Paths and Trails Sites

Multiple New Deal agencies worked to develop the North Chagrin Reservation outside Cleveland, Ohio. "Over the course of the 1930s the reservation was modernized with graded roads, permanent trails, sewage and water infrastructure, and shelter houses, much of this construction undertaken by federal and state public works programs. Between 1933 and 1937, workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps camp at neighboring Euclid Creek Reservation laid out miles of hiking and bridle trails in North Chagrin. Similar projects funded through the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, National Youth Administration, and WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION included an enlarged trailside museum, picnic and parking areas, the...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted extensive development work in Grand Canyon National Park from 1933 to 1942. Among its trail development work, according to the National Park Service (NPS), the CCC "improved the main trails into the canyon, Bright Angel and Kaibab, and added trails in the inner canyon, as well. ... At the North Rim, CCC company 818 widened and improved the North Kaibab Trail." The North Kaibab Trail descends from the North Rim to Black Bridge over the Colorado River, at which point it becomes the the South Kaibab Trail, which ascends to the South Rim.

CCC work at Ocmulgee National Monument included: "preparing trails, including a bridge between the museum and Earthlodge that has become a local landmark." While the wood surface of the bridge has been replaced, the stone base supports are original.

"During the 1930s numerous improvement projects were carried out through federal relief programs. A Civilian Conservation Corps Camp of about 200 young men was located in the beech woods where the former Caddy Camp building stands. Gift and loans were solicited to match the Works Progress Administration funds, making possible the building of nature trails and roads, picnic sites, cabins, tennis courts, the outdoor theater, Camp Russel, and the entire Crispin Center area. Crispin Center - with its large swimming pool, golf shop and Pine Room area - has changed little on the outside. Built in 1937-38 of natural sandstone, much...

By the 1930s, the Old Erie Canal that once formed the heart of the Village of Jordan was no longer a functioning canal. It was given new life by being converted into a landscaped park in the 1930s, with significant help from the WPA. The old Jordan Aqueduct has been incorporated into the park. The park "remains a visual tool for understanding the canal and aqueduct construction" (www.livingplaces.com).

In 1934, The Civil Works Administration built a latrine and wading pool on land in the Olmos Creek floodplain. The City Council of San Antonio named the area Franklin Fields in 1940, presumably in honor of President Franklin Roosevelt. The area was to be "fully developed as a natural forest area and to include various fields, all manner of recreation facilities, as well as for the purpose of conservation and the preservation of the natural beauty of this place." The park received additional federal funds for development in July 1940, when the park was designated a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp....

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to develop Olympic National Park, including constructing the park's headquarters, during the 1930s.

W.P.A. project description: "Blue Hills Headquarters; a 120-foot by 40-foot by 14-foot fieldstone and brick garage with a reinforced concrete slab roof and steel girders and lally columns, was completed at the division's headquarters on Hillside Avenue, Milton." "Operations Yard. This area includes a cluster of utilitarian structures, both historic and non-historic, around a central work area. There are four historic buildings: a maintenance garage, Repair Shop #1, Repair Shop #2, and the Carpenter’s Shop. The first three are constructed of brick and mortar; all have cracked mortar and/or damaged bricks. The fourth building is wood framed and shingled. All were developed...

Orchard Beach is an artificial beach 6,000 feet long on Pelham Bay in Pelham Bay Park on the east side of The Bronx, built by WPA workers under the direction of the New York City Parks Department. It required a major reconfiguration of the shoreline and sand imported from the Atlantic coast.  It included many auxillary improvements, most notably a large bathhouse behind the beach.  Researcher Frank da Cruz sums up New Deal involvement in developing the area based on multiple Parks Department press releases from the 1930s: "Orchard Beach  created by the federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) from a plan developed in...

"Orchard Beach State Park is located on the shore of Lake Michigan, two miles north of the center of Manistee. The park's 211 acres are split by M-110 and it is the portion west of the highway, comprising 57 acres, that is included in this nomination. This section is one-quarter of a mile wide at its widest point, one-half of a mile long and has 3000 feet of shoreline. The park's terrain is gently rolling and sparsely wooded with a steep bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. Many trees and shrubs planted by the CCC are still growing within the park, as...

Oswald West State Park, known for its quiet, secluded beach and its picturesque trail system, was established in the early days of the Depression. At that time, it was known as Short Sands Beach State Park. A Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp was located within the park from 1939 through 1941. During those years, the CCC enrollees worked primarily on developing the park's trail system. The CCC Camp improved the park property as work on the Neah-kah-nie section of the Coast Highway (Highway 101) underwent construction. Before the nine-mile section of road between Cannon Beach and Manzanita opened, access to Short...

According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, “After the state acquired the land, it was reforested with groves of pines which were planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The CCC also built the first campground sites in the area.”  

