Shady Lake is a popular 25-acre recreational impoundment in the Ouachita National Forest served by an accompanying U.S. Forest Service recreation area. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was involved in construction of a bathhouse (1936), dam and picnic pavilion (1938),… read more
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…. read more
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.
“Shelbina boasts a beautiful city lake, built in 1936 as a WPA project, to serve as the city’s water reservoir. A second WPA project begun in 1941, added picnic tables, landscaping, shelter houses, and a 9 hole golf course. The… read more
The Lake of the Pines (now known as Sheridan Lake) on Spring Creek was constructed as a joint project by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1938 to 1940. It was the largest earth dam built… read more
Silver Lake Park sits in the Coastal Plain Province of Pennsylvania. “Owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the lake scarcely had any open water by the 1920’s. In 1927 the Pensylvania Railroad completed a survey and we believe it was them who marked… read more
Skokie Lagoons is a 190 acre nature preserve in Glencoe and Winnetka, Illinois. The Skokie Lagoons are notable as a CCC work because the project merged the ideas of fixing a pertinent mosquito issue in the area and of developing… read more
“WASHINGTON, (AP) – The Works Progress Administration advised Senator W. Warren Barbour, N.J. Rep., today that applications from Morristown, N.J., for allocations for the proposed Speedwell dam and Speedwell Lake bottom construction projects had been approved here and treasury warrants… read more
The CCC laborers completed the Spring Mill Lake in 1937. The CCC workers also built a dam. The dam has remained in use and is unaltered.
175-acre lake impounded by earth dam. Large concrete spillway Southeast end. Set in heavily wooded hollow. Fish hatchery below dam. Constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1938 and 1939.
This park was originally known as Second Ward Park. In 1935, “WPA workers constructed a wall of fieldstone around the pond,” turning it into what was for years a popular swimming pool. The pond still exists but is no longer… read more
Sumner Lake State Park is located northwest of Fort Sumner and contains large reservoir created by the Sumner Dam in the 1930s. The CCC, the WPA and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation constructed the dam between 1935 and 1939. Other… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration worked to develop and beautify Sunset Park in Asbury Park, New Jersey ca. 1936. Work involved the construction of an island in the middle of Sunset Lake. WPA N.J. Project No. 5-51.
According to the Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory, Swan Park “is comprised of a lake, with the dam and sides and small rock islands created by WPA labor out of cut native sandstone.” As the name suggests, the park is designed to… read more
The Public Works Administration (PWA) financed the construction of Lake Anza in Tilden Park. The lake is formed by a dam on Wildcat Creek which flows through the park (apparently, the lake drowned a lovely 9-foot waterfall on Wildcat Creek)…. read more
According to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, “The CCC improved the nation’s natural and human resources and also created opportunities for the public to recreate and appreciate a healthy outdoor experience. At Tolland ‘Pinecone Johnnies’ built access roads,… read more
Originally known as Strawn Lake, this 90-acre lake was constructed to supply water to the city of Strawn by damming Russell Creek. It was renamed Tucker Lake in honor of a mayor, and now is part of the recently created… read more
Tyler State Park was developed by CCC Company 2888 from 1935-1941: “Set into the Piney Woods of East Texas, Tyler State Park reflects two major park development efforts. The first, directed by landscape architect Ben K. Chambers, involved extensive forest… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) or Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), possibly both, completed the dam and Lake Kunkal in 1939. The 25 acre lake is impounded by an earthen dam. There are also concrete steps on dam’s south face.
From the Morristown Daily Record: “TRENTON—Construction work of the Civilian Conservation Corps has been so successfully demonstrated by Camp No. 3, near Springfield, one of 22 such camps in New Jersey, that Union County Park Commission, under whose jurisdiction the… read more
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed what was then known as Willow Park (now Victor Crowell Park) in Middlesex, New Jersey. Work began in December 1935. Among other work, Ambrose Brook was dammed “by a concrete-cored earth fill into… read more
Virginia Lake Park south of Reno was constructed by the WPA in 1936-1938. The park is both a recreational site and serves as a detention reservoir for flood control and irrigation. “Thanks in part to night work crews, the WPA… read more
“One of Georgia’s oldest and most beloved state parks, Vogel is located at the base of Blood Mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Driving from the south, visitors pass through Neel Gap, a beautiful mountain pass near Brasstown Bald, the… read more
“The largest of West Virginia’s state parks, at 10,100 acres, Watoga is also among the oldest, dating back to the first land acquisitions by the West Virginia Game and Fish Commission in the 1920s. The park is located in southern… read more
Town Report, 1938: National Youth Administration An average of 35 young people from needy families have been given part time employment by this branch of the W.P.A., on various worthy and useful projects. The boys have improved the land at… read more
“Several of the campground buildings and cabins hold important historic and educational value. The bunkhouse and dining hall area still reflects the architectural signature of its builders, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Likewise, the… read more
Willow Creek dam and reservoir were constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding in 1938-39. Willow Lake is now the centerpiece of Willow Lake Park and there is a 6-mile trail around the lake. It sits in an area called… read more
“Woodland Park contains two ponds and one shelter house built by the WPA. The ponds are framed with stone walls and have a small stairway in between them. The shelter house is a rectangular (28′ x 25′) structure of coursed… read more
Woodlawn Lake Park began as a subdivision development outside of San Antonio in 1887. The developers constructed a dam across a creek on the property to create a lake which soon became a resort area. The City of San Antonio… read more
Located in the Missouri basin, the dam was built to create jobs while at the same time providing a source of water for the community. The lake and surrounding area compose the Wyandotte County Lake Park. It was funded jointly… read more
Lake impounded by earth dam on west. Documentation (mapsand plans on file in forest office) clearly indecates the dam was planned in the 1930s, but there is none to indicate that it was eventually constructed during this period not noted… read more