Camp John J. Pershing Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1370-2386 KG14
Near here is the original site of C.C.C. Company 1370-2386, known as Camp John J. Pershing, from 1933 to 1935, when it was moved to Nottoway County. Among the most popular New Deal programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps was designed to encourage conservation of natural resources and employment training during the Great Depression. C.C.C. Company 1370-2386 built roads, fire trails, and fire towers, and carried out extensive reforestation efforts in this county. Department of Conservation and Historic Resources, 1987.

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Fairy Stone State Park AS1
This park was developed by the National Park Service, Interior Department, through the Civilian Conservation Corps, in conjunction with the Virginia Conservation Commission. It covers 5,000 acres and was opened, June 15, 1936. It takes its name from the fairy, or lucky, stones found everywhere in this area, Patrick Co.:

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Westmoreland State Park J75
This park was developed by the National Park Service, Interior Department, through the Civilian Conservation Corps, in conjunction with the Virginia Conservation Commission. It covers 1300 acres and was opened, June 15, 1936. It was originally included in Clifts Plantation, patented by Nathaniel Pope about 1650, and became part of Stratford Estate when purchased by Thomas Lee in 1716.

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Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2347 W215
Here at Burnley’s Farm was the site of Camp Monticello, CCC Company 2347, Boswell’s Tavern, Virginia. The camp, originally located near Rocky Mount, Virginia, was moved here in the fall of 1939 and remained until it was dismantled on 18 September 1942, during World War II. It provided work for about two hundred young men from Pennsylvania near the end of the Great Depression. Their responsibities included clearing forest trails, fighting fires, and stringing and repairing farm fences. They also helped to construct the Skyline Drive.

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Arbor Community TX9716

Colonists led by Empressario Joseph Vehlein received Mexican land grants in this area in the late 1820s and 1830s. Growth, however, did not begin in earnest until after the Civil War when immigrants from the war torn states moved here to take advantage of the expanding cattle and cotton industries. Residents of nearby Pleasant Grove and Shady Grove erected a brush arbor nearby in the 1880s which served as a church and school. A general store, barber shop, blacksmith shop, grist mill, cotton gin, woodman hall, and shingle mill were established, and in 1901 the rural community was granted a post office named "Arbor" which continued until 1906. Jobs created by the Four C Lumber Mill and logging operation spurred a local economic boom from 1910 to 1925. The economy suffered during the 1930s depression, but rebounded as projects of the Federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided jobs for many residents in the late 1930s. The Arbor School (est.1900) burned in 1940 and was discontinued. In 1941 Arbor had 89 residences and the 155-member Rhodes Chapel Baptist Church (est.1897). Arbor began losing residents to nearby cities during World War II. Later residents were engaged primarily in ranch and farm activities.

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CCC Camp Site TX11257

A part of the National Civilian Conservation Corps program of the New Deal era, Camp Sam Houston in Madisonville was a soil conservation camp. Begun in July 1935 and occupied by workers one month later, the camp provided jobs for 196 men. Members of the camp worked with area farmers and ranchers, demonstrating techniques of soil erosion control and pasture management. Covering a radius of 21 miles, CCC improvement projects included all of Madison County, as well as portions of Grimes, Leon, and Walker Counties. The camp was closed in 1941.

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Civilian Conservation Corps at Fort Parker State Park TX929

In August 1935, construction of a state park began here on the former town site of Springfield under the direction of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The group assigned to build Fort Parker State Park was Company 3807(C), an African American CCC Camp. From 1935 to 1942, the park company constructed park buildings, roads and facilities, erected a dam across the Navasota River, and reconstructed old Fort Parker.

Located nearby, old Fort Parker was rebuilt in preparation for a Texas Centennial observance in 1936, and was the first of the CCC projects completed. The dam that created Lake Fort Parker was concluded by 1938 and required breaking and hauling rock for cement, digging out the dam footings, spillway, and wing walks, and pouring cement for the dam. Creating the park facilities included clearing and building five miles of roads, constructing an activity center / bath house, drinking fountains, and cement picnic tables.

Former Texas Governor Pat Neff dedicated Fort Parker State Park in May 1941, and declared it open to the public. Company 3807(C) was transferred out of the area in 1942 after completing several complex tasks over a span of almost seven years.

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Civilian Conservation Corps at Linden TX1036

As part of the New Deal's efforts to offer unemployed workers jobs on public projects, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States Congress created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in March 1933. Three months later, Company 1814 was organized in Fort Logan, Colorado, to serve in reforestation and other conservation efforts. After transfers to Groveton and Austin, Texas, the company was transferred to Linden on June 4, 1937. The CCC enrollees in Linden established their camp here on the nearby hillside. Working closely with the U.S. Forest Service, they built 35 miles of roads with 25 bridges, ran 147 miles of telephone line, and spent many hours fighting and suppressing forest fires in the area. While living here, the men also landscaped their campground with flowers and grass. In April 1939, they held an open house for the community during which hundreds of residents came out to learn of the accomplishments of the local CCC camp. On October 4, 1939, company 1814 was transferred to Arizona, and the camp in Linden was abandoned. Some physical evidence of their headquarters, including rock walls, cabin foundations and equipment, remains at the site. Their legacy stands as an important part of the heritage of Cass County and the East Texas forest industry.

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Civilian Conservation Corps at Possum Kingdom State Park TX896

The Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2888 was transferred here from Tyler in May 1941 to develop Possum Kingdom State Park. The CCC enrollees cleared the park area and shoreline, laid a waterline, built campsites and picnic tables, constructed culverts and more than seven miles of Park Road 33. The CCC camp included barracks for 200 men, a library/recreation building, a kitchen/mess hall, shops, a classroom and infirmary. Closed July 13, 1942, with the advent of World War II, this was the last CCC Camp in Texas. The park continues to serve the region.

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Collins - Shotwell House TX6987

Attorney Chester B. Collins (1888-1960) built this house in the early 1920s with lumber provided by Lillian Knox whom he had successfully defended in a murder case. The 2-story bungalow features corbeled brick piers, wide gables with brackets, a corbeled chimney cap, and unusual window patterns. The Jean Shotwell family, property owners from 1936 to 1974 rented the house in 1937 to the family of Marvin L. Marsh, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) District Commander.

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