockery Lake completed an earthen dam by April 1937 and began sodding it. Corley pointed out that in addition to providing sites for outdoor sports, when fully stocked, the lakes could produce 2,000 pounds of fish per acre each...

From the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: "CCC features at Douglas include a picnic pavilion, administration building, stone culverts and well maintained water holes."

On 3 September 1935, the city of Spartanburg signed a contract with the Works Project Administration (WPA) to building Duncan Park Lake. The city furnished equipment in the amount of $14,720. A second contract at the same time provided for the construction of the American Legion Memorial Building atop a knoll known then as “University Hill.” The Duncan family donors believed in the philosophy of New York’s Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmstead who said, “Where building begins, the park ends.” In the 1923 contract with the city, the donors specified that the land could be used only as a...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed the former Eastern New Mexico State Park, occasionally referred to as "Blackwater Draw Park", ca. 1934-6. Flynn: "This CCC-built site was originally created to reforest 9,600 acres of that Dust Bowl area. Later the state government reduced the amount of acreage to 400. The CCC built a large bath house, other houses, camping areas and a lake. All but one long house near the highway remains and was most likely the home for the park manager. In 1951 the state deeded the property to Eastern New Mexico University in Portales and they later built a large...

The Epping-Springbrook Dam was the "largest earthfill dam in the State. Constructed as an FERA and WPA project, it was completed in 1936. This bulwark on STONY CREEK has created a lake covering 180 acres, which, including a strip of land around the water, will be made into a State park devoted entirely to recreation." The exact location and current status of the project is unknown to Living New Deal, though we believe the dam to be no longer extant.

The CCC did extensive work to build Erving State Forest. From Wikipedia: “The property is largely wooded and hilly with an extensive network of park roads and hiking trails, the majority of which were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps.”    

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built. the Eureka Fishing Lake in 1938.

Multiple New Deal work relief agencies were involved with developing the Farm Pond in Sherborn, Massachusetts, conducting work on the following: Bath House Recreational bath house facility designed and built by WPA/ERA. One-story cobblestone building with center gabled porch, shingled hipped roof, and secondary entries on east and west sides. This style reflects the WPA’s design concepts for natural recreation areas. Retaining Wall, Beach Enlargement & Landscaping WPA projects used local labor to enlarge the beach, construct the stone retaining wall along the back of the beach, remove stumps, and surface walks and driveways.

Approx. 40-acre lake impounded by earth dam. A combined Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project. Lake intended in part as water supply for a fish hatchery below the dam. CCC Co. 1513 occupied the camp in the new state forest in May 1934.

By constructing several buildings and the necessary facilities for management of mules and horses, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers played an integral role in  transforming the Fish Lake Guard Station into the Fish Lake Remount Depot. To operate in the rough terrain of the surrounding national forest and nearby wilderness areas, the Forest Service depended on pack animals. The CCC located a side camp at Fish Lake from 1934 - 1939 to improve the Depot for this purpose while assisting in fire fighting and development of recreation opportunities in the Willamette National Forest as well. In 2016, the Fish Lake Remount...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was active in Rocky Mountain National Park during the whole of the program's lifetime, 1933 to 1942.  There were four main camps in the park. The CCC participated in a fish-restocking program, which the National Park Service had initiated in 1931 to deal with depleted lakes and streams due to years of unregulated fishing.  The main contribution of the CCC was to build four fish-rearing ponds, at Horseshoe Park, near Endovalley campground, at Hollowell Park, and near Grand Lake. The ponds were roughly 200 x 100 feet and 10 feet deep. (Brock, p 42). Fry from the Estes...

"Fontana Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Little Tennessee River in Swain and Graham counties, North Carolina, United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to accommodate the skyrocketing electricity demands in the Tennessee Valley at the height of World War II. At 480 feet high, Fontana is the tallest dam in the Eastern United States, and at the time of its construction, it was the fourth tallest dam in the world." (Wikipedia)

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed the Fort Hunt site as a recreational park from 1936 to 1939.  The work was very extensive, including excavating a lake, a golf course, roads and parking areas, and a storm drainage system.  The CCC enrollees built 8 acres of picnic areas with tables, stone fireplaces, restrooms, water pipes and drinking fountains, plus a trail system for hikers.  Lastly, they constructed a park ranger home, shop buildings and an oil storage house, and planted trees and other landscaping. Little of the original work remains, since the park has undergone a great deal of renovation over...

