As early as 1881, El Paso leaders promoted the idea of creating a place along the base of the Franklin Mountains to provide visitors a panoramic view of the area. The automobile brought new attention to the idea, and in 1920, the city council and Mayor Charles Davis approved construction of a scenic drive. Finished in October 1920, the route became a popular attraction. The 1.82-mile drive reaches an elevation of 4,222 feet, 500 feet above the Rio Grande. In 1932, the city contracted to widen and pave the road, and in 1934, Civilian Conservation Corps Company 855 (Fort Bliss) carried out additional culvert work. Scenic Drive continues to attract visitors to the view of El Paso, Ciudad Juárez and the surrounding Chihuahuan desert.

Soon after President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, he established what would become the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal program designed to address hardships during the Great Depression. In addition to providing wages, it trained young men in building trades and other skills through public improvement projects. It was administered jointly by the Army and select Federal agencies, such as the National Park Service. On July 10, 1935, Army Captain Tom B. Martin began supervising construction of facilities near this site for a local camp. Designated SP-55-TX, it began with several frame buildings, including barracks, a mess hall, a blacksmith shop, and a combination woodworking, repair and storage facility. About 200 recruits from Collin and Dallas counties soon arrived to begin their work, which included improvements to the lake, planting more than 1,500 trees, and the construction of trails, picnic grounds, shelters, latrines and a lily pond at the park. Enrollees also completed projects at Bachman Lake. Among their works here were buildings designed by local architect M.A. Burke at Doran’s Point, Big Thicket, Sunset Hill, Winfrey Point and Dixon’s Bay. Over a seven-year period, approximately 3,000 youths were assigned to the camp. In February 1942, after the U.S. entered World War II, the site transferred to the Army, which used it for induction and training. In 1944-45, the U.S. held approximately 300 German prisoners of war here. Later, Southern Methodist University used the site for student housing, but the buildings were soon sold or demolished. Today, evidence of the CCC’s work to build this park can still be found in the rustic design of its historical features. They serve as reminders of the lasting contributions of the New Deal agency.

Early Dallas residents relied on natural springs, artesian wells and the Trinity River for their water. By the early 1900s, these sources began to prove inadequate for the growing city. In 1909, under Mayor Stephen J. Hay, the city began acquiring 2,292 acres of land to build a reservoir on White Rock Creek. The Fred A. Jones Co. began construction in January 1910, and the new dam and pump house were finished in 1911. Due to ongoing drought conditions, the lake did not fill until April 1914. Beginning in 1917, the city permitted fishing on the lake. Within 10 years, sailing and boating were popular activities. In 1929, the land around the lake became a city park. The next year, the city built a picnic shelter and tables, and the firm of Carsey and Linskie designed an Art Deco bathhouse and boathouse. The city also developed a sandy swimmers’ beach. Until 1935, the city administered a prison farm at the lake, and from 1935 to 1942, a Civilian Conservation Corps (CO. 2896) camp operated, building many facilities. During this time, the Works Progress Administration provided for many other improvements. In the 1930s and 1940s, more than a half million people visited the lake each summer. During World War II, the former CCC camp became a U.S. Army Air Corps Center and the site of a camp for German prisoners of war. A drought in 1953 caused the city to ban swimming and temporarily use the lake as a water source. In 1958, the city passed an ordinance banning large outboard motors; this drove outboard enthusiasts to other lakes. The number of park visitors declined in the ensuing years, but revitalization efforts have led to increased park usage and a movement to preserve the park and its history.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a Federal work-relief program during the Great Depression. From 1933 to 1942, the CCC provided work for 31,097 jobless men in South Dakota - about 22,000 enrollees (single men aged 17-25), about 17,000 veterans, 4,554 American Indians and 2,834 supervisors. The U.S. Army provided 200 - man camps, food, clothing, medical care and pay, and educational, recreational and religious programs. The Office of Indian Affairs provided similar services for units on Indian reservations.

Work projects, supervised by the National Park Service, were in the 243,302-acre Badlands National Monument. Enrollees constructed a 20,000-gallon sump and pump house on the White River. 5 miles of ditch 6 to 12 feet deep, a reservoir 9 feet deep and 50 feet in diameter at Cedar Pass, and the connecting 4- and 6-inch pipes. They built the ckecking station at Pinnacles and the custodian's residence at Cedar Pass, graveled Sage Creek road, back-sloped roadsides and surveyed proposed development sites. Camp NP-3 was established to eliminate traveling 40 miles each way from Camp NP-2 to build the water system.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal work-relief program during the Great Depression. From 1933 to 1942, the CCC provided work for 31,097 jobless men in South Dakota -- about 22,000 enrollees (single men aged 17 - 25), about 1,700 veterans, 4,554 American Indians and 2,834 supervisors. The U.S. Army provided 200-men camps, food, clothing, medical care and pay, and educational, recreational and religious programs. The Office of Indian Affairs provided similar services for units on Indian reservations.

