- City:
- Winnemucca, NV
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Description
“The Division of Grazing (Grazing Service as of 1939) operated the greatest number of CCC programs in the state. There were several reasons for this. First of all, Nevada has the largest public domain (nonallocated federal acreage) of any of the forty-eight states. With little trouble, Nevadas elected officials and stockmen easily persuaded national CCC officials to approve requests for several new grazing camps, notwithstanding national CCC program budget cuts. Second, following passage of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, a large workforce was needed to implement its ambitious provisions. Even with CCC assistance, the amount of work needing to be accomplished was unprecedented.
…
The amount of CCC work on Nevada’s public domain was impressive by any standard. In Nevada alone, CCC officials estimated that $13,392,000 was expended on the grazing program during its first five years. By the end of the program in 1942, the CCC Grazing Services program had constructed 15 miles of pipelines for spring development, 26 large impounding or diversion dams, 260 miles of fence, 60 cattle guards, almost 2,000 miles of truck trails, and 800 permanent and temporary check dams. In addition, approximately 80 miles of stock driveways were marked, more than 30,000 acres of poisonous and noxious weeds were eradicated, and crickets and grasshoppers were fought on more than 100,000 acres. CCC firefighting was a major endeavor and man-days exceeded 10,000 per year.
…
In Nevada, twenty-six CCC grazing camps operated at various times and locations during the life of the program. Main or parent camps were usually established on or near large ranching outfits such as Sadlers Ranch, Dunphy Ranch, Quinn River Ranch, Moorman Ranch, Board Corrals, Dressler Ranch, Sunnyside Ranch, and Delmues Ranch. The army frequently established one or more subsidiary camps, called side of spike camps, when the necessary work was too far from the main camps for a daily commute.
…
It is difficult to assess the real value of the CCC contribution to the public domain. District grazing records reflect hundreds of projects accomplished with CCC labor. By providing water and access, the CCC opened up vast expanses of rangelands that would be available for grazing. But before reservoirs, corrals, and spring improvements could be constructed, thousands of miles of roads would have to be built. Consequently, the Division of Grazing referred to truck trails as the daddy of them all.”
Source notes
Kolvet, Renee Corona and Victoria Ford. 2006. The Civilian Conservation Corps in Nevada: From Boys to Men. University of Nevada Press. Pgs. 53-61. (See also the map on pg. 54 and the appendix on pgs. 155-163).Contribute to this Site
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.
Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site
I have photos of a CCC camp that my father was in at Wells, Nevada. I am looking for some place to donate them to. Do you know of someplace that would be interested in the photos.
Beverly,
Have you tried the Nevada Historical Society or the archives at the University library (either in Reno or Las Vegas)?
DW
And, if you can, please scan a handful and send to the Living New Deal!
The Nevada book Left out the Indian Div of the CCC and their Projects like the Navajo Bridges or the McDermitt CCC Indian Div. . One of the Quinn River Camps is still there 20 miles Southeast of McDermitt near 3 corners aprox 5 miles back from BLM 2001 . Paradise Valley Stone mason projects where left out . A . Ramansco and Pasquale where CCC Supervisors for building projects .
We’d love to learn more. Can you send us to a source or submit info about this project to our site?
Just read some old letters from my Father he was in the CCC camp in Winnimucca Nevada Jan or Feb. 1939.
Emmett Ouimette Co. 1625..if you have any pictures or Data from back then I would really appreciate it… Thank you in advance,
Karen Grissom
As time permits, I am adding sites related to the CCC-Indian Division (or CCC-ID) to this website. An article in the Nevada Historical Society Quarterly: “The Indian New Deal: Scenes from the Carson Indian Agency” (Volume 54, 2011, Numbers 1-4) covers New Deal projects, including WPA and CCC-ID in most of Nevada and portions of eastern California. The article can be found online with other Quarterlies. The Carson Indian Agency jurisdictional boundaries have changed since the 1930s; today, most of the former Carson Indian Agency is part of the Nevada Indian Agency.
Renee Corona Kolvet (March 2022)