Parks and Recreation Sites

Interest in winter sports, particularly skiing, grew in Oregon during the 1920s. Given the Willamette National Forest (WNF) management's commitment to recreation and the availability of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor, US Forest Service Staff worked with local outdoor groups such as Eugene's Obsidian Club to identify locations within the forest for ski areas as early as 1934. The White Branch Recreational Area was  one of the first such projects. A survey crew from CCC Camp Belknap located land for the White Branch project and CCC enrollees began work in the summer of 1934. They built a two-story lodge, ski and...

The stadium was originally constructed by the WPA as part of the Campbell Union High School. The high school ceased operations in the 1970s, but the campus remains largely intact. The stadium and other facilities are now part of the Campbell Community Center, run by the City of Campbell. The stadium and its track are still heavily used. Two WPA plaques remain at the site, one on the north wall and the other on the south wall of the bleachers (pictured below).

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made improvements to three of the existing campgrounds in Rocky Mountain National Park: Endovalley, Aspenglen and Glacier Basin.  These three were the most popular campgrounds at the time and their facilities were antiquated, so CCC stepped in to upgrade them (later, they would add  a new campground at Timber Creek on the west side of the park).  (Brock, p 40) The campgrounds were all renovated according to National Park Service standards embodied in the writings of  E.P. Meinecke – Camp Ground Policy (1932) and Camp Planning and Camp Reconstruction (1934).  In 1933-34 CCC enrollees deployed logs and boulders to...

The Union Creek Historic District on the upper Rogue River in Union Creek, Oregon, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places because it is a fine representative of a type of rustic resort popular in the early 20th century and has been little altered since the 1930s.  There are almost one hundred buildings and other facilities in the Union Creek Historic District, almost all of which conform to the Forest Service plans of the 1920s and 30s.  Roughly a third were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1933 to 1942, working out of the Upper...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was present in Death Valley National Monument  from 1933 to 1942.  Among their many projects in the monument, the CCC 'boys' created five campgrounds and picnic areas. Texas Spring campground was the first and largest, and it remains the best preserved; it includes seven stone picnic tables and stone comfort station (restroom).  Two other campgrounds areas are also located around Furnace Creek, the park headquarters and visitors center.  The Sunset area on the east side of highway 190 serves mostly trailers and Furnace Creek campground and picnic area lies the visitors' center.   Emigrant Junction campground is...

Humboldt Redwoods State Park was established in 1921 with purchases of some of the last remaining Old Growth stands of Coast Redwoods by the Save the Redwoods League. It has since been expanded several times and now includes over 51,000 acres, of which 17,000 are old growth redwood stands.   California did not establish a state parks system until 1928, and little improvement work had been done at Humboldt Redwoods before the New Deal.  When the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) arrived at Dyerville camp in 1933, the young men got to work right away developing the state park.  The CCC was active...

Mill Creek Canyon lies east of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Mountains and is a popular recreation area for city dwellers.  It is part of the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest In 1936-37, crews paid under the Employment Recovery Act made extensive improvements to Mill Creek Canyon Park (whether state relief workers or Works Progress Administration crews is unclear). It is likely that Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crews were also involved in Mill Creek Canyon, since they were active in the vicinity, working out the Big Cottonwood Canyon CCC camp. New Deal workers built an extensive system of trails, campgrounds and stone supporting walls....

These archive photos show a park area along Canandaigua Lake under development by the WPA in 1937. Exact location of the WPA work is unknown to the Living New Deal. It may be Kershaw Park on the north shore.

In 1941 The New York Times stated: "At present WPA workers are engaged in building Canarsie Beach Park on the Belt Parkway, a shorefront play area which will eventually offer bathing, fishing and boating."

According to an article in the Youngstown Vindicator, the Works Progress Administration expanded the grandstand at the Canfield Fairgrounds in 1936. A historical marker on the fairgrounds credits the "Works Progress Alliance" (presumably a typographical error) with the construction of the grandstand, as well as offices and roads on the site, and "WPA 1936" is etched above the main entrance to the grandstand. The fairgrounds and grandstand are still in use.

