CCC Camp, West Fir, Oregon November 3, 2016 Episode.
Did you know we had barracks full of young men in Oregon way before World War II? I was surprised to learn just how many young men came to Oregon as part of the Depression-era work program known as the Civilian Conservation Corps--or CCC. Alan Maul, the coordinator of the Oregon HIstory Forest Center, shared this information, and more, when he talked with us today. He shared that the CCC was the younger-sister program to the more well-known Works Progress Administration (WPA) that provided work for experienced tradesmen who worked on the construction of many public structures: Crater Lake Lodge, Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway and its Crown Point information center, as well as local buildings such as the West Salem City Hall.
Did you know we had barracks full of young men in Oregon way before World War II? I was surprised to learn just how many young men came to Oregon as part of the Depression-era work program known as the Civilian Conservation Corps--or CCC. Alan Maul, the coordinator of the Oregon HIstory Forest Center, shared this information, and more, when he talked with us today. He shared that the CCC was the younger-sister program to the more well-known Works Progress Administration (WPA) that provided work for experienced tradesmen who worked on the construction of many public structures: Crater Lake Lodge, Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway and its Crown Point information center, as well as local buildings such as the West Salem City Hall.
Forest History Center, Oregon Forestry Dept. Campus, Salem Alan, a lifelong Salemite who worked for the Department of Forestry until retirement in 2005, advised that renovation at the agency's Salem campus lead him to propose moving a small historic building across the creek to be placed next to the State Fire Marshall's office, a National Register historic property, where it would become the Forest History Center. Following retirement, he became the coordinator of this small museum gem which chronicles Oregon's forest industry. He went on to explain that the March 1933 CCC program was put in place to provide work in various conservation genres for young men, aged 18 to 28, who came from all over America to Army-like camps throughout the western United States. The varied work projects were managed by various state and federal agencies; the Forestry Department, the Parks Department, Soil & Water Conservation Districts, etc.
Constructing the Lodge at Silver Creek Falls State Park In Oregon, our first CCC boys arrived in late June 1933 to work on projects like building and maintaining trails, clearing brush around fire lookout towers, and landscaping work around the larger WPA projects. However the great Tillamook Burn happened in August 1933, so the first work these mainly midwest boys set to was wildland fire-fighting! Not quite what they had signed up for, we suspect.
CCC camps were located throughout Oregon, with each camp housing 100-200 young men. During the nine years of the program's operation, 70-80,000 young men came to work in Oregon. in eastern Oregon, the young men worked mostly on water and soil conservation projects. In western Oregon, the camps focused on firefighting, trail construction, and grounds work for the larger WPA projects like Timberline Lodge, Crater Lake Lodge and the Oregon Caves National Monument. Closer to Salem, two camps were located in the Silver Creek Falls area where they undertook construction of the lodge at Silver Creek Falls State Park, along with the bridges and trails weaving through the waterfalls on which thousands of us have hiked in the ensuing years.
CCC camps were located throughout Oregon, with each camp housing 100-200 young men. During the nine years of the program's operation, 70-80,000 young men came to work in Oregon. in eastern Oregon, the young men worked mostly on water and soil conservation projects. In western Oregon, the camps focused on firefighting, trail construction, and grounds work for the larger WPA projects like Timberline Lodge, Crater Lake Lodge and the Oregon Caves National Monument. Closer to Salem, two camps were located in the Silver Creek Falls area where they undertook construction of the lodge at Silver Creek Falls State Park, along with the bridges and trails weaving through the waterfalls on which thousands of us have hiked in the ensuing years.
The Forest History Center is what I like to call a "pocket museum", a small organizational gem housing wonderfully informative displays whose advertising is generally by word of mouth. Before you head over, be sure to check out their website for their current hours of operation. If you have information or artifacts you'd like to donate, they ask that you email them first. Email to [email protected].
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