Washington County Sites

The bridge abutments at the Emerald Pools and Angel's Landing trailheads along the Virgin River display rock work that was clearly done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  The abutments and foundations have survived even though the original bridges have been washed-out several times by the river and replaced.

The Canyon Overlook Trial at Zion National Park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933.  It runs about a half mile from the east portal of the famous Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel to an overlook at the Great Arch.  Sections of the trail are cantilevers over sheer stone cliffs.  The trail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The East and South Entrance Signs were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1934 and 1935 and are made of locally-quarried red sandstone pillars, with horizontal logs supporting the signs. The signs were designed by the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs in 1936 and made by CCC workers from Camp NP-2. They were altered in 1940 to the design of Park Service architects H.W. Young and A.C. Kuehl and the south entrance sign was rotated in 1960 so that it stuck out of the pillar on the east side rather than the west side in order...

The smaller of the two check-in stations at Zion National Park is the East Entrance check-in.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completed the entrance in 1935.  (The North Entrance check-in was added in the 1990s.)  In 1934, the CC constructed a small ranger residence across the road from the check-in station.  The National Park Service designed the residence. Both the residence and the check-in have not been significantly modified or rehabilitated in over 80 years.  The residence was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

In 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a path on the east side of the main road up to a viewing platform.  The CCC built the construction in stones that face west toward the Throne of the Patriarchs.  It is still intact, with modest rock work and the original concrete pathway.  The Great White Throne Overlook was the last CCC project in Zion before Congress cut the CCC funding.

Mormon farmers excavated the Pine Creek Irrigation Canal at the turn of the century, using water from Pine Creek to irrigate farmland on the west side of the Virgin River near Bridge Mountain.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built new headworks in 1934.  The CCC used a 15-foot sandstone boulder as an anchor to draw water directly from the Virgin River 1/4 mile upstream from the Pine Creek, conveying the water over Pine Creek in a flume.  The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funding.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the South Campground Amphitheater in 1934-35 in typical stonework for the stage, walls, walkways and steps.  Red sandstone was used in accordance with National Park Service rustic design principles.  The original wood benches, set on stone blocks, were replaced with metal seats in 1956.  The amphitheater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1987.

The higher elevation portions of the East Rim Trail at Zion National Park were originally completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  They were intended as a government road and truck trail.  Vehicular use quickly diminished and it became a foot trail. Although the CCC did not built any other roads and trails in the park, CCC men did significant work on slope stabilization and retaining walls along all of the trails and roads.  Typical CCC stonework can be seen in several places shoring-up trails and roads.

Several revetments (rock flood walls) along the Virgin River in Zion National Park's main canyon were installed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  Unfortunately, this kind of flood control work was a hopeless endeavor and most of the revetments were washed-out. Where they remain, however, they channelized the river, which is even worse because it has altered the deposition regime of the river and affected the ecology of the flood plain through the bottom of the canyon.