A historical marker explains the CCC's role in developing the Fort Parker State Park: "In August 1935, construction of a state park began here on the former town site of Springfield under the direction of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The group assigned to build Fort Parker State Park was Company 3807(C), an African American CCC Camp. From 1935 to 1942, the park company constructed park buildings, roads and facilities, erected a dam across the Navasota River, and reconstructed old Fort Parker. Located nearby, old Fort Parker was rebuilt in preparation for a Texas Centennial observance in 1936, and was the first...

The CCC assisted in the creation of this state forest between 1933 and 1942. From the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: "The well preserved CCC roads and water holes illustrate the importance of the CCC in creating park infrastructure. The stone arch bridge shown here is an outstanding example of CCC craftsmanship."

This 100 acre lake, north of Gardner, was created by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1938. According to a local history site, "Prior to building the lake, a camp was built to house the 200+ transient workers who would live there during construction. It was called 'Transient Camp # 9'. The camp buildings included a mess hall, bath houses, barracks, a kitchen, hospital, waterworks and recreation hall. The laborers were provided food shelter, clothing, and medical care, and were paid $1 to $3 per week. Excavation began in 1935. By May 1936 there were 225 men working...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and its relief workers built the Angler's Lodge and Casting Pools in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, for the benefit of the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club. In return, Club members agreed to help train anyone who asked, a pledge they still honor.  The club had previously used nearby Stow Lake, which could only accommodate a few casters at a time, so the club encouraged the Golden Gate Park directors to ask the WPA to new facilities. The project was done in 1938 and the facility opened in March 1939. The first national casting tournament was...

"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...

Multiple New Deal agencies worked to develop Green Brook Park in Plainfield, New Jersey beginning in 1933. The project involved the construction of a 1.55-acre artificial lake (which could be converted into an ice skating rink during the winter); the stocking of said lake with fish; the building of a footbridge across the brook; grass seeding; small dams to create modest waterfalls along the brook; paths around the lake and through the park; construction of a baseball diamond; and the planting of more than 2,000 trees, shrubs, and other plants.

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...

Miami and the surrounding Dade County were effectively without city or county parks until the 1930s.  The city got its first park in 1925, after which the city was devastated by a hurricane the following year. The county received its first donation of land for a park in 1929, which became Matheson Hammock Park.  In 1930, the park system got its own director and a beach park, Surfside, was added in 1932. The county began improvements on the parks using mostly convict labor and men sent by the Charity Office once the Depression hit, as well as starting a Roadside...

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 land that makes up Harold Parker State Forest was formed by the action of glaciers thousands of years ago, and the area has undergone numerous man-made changes since then. The Pentacook Indians were the first people to reside on the land and they called this place home for a few thousand years before it was settled by colonial English farmers in the 1650s. By the mid-nineteenth century many people abandoned the land for agricultural purposes, and moved closer to the towns of North Andover, Andover, North Reading, and Middleton, and the forest area reverted to a more wild character....

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.

New Deal relief workers were instrumental in developing the old Kern River Park – now called the Hart Memorial Park.  The workers came from the State Emergency Relief Administration  (SERA) before 1935 and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) after that. (SERA was, in turn, funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)) Kern County  bought 338 acres of the old Baker Ranch in 1921 to create Kern River Park. After 1927, John Oliver Hart took charge of improvements to the park.  The most important developments at the park occurred under federal funding in the 1930s.  As Gilbert says: "Park projects that were...

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.

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."

"Hiwassee Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Hiwassee River in Cherokee County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is one of three dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s to bring flood control and electricity to the region. The dam impounds the Hiwassee Lake of 6,000 acres, and its tailwaters are part of Apalachia Lake. At 307 feet, Hiwassee Dam is the third highest dam in the TVA system, behind only Fontana and Watauga." (Wikipedia)

The area encompassing Holliday Lake State Park and the surrounding state forest was cleared in the 1800s for farmland. In the 1930s, the federal government, through the Resettlement Administration, began buying the farms to return the land to its former productive hardwood forest status. Construction of a dam was begun at Fish Pond Creek; however efforts were relocated to Holliday Creek where a lake could be developed. The park was established in 1939 and acquired in by the state of Virginia 1945. Holliday Lake State Park, formerly Holliday Lake Recreational Area, was renamed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation...

"In the 1930s, workers with the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA) landscaped the area, turning it from "a pile of mud and rocks" into Horseshoe Lake Park."