A lone chimney and and some wayside panels are all that remain of the camp of Civilian Conservation Corps 949th Company.

With unemployment during the Great Depression reaching nearly 25% in Spokane, thousands of young men in the Inland Northwest joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Earning $30 per month, they obtained an education and vocational training while working in the nation’s untamed lands.

The 949th Company of the CCC was first organized at Fort George Wright, the headquarters of the Inland Northwest CCC, in 1933. The company’s first project was building themselves a new camp, approximately seven miles outside of Spokane, where they could work on Seven Mile State Park, now known as Riverside State Park.

In October 1933, the men settled into their new home, Camp Seven Mile, designated camp SP-7 of the Ft. George Wright District, and began working on the new state park. They cleared old logging slash and litter, removed old logging roads and buildings, and replanted the forest. They then created new roads leading to and through the park, including the Aubrey L. White Parkway, as well as horse trails and footpaths for visitors to travel.

Company 949 built the suspension bridge at Bowl and Pitcher, as well as the park office and maintenance shop. Picnic areas were built, featuring community kitchens, water supply, bathrooms, picnic tables, fireplaces and drinking fountains.

When they were not at work, the men of Company 949 could enjoy the many forms of education and recreation at Camp Seven Mile: By 1938 the camp had its own telephone, a barber, a woodworking shop, a recreation hall, and a brand-new school building. They could take correspondence classes or work on vocational training, gaining high school diplomas or learning new skills such as woodworking, auto mechanics, or typewriting. The men also built outdoor recreational areas for themselves to enjoy, and played hockey together in the winter or, in the summer, could join the Camp Seven Mile baseball team and compete against other local A.A.U. teams.

As the economy improved and America headed to war, Congress voted in 1942 to end the Civilian Conservation Corps. Camp Seven Mile was converted into a military base during World War II and the Korean War, and then the base was turned into a military reservation. While the work of the men of Company 949 is still evident in Riverside State Park, their home, Camp Seven Mile, has been demolished. However, traces of the camp are still visible: foundations of camp buildings, an old pump house, and the chimney of the old dining hall remain as direct reminders of the men who worked to help make Riverside State Park what it is today.

For more (including 7 images), view the original article.

Download the Spokane Historical app for Android and iPhone
Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube

From 1933 to 1942, Fort George Wright was the headquarters of the Inland Northwest Civilian Conservation Corps.

In 1933, President Roosevelt proposed a work relief program to combat the hunger, poverty, and staggering unemployment of the Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) offered young, unmarried men food, shelter, training, and a starting pay of $30 a month--$25 of which went home to their families--in exchange for work in construction, conservation, and forestry. The men could work for the program for up to two years, after which they had gained enough training and work experience that hopefully they would be employable outside the program.

The Civilian Conservation Corps arrived in the Inland Northwest in May 1933, headquartered at Fort George Wright. By 1938, the Ft. George Wright District of the CCC was home to 260 companies stationed in camps across four states--eastern Washington, Idaho, northeastern Oregon, and western Montana--with roughly 42,000 members. Each company had a different “Work Project” aimed at improving the landscape, infrastructure, wildlife, and forests adjacent to their camp.

In addition to offering pay, job training, and room and board, the CCC also offered its young recruits education and recreation opportunities. Vocational courses, offered to help make the men more employable, were available on over a dozen subjects, with some of the most popular being auto mechanics, truck driving, woodwork, cooking and baking, map reading, and farm engineering. As many young men had been forced to drop out of school to help support their families during the worst years of the Great Depression, the Ft. George Wright education program offered them the chance to earn diplomas through elementary, high school, and even college correspondence courses. Additional activities such as billiards, drama, leadership classes, first aid classes, motion picture shows, and field trips were also available to men during their time off.

The work of the Civilian Conservation Corps had a lasting impact on the landscape of the Inland Northwest: The Ft. George Wright District was responsible for the clearing and creation of many roads, bridges, and campsites, with the men of Camp Seven Mile creating Riverside State Park and the roads and buildings at Mount Spokane State Park. Soil conservation, fire and flood control, and reforestation helped reduce hazards and promote the health and safety of the Northwest’s forests: blister rust control saved over 200,000 acres of white pine timber in the first six years of the Ft. George Wright program alone.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was not intended to be a permanent agency, and as the economy improved and America headed to war, Congress voted to close the program in 1942. During its nine years of operation, over three million men worked for the CCC across the nation, gaining an education, work experience, and a steady income for their family.

For more (including 6 images), view the original article.

Download the Spokane Historical app for Android and iPhone
Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube