Do you know of someone who took advantage of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) program in the 1930s? Maybe your father or grandfather or great uncle? Did you know there was a camp situated in our county?
Background On March 31, 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt received Senate Bill S. 598 on his desk to be signed. The bill was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and quickly moved forward to the President. Roosevelt then signed an executive order on April 5.
So what exactly was Senate Bill S. 598? This bill, which Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced as part of the New Deal, was formally known as the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act but gained popularity and became more commonly known and referred to as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933.
The CCC was formed to implement nationwide projects for conservation and to provide economic aid to unemployed young men and their families because of the Great Depression. Unemployed youth and men could enroll for relief of unemployment through the performance of valuable public work in forests, parks, lands, and water for the preservation and use of essential natural resources.
The Civilian Conservation Corps saw great success during its nearly 10-year run. At its peak, there were more than 500,000 men enrolled at once and more than 4,500 camps operating in all 50...
To see more on this story pick up the April 23, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.