CCC Camp – Ravenna NE

Description

In July 1934, the Kearney Daily Hub announced that a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp would be developed at Ravenna. The camp would be responsible for soil erosion projects in northern Buffalo County and southern Sherman County. Two hundred young men would build land dams, terrace fields, plant trees, and do other conservation work on the land in this portion of the state. They would also be responsible for improving the lake.

The camp would be set up at the state lake site at Ravenna. At first, a temporary camp was set up with tents. If the camp was to be used long term, a regular barracks of regulation army style would be constructed. In addition to barracks, a recreation and mess hall, a bath house, kitchen, supply house, and officer quarters would also be built. The first building built was the mess hall, but others quickly followed. By the end of construction, thirteen buildings were built. Seven car loads of lumber were used at a cost of approximately $15,000.00.

By August, a number of young men were on the site, and had begun their conservation work. They hiked to an area south of town to the Chick Kriha farm where they built a brush and earth dam for retaining water. They had requests from twenty-five other farms in the township to build similar dams.