Archeological Work - Walnut Canyon National Monument AZ

Site Type:: Archaeology and History, Historical Restoration, Archaeology
New Deal Agencies:: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Work Relief Programs
Started:: 1938
Completed:: 1942
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Marked:: Yes
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees from the Mt. Elden Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp near Flagstaff worked at Walnut Canyon National Monument from 1938 to 1942.

One part of their work was assisting with the stabilization and restoration of dwelling units in the cliffs of Walnut Canyon. Walnut Canyon is an important site of cliff dwellings left by the Sinagua people, who occupied the site c. 1125-1250 C.E. There are a couple hundred dwelling units tucked into the cliffs on both sides of the canyon, but the focus of the archeological work was along the Island Trail, which the CCC built to provide access to a number of ruins.

Source notes

Arizona Chapter of the National New Deal Preservation, "The New Deal in Arizona: Connections to Our Historic Landscape." University of Arizona Library.Association.
https://content.library.arizona.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/NewDeal/id/229/rec/52

Display panel on lower terrace of visitors' center, Walnut Canyon NM.

Site originally submitted by Richard Walker on April 27, 2022.