- City:
- Sullivan, MO
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Forestry and Agriculture, Lodges, Ranger Stations and Visitor Centers, Campgrounds and Cabins, Shelters, Fire Lookouts
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Description
Extensive work by the CCC is seen in this park close to the city of St. Louis. It includes shelters, a stone pump house, stone observation tower, entrance stone work, and assorted bridges, steps, and walls. Adjacent to the park are the remains of the CCC company 2728 camp. The camp and work lasted from 1933-1935.
An on-site sign describes CCC work in the park as follows:
“In 1933, Meramec State Park was among the first parks in Missouri to benefit from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, a government program created in response to the Great Depression. As part of that program, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established a 220-man camp in Sullivan, Mo. in the nine years that followed, Meramec State Park hosted two CCC companies, y39 and 2728, in which 2,500 men worked.
After establishing their temporary quarters, the young enrollees began constructing the park’s permanent public facilities like the dining lodge, cabins and recreation hall visible across the road. The ‘Three Cers,’ as they were sometimes called, also built distinctive structures like the hexagonal observation tower on the Bluff Vuew Trail. Trail access begins here in the parking lot…
CCC workers made an impact on nearly all parts of the park…
The labor of the men of the CCC…transformed this portion of the Meramec River Valley into a recreation destination for countless visitors. This monument honors them for struggling through one of our nation’s most difficult times and for leaving us a lasting legacy in Meramec State Park.”
Source notes
On site information.Site originally submitted by Charles Swaney on June 16, 2013.
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Kim Duncan
Michael L. Ham
My Dad was in the CCC. He worked on the Meramec and Washington state parks.
My dad was at camp 2728. I have his USDA Forest Service Motor Vehicle Operator ‘s permit, Camp F-13 (Camp 2728), Sullivan, MO. The CCC made a big impact on his life. In 1942, he enlisted with the U.S. Naval Reserves and later that year joined the Marines. He was a naval aviator in the Korean War.
My father, Charles Edward Ham, was in Camp 2728 from July 1934 until Sept. 1935. He was in charge of the camp hospital at the time (he was 19 in 1934) and he said he gave thousands of shots to the workers. I have an original photo of the entire camp at the time, which I plan to donate to the CCC museum in St. Louis.
a further note: My father said that the camp hospital was a 10 bed affair and a doctor was on call when needed. Dad calculated that he gave about 4,000 immunizations when he was there and he played in the camp orchestra. The official camp photo was taken by Baumgardner Studio from Rolla and in 1935 the camp Commander was Lieutenant G.C. Simms.