Wildrose Summer Headquarters – Death Valley National Park CA

Site Type:
Parks and Recreation, Forestry and Agriculture, Lodges, Ranger Stations and Visitor Centers, Park Roads and Bridges, CCC Camps

New Deal Agencies:
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Work Relief Programs

Started:
1935

Completed:
1942

Quality of Information:
Moderate

Marked:
No

Site Survival:
Extant

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.

 

 

 

 

Source notes

Smith, Linda Greene and Judy Palmer, 2011. The Civilian Conservation Corps in Death Valley (1933-1942): A Brief CCC History and Visitor Guide. Amargosa Conservancy.

National Park Service webpage on the CCC in Death Valley

Wikipedia on Death Valley

Our Mark on This Land: A Guide to the Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in America's Parks by Ren & Helen Davis (McDonald & Woodward Publishing, Granville, OH, 2011)

Site originally submitted by Richard A Walker on January 31, 2019.

Location Info


Death Valley National Park, CA 92328
Inyo County

Location notes: approximate location

Coordinates: 36.247604728456665, -117.16354663591312

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