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Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC)

1933 - 1942

June 23, 1935, The Chattanooga Daily Times

The Great Depression and the New Deal

The 1930s were not a glorious time in America but certainly formative. The Great Depression saw millions of Americans out of work, hungry, and living in poverty. President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a multitude of programs designed to pull the country out of the Depression. History shows that most of the New Deal programs in his first term were only of minimal success. In Roosevelt's second term, he threw out some programs, started new ones, and revamped the rest. Ultimately nothing had a greater effect on lifting the country out of the Depression than the Second World War, but some of the New Deal programs had an enduring effect, not only the American landscape, but also on the lives of the millions of participants in those programs. One famous program whose efforts we can still see around the Chattanooga area today was the Civilian Conservation Corps, or the "Triple C."  

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Artist Albert Bender, Illinois Art Project, WPA, 1941

What was the CCC and what effect does it have on my life today?

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April 27, 1933, Chattanooga Daily Times

If you have ever hiked a trail on the side of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN, which is a component of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, or if you have visited either the Harrison Bay or Booker T. Washington State Parks, all of these were built by the CCC. Same for trails and erosion control measures in the Cherokee National Forest. The CCC's mission was conservation projects all over America, such as erosion control, building retaining walls, planting millions of trees, fighting wildfires, flood relief, creating hiking trails, small dams and man-made lakes, campgrounds, parks, and other locations to be enjoyed by all people of the United States. 

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To be in the CCC, males 18-25 years had to volunteer. The Triple C, like the rest of the country at that time, was segregated, and both "colored" and white camps were created. All men were paid $30/month, $25 of that went back home to their families and they could keep $5. The program provided lodging, food, clothing, educational classes over a wide variety of courses, job training, and recreation, such as basketball, boxing, and football. 

 

The CCC was not a military organization, but it was managed by the US Army in conjunction with many civilian partnerships. The men stood tall in formation each work morning, learned to march as a group, ate in mess halls, and built bonds of comradery. President Roosevelt had two goals of the program: rescue the soil and rescue a lost generation of young men. There are versions of the CCC that still exist today, such as AmeriCorps

Fort Oglethorpe becomes CCC District Headquarters

Fort Oglethorpe was designated the District C Headquarters in the 4th Corps Area. The 4th Corps Area was a regional military designation constituting the southeastern United States. District C encompassed all of Tennessee, and parts of Mississippi, Georgia, and North Carolina. At the time, Fort Oglethorpe was garrisoned by the 6th Cavalry Regiment. The responsibility of managing District C was given to the 6th Cavalry.

 

In 1933, when the CCC was implemented, the 4th Corps Area commander was General E. L. King whose headquarters was in Atlanta, GA. King would later be replaced by Major General George Van Horn Mosely. The Fort Oglethorpe post commander and commanding officer of the 6th Cavalry Regiment was Colonel Gordon Johnston, later replaced by Col. George Dillman. It was the 6th Cavalry Regimental commander at Fort Oglethorpe that directly managed the affairs of District C.

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The Black CCC Experience at Fort Oglethorpe

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Members of the 1464th "colored" company learning to march from a corporal of the 6th Cavalry Regiment. 

Fort Oglethorpe became the first African American CCC camp in District C. The camp was called Camp Booker T. Washington and the CCC unit was called the 1464th Company. According to the District's history written up in the 1937 Annual Yearbook, the 1464th was formed on April 26, 1933. The unit planted 135,000 trees in the Chickamauga Battlefield Park. They also maintained 40 miles of road in the park. The unit was considered one of the top ten best in the District. They ranked high in educational and athletic events. The men took advantage of vocational training classes offered as waiters, truck drivers, clerks, cooks, blacksmiths, gardeners, poultrymen, and carpenters. The yearbook states in the past year 37 men have learned to read and write. The men also participated in dramatics and singing. A bus line ran by their camp (the main entrance was where Forest Road today intersects with Reed's Bridge Road) which allowed the men to visit Chattanooga. 

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See page 80 in the District's 1937 Annual Yearbook for the 1464th's story.

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Camp Booker T. Washington CCC workers straighten up monuments in Chickamauga Park. Click on image to see other pictures and read the complete article.

June 23, 1935, Chattanooga Daily Times

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Members of the 1464th in auto mechanics class

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Camp Booker T. Washington (lower left cluster of buildings) shown in relation to the original post at the top (Barnhardt Circle today).

Map compiled by the Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General, US Army, October 26, 1938. Road along left side is Reed's Bridge Road and McFarland Avenue today. Right edge of image is north.

Close-up of Camp Booker T. Washington. The main entrance to the camp was Forest Road where it intersects with Reed's Bridge Road (still an intersection today).

Right edge of image is north.

CCC Internet Resources

Forest Service and The Civilian Conservation Corps

This is probably the definitive work on the history of the CCC. It's relationship with the US Forest Service is intertwined because of the soil conservation focus. 

The Forest Service and The Civilian Conservation Corps: 1933-42

 

National Archives

This link takes you to an original film created in 1934 showing the devastation of erosion that our country was facing, and how the CCC men worked to prevent the erosion. This is why the CCC was formed. (This is a vintage film.)

CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS FIGHTS EROSION

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National Archives

Records of the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC]

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CCC Legacy

This is more of a layperson's history

CCC Brief History – Civilian Conservation Corps Legacy 

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Camp Demaray on the western side of Lookout Mountain.

A small sign on the side of the Upper Truck Trail

marks the ruins still visible today.

June 23, 1935, Chattanooga Daily Times

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