Yosemite and Curry Village Improvements – Yosemite National Park CA

Description

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees made many improvements at Yosemite Village and Curry Village at the east end of Yosemite Valley, in the heart of Yosemite National Park. At the time, these were known as the Old Village, New Village and Camp Curry.

At Yosemite Village, the CCC teams installed log curbing, laid out new paths, and planted ferns, trees, and shrubs around the administration building, new hospital, residences, and Yosemite Museum. Some of the landscaping was done with native plants transplanted from various places outside the valley. 

CCCers placed flagstones around the telescopes in front of the museum. Under the direction of the park naturalist, enrollees transformed the garden around the Yosemite Museum into a wildflower meadow featuring a spring and a stream.

At Curry Village (Camp Curry), the CCC revitalized the historic 250 apple trees planted by James Lamon, one of the first settlers in Yosemite Valley.

Over a six-month period inl 1935, 1,973 pine and cedar trees and thirty-six quaking aspens were planted in the barren areas fronting the road at Camps 7 and 15 (Lower and Upper River campgrounds).

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) also worked at Yosemite Village during the winter of 1933-34.  “CWA employees catalogued whole collections of the museum; a CWA-employed botanist produced displays of trees and flowers; and a taxidermist catalogued collections of mammals and birds. Ferdinand Burgdorff, an artist employed by the CWA, painted backgrounds for exhibit cases in the museum.”  (Broesamle 2022)

Some of these improvements remain, but further information is needed.