"From the New York City Parks Department press release of March 14, 1941, announcing the "completion of reconstruction at Owen F. Dolen Park": ...two half-acre plots, separated by Benson Street, serve chiefly as pedestrian connections and sitting areas with open central grass areas bounded by four foot wrought iron fences and trees. Continuous benches line the interior walks and boundary sidewalks, providing adequate seating accommodations for this densely populated section. The existing walks of cinders, bluestone and macadam have been widened and rebuilt of concrete. Street trees have been planted along all curbs except adjacent to the West Chester Avenue elevated...

The Owl's Head summit is one of the areas in Groton State Park developed by the CCC: "In 1933, CCC Company 146 from Rhode Island was stationed along the road to Osmore Pond. Approximately ¾ mile from the campground on the left, you will see the remains of a stone fence at the entrance to the camp, the Recreation Hall chimney, and cellar holes. Company 146 was responsible for building structures at New Discovery, Osmore Pond, Owl’s Head, and Kettle Pond... A stone fire tower built in 1935 is the highlight at the summit . As you are hiking to the summit,...

The Oregon Skyline Trail, a portion of today's Pacific Crest Trail, was established in 1920. Its popularity among hikers and climbers grew to such an extent that a 1934 study of trail conditions produced a detailed report. Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees provided much of the labor for the recommended improvements. Improvements included relocation of stream fords due to hazardous or inconvenient conditions, alternative routes over portions of the trail, evaluation of campsites, recommendations for building of shelters, latrines, and garbage pits, and new trail signs and maps. Construction of shelters on the Skyline Trail was one notable priority facilitated by CCC...

"Pakomet Spring. This area was developed by the CCC in 1936 and 1937 as a roadside pull-off, reflecting the increased presence of automobiles in the reservation during the 1930s. It formerly included guard rails, landscaping, tables, and seats. All that remains is a mortared stone wall flanking the entrance to a U-shaped drive." 1936 Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission annual report: "The Pakomet Spring parking area was completed early in the season. This development, located on the easterly side of Randolph Avenue, provides an at attractive spot for picnic parties. The work involved consisted of the construction of natural stone entrance walls, suitable...

The Palisades Interstate Park system, a major beneficiary of New Deal public works projects, spans New York and New Jersey and stretches from The Palisades—cliffs overlooking the Hudson River in sight of Manhattan—to forested hills dotted with lakes in the western Hudson Highlands. The park system was founded in 1900 through the activism of women’s clubs that fought to protect the Palisades
from quarrying. They were aided by some of the richest men in America, among them J.P. Morgan, the Rockefellers and the Harriman family. Mixing civic idealism and the desire to preserve the beauty of their own region, they purchased or...

Palisades Playground and Park was developed by New Deal agencies in the mid-1930s. The field house was built with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds in 1936. That same year, the Washington Post reported that Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers had been hired by the District for rehabilitation and improvement of the park. In addition, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) also did work on Palisades Playground, according tothe Historic American Buildings Survey of CCC activity around Washington.  Palisades Playground and Park contains tennis courts, a soccer field, basketball court, skate spot, baseball field, and play areas, plus a notable field house on the...

Palmetto State Park is located on the San Marcos River between Luling and Gonzales, Texas in Gonzales County and is administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park consists of 270 acres of land purchased from the City of Gonzales and private owners. The park was constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Companies 873, 886, and 1823(CV) between 1934 and 1937, with some funding from the National Park Service and opened to the public as a state park in 1936. The CCC built Park Road 11, a low water crossing on the San Marcos River, water tower/storage building, refectory,...

"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...

"Establishing communications between outlying ranger stations was imperative. Crews built roads and telephone lines between the Paradise Valley Ranger Station and the outlying station at Martin Creek. The men also constructed the administrative buildings at Paradise Ranger Station and the forest supervisor’s compound in Elko. The construction of the Elko-Mountain Home road generated widespread interest and attracted dignitaries including Senator Pat McCarran, Governor Richard Kirman, Congressman James Scrugham, Attorney General Gray Mashburn, and state and highway officials." --The Civilian Conservation Corps in Nevada

Paris Mountain State Park was developed in large part by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). "CCC structures, including the Camp Buckhorn lodge, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places." The state park on Paris Mountain was built in the 1930s by the Depression-era CCC. Sixteen other parks in the state of South Carolina were also created due to the work of the CCC. The land for the park was acquired in 1935 from the city of Greenville." CCC work included the development of the entrance, road construction, a bathhouse and an office, picnic facilities, staff residences, a gazebo, the development...

"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...

3 CCC camps were actively involved in the park's development from 1933-1942. In addition to repairing the pond and building Parker Dam, the CCC cleared beaches and bought a bathhouse and other bathing facilities. They also carried out extensive reforestation efforts, and built miles of roads, trails and bridges. Some traces of the CCC camps still remain.

