- City:
- Ithaca, NY
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Paths and Trails, Picnic and Other Facilities, Landscaping and Tree Planting
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
- Started:
- 1935
- Completed:
- 1941
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Unknown
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees constructed the Arboretum at Cornell University Arboretum in Ithaca, New York between 1935 and 1941.
“Before becoming an arboretum, the area was part of a working farm, and served as a pasture for the Cornell Department of Animal Science’s herd of Black Angus cattle. In 1935, 200 men from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) set up camp south of Cascadilla Creek and worked in what is now the arboretum for six years. Through all seasons, they cleared and graded the land, constructed stone walls, built roads, and planted trees. By 1941, they had built four miles of roads and eight miles of paths, prepared seven thousand cubic yards of compost, and planted thousands of trees and shrubs. Feeding, clothing, and paying these men cost the government about $200,000. A similar project today would cost over ten million dollars.”
Source notes
“Arboretum History,” Cornell Botanic Gardens, Cornell University. https://cornellbotanicgardens.org/explore/in-f-r-newman-arboretum/arboretum-history/
“Cornell University Arboretum,” Parks & Recreation, April 1936.
Site originally submitted by Gray Brechin on June 16, 2022.
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