Medicine Bow National Forest Sites

In 1933, Company 832 of the Civilian Conservation Corps built CCC Camp F-17-W at Chimney Park in Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest. CCC enrollees at the Chimney Park camp worked on ranger stations, trails, and roads in addition to establishing and measuring timber research plots. Some of the CCC enrollees went on to study forestry in college following their service. One sent a letter to the U.S. Senate that was cited in government discussions of deforestation in 1971 (“Statement of Hon. Teno Roncalio”).   Camp F-17-W operated continuously until July 20, 1942 and was one of the last CCC camps to close...

In 1939, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees constructed the Centennial Work Center in Medicine Bow National Forest near the small town of Centennial, Wyoming. CCC workers completed three buildings for use by the U.S. Forest Service, including an office, a dwelling, and a garage. Each building is a one-story log structure with a rubble base foundation. Work began in 1938, with crew members from the Mullen Creek CCC Camp (F-36-W) and Ryan Park Side Camp (F-22-W) cutting logs and laying the foundation for the site. Buildings were constructed by 1939,= and the landscaping was completed by CCC workers in 1940. Originally built to...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crews from the Chimney Park Camp (F-17-W) in Laramie, Wyoming constructed two log structures for the Keystone Work Center from 1939 to 1942. Located on the southeastern slopes of Wyoming’s Medicine Bow Mountain Range, the Keystone Work Center was originally developed as a forest ranger station before becoming a larger workspace for the U.S. Forest Service. The structures represent a distinctive building style of the CCC, with saddle-notched logs and a wood shingled roof. The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.