CCC Camp Company 3822(V) – Goliad TX

Description

In May 1935, The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began building housing and auxiliary structures in Goliad for CCC Company 3822(V), a military veterans unit. Built on land that belonged jointly to the city and the county, the camp consisted of forty cottage-style barracks, each to house six men, and nine larger buildings that included a wood shop and metal shop. The camp opened in August 1935, and housed former military enrollees veterans of the Spanish American War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, and World War I.

According to a 2001 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: “The Goliad Camp was recognized as having outstanding educational programs,” organized under the auspices of the Office of Education and the Army. With funding from FERA and other New Deal relief programs, local teachers taught the enrollees on nights and weekends. The classes included arithmetic, Spanish, typing, astronomy, Bible, grammar, and reading. Vocational courses were also part of the curriculum. Enrollees were trained in building and estimation, carpentry, air conditioning, farm management, lathe work, cabinet making, and forestry.

The CCC did archaeological excavation and rebuilt three buildings of Mission Espiritu Santo; the church, the granary, and the mission school-workshop. They also built the park custodian’s residence and maintenance complex and a picnic area and trail in the park.

The CCC camp was originally scheduled to be closed on June 30, 1940. Lobbying from local and state officials secured funding for fiscal year 1941, which kept the CCC Company in Goliad through June 30. 1941.

The campsite was located just northwest of Goliad Memorial Auditorium. The area has since been used for carnivals during the Goliad County Fair for many years. The only remnant of the camp is a concrete foundation with a hole believed that might have served as the CCC camp flagpole base.