Paths and Trails Sites

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...

Fort Mahan, in NE Washington DC, was a part of the Civil War defensive ring of forts circling the capital. The site was transformed into a park in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  The CCC tasked Camp NP-11-DC (National Arboretum) with transforming a hillside site into a picnic grounds.  A HABS Survey Report provides details on the CCC improvements to the park and their current condition: “... In creating the grounds, the enrollees filled a borrow pit dug to provide fill for other area projects, channeled a spring, cleared trash and dead trees and brush, and graded the entire...

Fort Mountain State Park in northern Georgia was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930s. Part of the Cohutta Mountain Range, the park gained its name for a stone structure located along a mountaintop in the area.   The park officially opened in 1936. The CCC built the park’s infrastructure and constructed many of its facilities such as the lake and recreational buildings. CCC work crews also did forestry work and made hiking trails. “One of the most notable contributions by the CCC,” according to Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites, “is the large stone fire tower that stands...

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 Works Progress Administration (WPA) began to restore the foundation of Fort Rice and build replica structures on the historic site in 1937.  Located eighteen miles south of Mandan in Morton County, Fort Rice was originally built as an Army post during the Civil War. The WPA mapped out a program of improvement for both the site and the North Dakota State Park system more generally. “No structures remain but there are markers for the site and individual building locations. The main marker is enclosed in a stone shelter. Two replica blockhouses were constructed by the WPA in the 1930s, but they...

Fort Tryon Park was built during the Depression era with the goal of providing public green space for upper Manhattan. John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated the land and provided most of the financial support for the construction of the park’s amenities. The infrastructure within and around the park was completed with work relief labor at the cost $300,000. The work consisted of building roads, storm drainage, and lighting. It was likely completed with the aid of the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), or the Temporary Emergency Relief Act (TERA) The New York City Park Department Report to August 1934 states...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) is primarily responsible for building the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge (FWNC&R) which is located just inside the city limits of Fort Worth, TX. CCC Company 1816, Lake Worth Camp SP-31-T served in this area from 1934-1938. It's projects planned and supervised by the National Park Service included roads, bridges, bridle paths, nature trails, picnic areas and stone shelter houses.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) put more than 100 men to work developing Foster Park on Spring Creek southwest of San Angelo. The 10-acre park received $11,000 in improvements made possible by the CWA. In Feb. 1934 the San Angelo Morning Times noted that work was being "completed rapidly." It is probable that the CWA constructed many of the stone facilities that still serve the park today, including picnic benches, fireplaces, and a sizable shelter.

Francis Lewis Park sits at the base of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge in Queens. The park was named after an American "merchant, patriot, and signer of the Declaration of Independence"(nycgovparks). Researcher Frank Da Cruz has compiled evidence of the WPA's key role in developing this park: Like Ferry Point park, Francis Lewis Park was part of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge construction project, 1937-41. A New York Parks City Department press release on April 25, 1940, confirms that it was built by the WPA: The Department of Parks announces that exercises in connection with the dedication of Francis Lewis Park, Third Avenue and 147...

Franklin Park, also known as Franklin Square, was overhauled c. 1935-36.  Work on the park was part of a larger Capital Parks improvement program in the 1930s, funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA), assisted by the Civil Work Adminstration (CWA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). "By the 1930’s Franklin Park was considered one of the city’s most rundown reservations. Its walks were greatly deteriorated, its lawns overgrown, and its trees unpruned and deteriorating. In spring 1935, planning for the complete rehabilitation of Franklin Park began with the award of a $75,000 grant from the Public...

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."

"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...

The Gem Lake Trail at Rocky Mountain National Park is on the National Register of Historic Places (2008, 5LR.11810.1), in part for New Deal improvements: "The trail is associated with the early resort industry and tourism in the Estes Park region, particularly in its function as an equestrian route.  The trail assumed its current alignment with the completion of alterations in 1923.  During 1940 and 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) performed trail maintenance and improvements in keeping with National Park Service Naturalistic Design principles of the 1920s through the 1940s.  The property is associated with the Rocky Mountain National Park and...

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.  

"Geneva State Forest was formerly part of a vast land holding of timberlands owned by the Jackson Lumber Company. The lumber company, as was a common practice of the time, clear cut the land. They were left with land that was of little use. Jackson Lumber Company tried to sell the land for as little as 50 cents an acre. They were unsuccessful and ultimately chose to donate the land to the State of Alabama instead of paying property taxes for land they could no longer use. The land transfer took place during the Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)...

Description of a project undertaken by the W.P.A. in 1937: "Gerry's Landing, Charles River Lower Basin; a project for the improvement of this area was started in 1936 and completed during the year. Extensive improvements were made which involved work of grading, loaming and seeding grass areas, filling of low lands, construction of gravel walks, service roads, etc."