"The Cannon Mountain Ski Area is state-owned and offers nine lifts servicing 165 acres (67 ha) of skiing (158 with snowmaking). In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps cut six ski trails, many of which were later incorporated into the Cannon Mountain Ski Area and, until 1984, the Mittersill Ski Area. The Mittersill Ski Area and Taft CCC Ski Trail were incorporated into the Cannon Mountain Ski Area in 2009."   (wikipedia)

Multiple New Deal agencies worked to construct a municipal pool for Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1934—1936. The prospect of a pool had been discussed for years, though no progress was made until assistance from New Deal work relief programs was made available. The pool facility was constructed in stages on what had then been a ravine, in the municipal park. Initial construction, which involved the Civil Works Administration (CWA), would be limited to leveling the site, installing storm sewers to "enclose" the ravine, and constructing the 100-foot-by-200-foot pool and filtration plant—not the bathhouse or sidewalks. Work was to be done "by hand...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), working out of the Steamboat CCC Camp under the US Forest Service built four campgrounds nearby, including Canton Creek.  The campgrounds were all built sometime between 1933 and 1941, probably earlier than later in this case. Canton Creek campground has a picnic structure, or gazebo, that looks to be CCC and remains in good condition. Unfortunately, Canton Creek campground was closed when we visited and the entrance sign rather rudely covered with a plastic garbage bag. That appears to be a carryover of the pandemic or it might be winter protection. The settlement of Steamboat has long since...

Canyon de Chelly is "one of a few National Park Service units that lie wholly within Navajo lands." It is jointly managed by the NPS and the Navajo Nation. "The National Park Service was eager to maintain Canyon de Chelly in unaltered condition while also providing safe and attractive accommodations for the visiting public. With $6000 from an erosion control project, Indian CCC laborers began work on the 4,085-foot-long White House Trail, supervised by a park service engineer. Each year Indian CCC enrollees did further work on roads leading to Canyon de Chelly as well as roads and trails within...

"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 the rock landscaping. Working in conjunction with the WPA, enrollees at the Custer State CCC camp spent two years in a side camp located...

Land for Cape Arago State Park was donated to Oregon State Parks in 1932 but lay undeveloped until Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees began improvements in 1934. Over a two-year period, they completed a considerable amount of work.  As noted in a 1965 history of the Oregon State Parks, their tasks included: constructing roads, trails, fire breaks and fire hazard reduction, clearing a picnic area, setting up tables and stoves, constructing a water system and erecting a park foreman's cottage. A CCC camp operated at Cape Arago for the period of time required to provide basic amenities for day use at...

The CCC began working along Cape Hatteras National Seashore in 1934 (this was actually three years before it was officially named "Cape Hatteras National Seashore"). The first CCC boys on this project were based out of Manteo, North Carolina, Camp P 63. The work they performed included the creation of sand dunes and the planting of grasses, shrubs, and trees. The plantings included Bermuda grass, wax myrtle, water bush, loblolly pine, bald cypress, and more (the shrubs and trees were obviously planted a little inland from the beaches and sand dunes). To facilitate the planting, two nurseries were created, one in...

Acquired for state park use in 1935, the State Park plans for this beautiful stretch of coastline in Tillamook County initially focused on its use as an undeveloped, natural preserve. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees built the first major improvement, a 5.2-mile trail to the end of the cape in 1939-1940. They also created a minimal picnic area at Jackson Creek. To provide road access to the park, Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers were employed in the early 1940s. Progress on improvement of the primitive road was halted by lack of funds. Work on road access resumed in the early 1950s.

Located adjacent to Cape Creek at the foot of Cape Perpetua, the Cape Perpetua Campground occupies the former site of the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in this part of the Siuslaw National Forest. A small crew of CCC workers lived here in 1933 while constructing the nearby, more permanent Cape Creek CCC Camp. CCC enrollees from Cape Creek went on to develop the site for public camping as part of a plan to increase tourist activity in the area. The CCC improvements made a significant impact on tourist use of the Cape Perpetua area. This success was anticipated in...

