Description

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was present in the newly-minted Death Valley National Monument  from 1933 to 1942.  As one of their many projects, the CCC ‘boys’ constructed a summer headquarters and residential area for the National Park Service at Wildrose, high in the Panamint Mountains.  

Summer heat made the regular headquarters and CCC camp at Cow Creek unliveable, so another CCC camp was added at Wildrose in 1935 so that the men could work year-round (at that time there were not permanent NPS staff in the monument yet). As the monument gained a permanent staff, the Superintendent made plans to upgrade the new camp from tents to permanent structures that could be used by NPS staff; these bore fruit in 1939.

The new Wildrose camp included wooden barracks, a mess hall, infirmary and recreation hall, shower hall, laundry and sports field. The focal point was a summer office, and on Pinon Mesa the CCC built a summer residence for the monument Superintendent.  The roads in and out of Wildrose were also improved and the old charcoal kilns nearby restored.

Of these, the workshop and generator building, plus three residences, remain.  All the rest were removed when the CCC ended in 1942. The site is now Wildrose campground.