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."

The Catwalk National Scenic Trail had originally started out as a line that brought water from the mountains down to a mill in the valley. "This initial pipeline was constructed in 1893 and an additional 18-inch pipeline was added during 1897. The pipeline was closed in 1913 and fell into disrepair until the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was assigned the task of rebuilding it in 1935. The CCC-built Catwalk served the public until 1961. Major storms and floods had taken its total on the CCC-built Catwalk and, early in 1961, the Forest Service began reconstruction of this most unusual trail....

Winchester.us: "Ginn Field was laid out as a playground and three tennis courts were built. The other main project at that time was grading the field, accomplished by the WPA in 1938-40. The work of improving the field also included continuing the road from Manchester Field, building a road leading out to Bacon Street and creating a walk leading from tennis court to train station at Wedgemere, building an 800-foot-long stone retaining wall, and installing 360 feet of drain pipe at the field and more drains in 1942 to carry off water which made roadway impassable in rainy weather."

"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...

The Seattle Park Department utilized funds and labor from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to complete a series of improvement projects at Golden Gardens Park. Much of the work aimed at stabilizing the steep hillsides in the eastern section of the park. Between 1935 and 1936, WPA workers excavated more than 7500 cubic yards of earth from a landslide-prone area along Golden Gardens Drive and used it to fill in a low area north of the park bathhouse, adding two acres of usable beachfront to the park. During this period, workers also cleared timber and removed tree stumps throughout the eastern...

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...

A Department of Parks press release from March 17, 1935 describes the extensive improvements made to Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza with New Deal support: "The Grand Army Plaza, constituting the main entrance to Prospect Park, Brooklyn, is to be completely rebuilt by the Department of Parks. The general design will remain unchanged but the promenade around the Bailey Memorial Fountain has been redesigned and the north entrances have been relocated away from the existing subway grating which is to be completely shielded by ground covering. The path around the oval is to be relocated somewhat nearer to the street to increase the...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was extremely active in Grand Canyon National Park throughout the New Deal. The CCC enrollees worked under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS) and some of the projects were funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA).  The first CCC camp was established on the South Rim, where Company 819 started working on improvements to the facilities around Grand Canyon Village, the main visitor center for the park, c. 1933-1937. The CCC enrollees built a stone wall along the Rim Trail, the Kolb Studio stairs, the Community Building, rock pillars on Navajo Street, and various paths, culverts,...

"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...

Prior to colonial settlement, the area of Granville State Forest was inhabited by the Tunxis Native American tribe. In the mid-1700s, English pioneer Samuel Hubbard purchased the land for farming and pasturage, and the river that runs through the forest is now named the Hubbard River. The property was bought and owned by Tiffany and Pickett Lumber Company near the turn of the 20th century. In the 1920s, the Commonwealth obtained the land from the lumber company but little improvements were made before the CCC Camp was established. The Civilian Conservation Corps began work on Granville State Forest in 1933. CCC...

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) conducted extensive development work at Grand Canyon Village. At the same time, the lesser-known and short-lived Civil Works Administration (CWA) of winter 1933-34 developed a path at the village in early 1934. A period photograph shows this as being a stone-lined path near Navajo Road. The information and photograph are consistent with the Grand Canyon Village Greenway.

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...

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...

Guy W. Talbot State Park, also known as Latourell Falls State Park, entered the Oregon State Park system in 1929 when the Talbot family donated 125 acres of land adjacent to Latourell Falls. Significant development of the park, however, began in 1933 when Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees from nearby CCC Camp Benson initiated work. CCC projects improved the park during the second period of the CCC (October 1933 to Arpil 1934), the third period (April to October 1934), and the fifth period (April to October 1935). As noted in a report completed in 1946 under the supervision of the Oregon State...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop New Jersey's Hacklebarney State Park during the 1930s.

The Half Dome cables, originally installed in 1920 by the Sierra Club, were replaced and strengthened by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees in 1934. These cables allow thousands of people each year to hike to the top of this famous peak. The Half Dome trails runs from the valley floor to the top of Half Dome, over 8 miles (via the Mist Trail) with a 4,800-foot elevation gain.  The final 400 feet are so steep that   two steel cables, bolted to the rocks, are needed for handholds. Every Spring the cables are brought out from winter storage and  raised onto...

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,...

Harley Park is historically significant as the home of 4 Hopewell Indian mounds.  It has an overlook of the Missouri River, recently having a Lewis and Clark campsite marker placed at the overlook.  Several WPA projects were completed in the 1930’s including rock walls, roads, and the shelter.

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.

"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...