After the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established a camp in 1933 at the foot of Cape Perpetua, the young men began to develop the area currently known as the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area for public recreational use.  Their projects included a campground, a network of trails, the West Shelter observation point near the top of the cape, and a roadway to that elevation. Located in the Siuslaw National Forest, Cape Perpetua was among the first areas identified in Oregon for CCC work. In addition to the usual reforestation and conservation assignments associated with US Forest Service land, recreational development became a...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees began development of the 537-acre Cape Sebastian State Park as early as October 1934. The promontory, covered by spruce forest, offers striking views of the Pacific below. CCC workers developed the roads and trails necessary for the public's access to those views. Parking areas, defined by low rock walls, in the northern and southern parts of the park complete access to the cape's perspective. As summarized by Portland's newspaper, the Oregonian, in 1940: "A lofty promontory, which juts out into the Pacific Ocean; one of the most striking coastal features along the Coast Highway. Good roads here, trails...

The Capital City County Club Golf Course was originally a 9-hole golf course developed by George Perkins. In 1924, the newly-incorporated Tallahassee Country Club purchased the golf course from Perkins. In 1935, the Tallahassee Country Club donated the land to the City of Tallahassee. That same year the city received a $35,000 Works Progress Administration grant to expand the golf course to 18 holes. The city engaged noted golf course architect Albert W. Tillinghast to inspect and comment on the plans, which also included renovating the existing 9 holes. Construction began in 1936 and was completed in 1938. In 1956,...

The Augusta State Park, or Capital Park, is comprised of the land between the State House and the Kennebec River. It is the earliest known, consciously designed public ground in Maine. The intent of the design was to create a dignified setting for viewing the State Capitol Building along with other public functions. WWI Veteran Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) members from Jefferson camp were involved in clearing a ravine, planting trees, and building trails and benches in 1935.

"The native sandstone wall around the football field is a WPA project. Capitol Hill High School is located at 500 S.W. 36th Street. Built in 1928, it is still in use today. On the west side of the school, the C.B. Speegle Stadium is home to the Capitol Hill Redskins. Surrounding the field is an approximately 8 ft. high wall made of the traditional Oklahoma sandstone seen in the greatest number of WPA projects in the State. At the east end of the football field, the sandstone wall attaches to a 10 ft. high white stone ticket booth area. This wall has a...

“Stadiums and field houses became important additions for many school systems. In Oklahoma, competitive sports added quality of life for residents during the Great Depression. Small school districts were especially proud to receive an ‘indoor’ gym. High school stadiums such as Taft Stadium and Capitol Hill Stadium were built in Oklahoma City and Webster High School in Tulsa."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at Capitol Park in Tuscaloosa, Alabama during the 1930s.

Preservation of Capital Reef began with the declaration of Capitol Reef National Monument on August 2, 1937, via Proclamation 2246 signed by President Franklin Roosevelt.  The original area set aside was only 37,711 acres. Administration of the new monument was placed under the control of Zion National Park and the National Park Service, but Capitol Reef National Monument did not officially open to the public until 1950.  It became a National Park in 1971, under President Richard Nixon, with a much expanded area of 241,000 acres.  The park is 100 miles long but narrow, running north to south, in south-central Utah. It...

"The road leading up and around Capulin Volcano National Monument in Union County was constructed by the Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) by twenty-five local men between December 1933 and April 1934 thanks to the leadership of Homer Farr, who was a local power figure and the first director of this site. They also created campgrounds. He communicated with the Roosevelt Administration tirelessly in order to provide employment for the local men and to get the road done."

"Cardines Field, "a small urban gem of a ballpark" is a baseball stadium located at 20 America’s Cup Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Wikipedia: "Stone and concrete bleachers were built along the third-base line by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1936-1937. The plaque at the entrance that reads "1937" refers to this date. The current grandstand was built by the WPA following the devastating hurricane of 1938. The distinctive curving grandstand section behind home plate was built in 1939. Over the coming decades, the park continued to grow through construction projects to increase capacity, eventually creating the patchwork, overlapping stadium seen...

Located in the Payette National Forest, this lookout tower were built by the CCC in 1934. A sign near the site (pictured at www.advrider.com) reads: "In 1934 and 1935, Aeromotor Company of Chicago manufactured the 85-foot tall galvanized steel lookout tower. The USDA Forest Service in cooperation with the Civilian Conservation Corps assembled the prefabricated framework on the granitic ridgetop toll, known as Carey Dome."

