Hill City Sites

A Civilian Conservation Corps Museum of South Dakota has been established at Hill City to preserve the extensive legacy of the CCC in the state. It was declared the official CCC museum for the state by the governor in 2017. It has a comprehensive website at https://southdakotaccc.org.  The museum is located within the Hill City Visitor Center. Neither the building nor the collection was created under the New Deal, but because such legacy collections are rare we have put it on the Living New Deal map to call attention to it for travelers and researchers.  

The striking municipal auditorium on Main Street, Hill City, South Dakota was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938. Originally 50 feet x 100 feet, this poured-concrete building has since received additions on its north and south sides. The distinctive building also bears a unique WPA plaque. WPA Project Number 2934 Also originally called Legion Hall, the building is now home to the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research Museum.

Several New Deal agencies contributed to the construction of the Deerfield Dam in the vicinity of Hill City and the Black Hills National Forest, SD. Construction began before the Roosevelt Administration, continued during the New Deal, and finished after World War II. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, "Construction was started on July 7, 1942, by the Farm Security Administration and was later continued by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Civilian Public Service Camp under the Works Projects Administration during World War II. The facilities were completed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1947."