CCC Camp F-5 (Granite Flat Campground) – Mount Timpanogos UT

Description

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established Camp F-5 in Timpanogos Cave National Monument in the summer of 1933. Company 940 was sent there from training at Fort Douglas, with its 200-man contingent including both young enrollees and a large complement of “experienced men” from Salt Lake City.

During summer 1933 and through the winter of 1933-34 (Baldridge, p. 164), the CCC made many improvements to the national monument. Baldridge (p. 33) states that: 

“..much was accomplished, as the men built roads, bridge, and trails; poisoned rodents; construct picnic tables for many campsites; and constructed Forest Service facilities, including the South Fork Ranger Station, which is still in use two miles downstream from the Tibble Fork reservoir.”

Most notably, the CCC teams built the trail extension and tunnels at Timpanogos Cave.

Whether they worked on the Swinging Bridge and Grey Cliff picnic areas in the National Monument or the National Forest picnic areas on the South Fork of the American Fork River (Mile Rock, Roadhouse, Martin, Echo) or Mill Creek campground on highway 92 is unknown to us.  This work might also have been done by CCC teams working out of Camp F-30 in Hobble Creek (Baldridge p. 123).

The Granite Flat campground today occupies the site of the CCC camp. Remnants of the CCC camp are readily apparent; they include two ballfields, a stone bridge for the entry road, and the names on the roads and camping areas – like Spike Camp and Mess Hall. It is uncertain if the campground itself was built out by the CCC or by the Forest Service at  later date.