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) "highly landscaped and beautified" Carey Park in Hutchinson, Kansas.

An August 1935 Parks Department press release lists what is now Catbird Playground in Carl Schurz Park as one of seventy-three play areas developed in the preceding year with "city, state and federal relief funds." The release describes this park as having play areas designed for mothers and infants and adolescents. The playground was designed by Gilmore D. Clarke and opened on June 20, 1935. It was further renovated in 1965 and 2000. Although neither source identifies which federal agencies were involved, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that New Deal park projects developed before August 1935 would have been financed by...

In 1936 the WPA developed the area of Carlos Avery Game Farm, now the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, and constructed several buildings on the site. From the National Register of Historic Places nomination: Located within the 23,000 acre Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, the district includes eleven buildings, three structures, and one non-contributing building. The buildings at the Game Farm are designed in the Colonial Revival Style. All buildings and structures are considered contributing unless otherwise noted. 1. Entrance Gateway - The entrance to the Carlos Avery Game Farm is defined by an elaborate gateway flanked by stone pylons. Each gate...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) operated a camp at Rattlesnake Springs from 1938 to 1942 and conducted substantial construction and development work at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, including at what's now known as the Carlsbad Caverns National Park Historic District. Among untold other projects and improvements the CCC undertook trail development and landscaping work and constructed residences and maintenance facilities that are still in use today. Treasures on New Mexico Trails: The Historic District at Carlsbad Caverns National Park comprises a number of Pueblo Revival buildings constructed by Park personnel in the 1920s and 1930s and several stuccoed adobe buildings in the...

Carmel's Forest Theater was established in 1910, when Carmel-by-the-Sea was founded as an artists' colony (and real estate speculation).  Since then, it has been a fixture of the Carmel scene and the life of the city.   The was deeded to the town of Carmel in 1937, which soon applied to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for help in renovating and improving it. The WPA renovation took place in 1939-40 and included a reinforced concrete floor, new seating, a new stage and dressing rooms underneath, and a new surrounding stone wall and entry stairs. There is a WPA plaque on the...

This sunken garden is chiseled out of the hill adjacent to the 1871 Governor’s Mansion that overlooks the Missouri state capital. The gardens were started in the late 1930s by the WPA. Work included extensive rock wall work. There is a grand stairway that ascends to a pergola that is lit with original lighting. The view of the capital is stunning. The gardens were renamed the Carnahan Memorial Gardens after the untimely death of former governor Mel Carnahan in 2001.

The CCC "did work at Carpenter Park north of the city."

"Located on picturesque countryside in western Onondaga County, the Hatchery was originally developed and operated as a joint venture between Onondaga County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under a Works Project Administration Grant. One of only four county run hatcheries in the state, Carpenter's Brook has been in continuous operation since its inception in 1938 and produces 80,000+ Brook, Brown and Rainbow Trout annually." (Onondaga County Parks) The WPA wrote of the project in 1940: "One of the many far flung stations of federal government for rearing game fish, Elbridge hatchery has been reconstructed with series of new concrete...

Carroll Park has been a public park since the 1850s. A March 27, 1936 Department of Parks press release announced the opening of this new WPA playground in the park: "The Department of Parks will open ten new playgrounds Saturday, March 28, making a total of 125 added to the recreational system in two years. …at Smith Street, Carroll Street and First Place there will be four hand-ball courts, four shuffleboard courts and six horseshoe courts… All of these playgrounds were constructed es Works Progress Administration projects." Further improvements to the playground, including basketball courts and a play apparatus for older children, were announced...

"In the early 1930s the success of the Eau Claire Bears, a "farm" team affiliated with the Chicago Cubs, encouraged Eau Claire to apply to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to fund recreational improvements in Carson Park. The centerpiece of these projects was the simple but elegant sandstone-walled stadium, built to seat over 1500 fans. The stone was quarried from a site in nearby Downsville, Wisconsin. Unemployed skilled laborers were given work on the stadium through 1936 and readied the ballpark for action by early 1937."