Only 1933 and 1934 town reports were available, but even so, quite a lot of useful work was accomplished by CWA and FERA on unemployment relief. 1933: City Planning Board "In December a C W A project was started at the Park, Kirby Lake, and on our city trees. At the Park many changes and improvements have been made under this project. A new pavilion has been built, all bushes removed, drains put in, a new bed for the small stream being dug along the easterly line of the Park and the old bed filled in, making a new and ideal spot...

"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...

"The Paugussett Trail was a CCC project during the Great Depression and at one time stretched from Lake Zoar in Monroe all the way to Roosevelt Forest in Stratford. Some time prior to 1971, the trail south of Indian Well State Park was abandoned after it was cut off by new subdivisions, and the north end of the trail absorbed a reminent of the Pomperaug Trail in Monroe."

Pelham Bay Park, the largest in the city of New York (three times the size of Central Park), sits on Pelham Bay in the northeast corner of The Bronx. It was established in 1888, when The Bronx was still separate from New York City. The park was greatly improved by Robert Moses and the NY City Parks Department, with the help of federal New Deal funds and workers from the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA). On November 10, 1941, the New York City Department of Parks announced the completion of the massive overhaul of the 60-acre Isaac L. Rice Memorial...

The Pelham Parkway bicycle path east of White Plains Road. "The Parks Department website says "Bicycling was an integral part of the New Deal work relief projects of the 1930s and 1940s. The Moses administration planned bicycle paths using WPA funds along the Harlem River Speedway, in Hillside Park in Queens, along the center strip of Pelham Parkway in the Bronx"."   (https://kermitproject.org)

"A Civilian Conservation Corps Camp of 208 men completes projects like rebuilding Eagle Tower, constructing stone fences, clearing hiking trails and roads, planting trees and refurbishing the ski jump and toboggan run near today's Nature Center."  (https://dnr.wi.gov)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the entrance steps at the northeast entrance to Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee, at Belle Meade Blvd. "Sumner Trails Chapter of Tennessee Trails will lead a 3.5 mile loop hike on the Warner Woods Trail in Percy Warner Park in Nashville, rated moderate. This hike features the Luke Lea heights overlook and the recently restored iconic steps (originally built by the WPA back in the 1930's) of the beautiful original park entrance."

"In the 1930s, with the advent of the Great Depression and with the nation’s natural resources in jeopardy due to poor environmental practices, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created. At Pere Marquette, the CCC built many buildings and shelters, fences, bridges, water reservoirs, foot and horse trails, riprap and streambank protection. Work was also done to create parking areas, campgrounds, and the clearing of overlooks and vistas. In addition, archeological and other types of surveying activities were conducted. Many of these CCC structures are still standing."   (https://www.greatriverroad.com) The heart of the park is the massive, CCC built Pere Marquette Lodge...

"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

The CCC assisted in the development of this state forest.

“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) established a camp in 1933 and had a presence until 1942. During that time they paved roads, did trail restoration, and created a dam. The men who worked for the CCC also started guiding visitors through the caves." CCC work in the park also included the extensive collection of buildings and walls pictured here. They are near the east entrance to the Pinnacles National Monument, redesigned Pinnacles National Park in 2013, and were built using a rock found only in the Pinnacles: green pumice lapilli tuff.

Plumb Beach (sometimes spelled "Plum") is a beach along the north shore of Rockaway Inlet, across the creek from Marine Park. It was originally an island, but Hog Creek was filled in during the late 1930s. The beach area was extensively developed by the WPA. At the time, the Island was part of Marine Park. An August 1941 Department of Parks press release announced the "completion of the development of Plum Island, Marine Park, Brooklyn. This new recreation area provides a small parking field just off the Belt Parkway, 50 picnic tables and 40 fireplaces, serviced by a concession building, comfort...

From the Wisconsin DNR website: "1939: WPA began work on road construction and developing a forest lodge. The lumber came from this forest and shakes came from the Lake Elba prison camp at Rhinelander. Rip-rap came from the Jambo Creek area. Tree planting also began this year with 475,000 trees planted, mostly red pine but also 5,000 white pine and 2,000 spruces." From "Joseph W. Soit and the Establishment of Point Beach State Forest": "Sometime after the land was purchased a CCC camp was to have been established but it did not work out. Then the WPA project was organized. Even with...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did the initial development work at Point Lobos State Reserve in the late 1930s. The CCC enrollees worked out of a camp at Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park. Point Lobos was acquired by the state in 1932 after a major mobilization of local citizenry in Carmel and a national fund-raising effort.  Because the site and its seashore wildlife are so spectacular, F.L. Olmsted, Jr. was brought in to draw up a plan for restricted development that would preserve the place while allowing for limited public use.  That plan was adopted by the State Parks Commission in 1936...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did the initial development work at Point Lobos State Reserve in the late 1930s. The CCC enrollees worked out of a camp at Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park Because Point Lobos is  meant to guard the environment in a relatively natural state, the CCC work here was minimal, including an access road, a few picnic areas, small parking areas, overlooks and paths (with some stone steps and retaining walls).