SCS - 2 was a tent camp; however, the headquarters, infirmary, mess and latrine were in wooden buildings. Byre Dam 3 miles N. of Kennebec, Fate Dam 3 miles N. of Presho and Bakke Dam 5 miles E. of Presho were built under the supervision of the U.S. Forest Service (1934) and Soil Conservation Service. The dams provided two recreational lakes and the city water supply for Kennebec. Equipment evolved from shovels, wheelbarrows, horsedrawn machines and a few 1½-ton trucks in 1934 to graders, loaders, packers, excavators and several 3-ton trucks in 1938.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal relief program during 1933 - 1942 that gave jobless men work renovating abused lands. The Army built 48 200 - man camps in South Dakota and provided food, clothing, medical care, pay and programs of education, recreation and religion for 23,709 was veterans and enrollees (single men aged 17-25 who sent $25 of their $30 wages to their families). Camps and work projects were supervised by another 2834 men. The Office of Indian Affairs sponsored the CCC-ID for South Dakota Tribes, housing 8405 men in youth boarding camps, home camps, and family camps.

Camp F-18 was part of a national CCC program to renovate forests and built more recreation areas. Work projects, supervised by the USDA Forest Service, included tree thinning, pruning, and planting; fire prevention and suppression: rodent, disease and insect control; grazing land improvement and recreation area development. Enrollees it was a full-fledged camp the summers of 1934 and 1935, was not in operation the summers of 1936 and 1937, was a side camp from camp Roubaix the winter of 1940-41 and may have been in operation in mid September 1941. It is believed that men of the camp developed Rough Lock Falls and Rod and Gun camp and perhaps Timon Camp.

Camps D-Army-1 & SCS-6 (Fechner): ½ mile S. on W. edge of Ft. Meade D-Army-1 company: 2758--7/20/34-10/31/35. SCS-6 companies: 2765--10/15/36 - 5/27/42; 4725V--5/28/42 - 7/27/42.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal work-relief program during the Great Depression. From 1933 to 1942, the CCC provided work for 31,097 jobless men in South Dakota -- about 22,000 enrollees (single men aged 17-25), about 1,700 veterans, 4,554 American Indians and 2,834 supervisors. The U.S. Army provided 200-man camps, food, clothing, medical care and pay, and educational recreational and religious programs. The Office of Indian Affairs provided similar services for units on Indian reservations.

D-Army-1 was the only camp in South Dakota where work was supervised by the U.S. Army. Enrollees provided services for CCC district headquarters and made physical improvements to Fort Meade. Work for SCS-6, supervised by the Soil Conservation Service, was done on private lands. Enrollees demonstrated the value of contour and strip farming, shelter belts, stock dams and pasture furrows to reduce erosion, prevent runoff and better utilize grazing land. The Camp, which billeted the district headquarters staff, was used as a prisoner-of-war compound during WWII.

The CCC worked within state and national parks and forest areas across the nation combating soil erosion, fighting forest fires and building park facilities. At Big Spring, boys from 3 separate camps (Co. 1710, 734 and 1740) kept busy with a variety of projects through cooperation with the Missouri state parks system in work phases from June 1933, through April 1937. Working largely by hand, the CCC used raw materials from the area to protect natural resources and enhance recreation activities.

FORESTRY
Forest preservation was a high priority. Co. 1710 cleared roadsides, removed downed trees and cut brush for fire prevention. They also fought periodic forest fires. Camp 734 built a fire tower in the southwestern corner of the park during their few months at Big Spring (Nov. 1933 - Apr. 1934) to aid in forest protection.

TRAILS
The C's cleared and graveled 5 hiking and horseback trails, providing access to scenic sections of the park behind the spring and along the river toward Chubb Hollow.

LODGE and CABINS
Work at Big Spring State Park included buildings, for park visitors. Between 1934 and 1936, the CCC built, remodeled and/or relocated 20 structures. A style combining native stone and hand hewn pine beams in harmony with the natural surroundings. A lodge (which is now a restaurant) and cabins (still available) and facilities at picnic areas.

DIKES
Company 1710 immediately started work on dikes to protect the Big Spring from Current River flood waters. Working primarily by hand and aided by an old steam pile driver, they constructed 5 dikes and oak pilings and over 6000 truck loads of rocks to keep the river in its channel.

[background to this interpretive panel is the blueprint for the work within the park, and the camp sites for the companies.]

During the depression, in the 1930's, over 13 million people were unemployed. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps to create jobs and continue building America.

Do you know what were the requirements to earn $30 a month?

Contributed by Jim Kuntz

During the 1930s, a depression slowly strangled the nation. By 1933, nearly 13 million people suffered unemployment. In March, newly elected president, Franklin D. Roosevelt responded with a bill creating the Civilian Conservation Corps. Its purpose - to provide work for needy young men while promoting conservation of America's resources. Within a few months, over 250,000 men enrolled.

All Applicants Must Be...
--------------
* Men Between 17 and 25

* In Need Of Employment

* From Families On Relief

Recruiting CCC enrollees became the responsibility of the Department of Labor. Between 1933 and termination of the program in 1942, over 3 million young men served in the CCC.

The promise of earning 30 dollars a month enticed many to join Roosevelt's peace-time army. The boys were required to send 25 dollars home -- so the CCC provided jobs for the young men as well as financial help for their families. The C's also offered a wide range of job skills including truck driving, construction, and forest management. Many men look back on their time in the C's as a turning point in their lives.

Young men meeting the requirements for selection spent their first 2 to 3 weeks as enrollees in special conditioning and training camps run by the Army. At these basic training camps, boys underwent exams and conditioning, received necessary clothing and equipment, trained in conservation and forestry practices and enjoyed three square meals a day.