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Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Civilian Conservation Corps employees raising a telephone poll

GPS Coordinates: 84°8.710’W, 30° 7.797′ N.

Download St. Marks and the Civilian Conservation Corps pamphlet.

Initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and authorized on March 31, 1933. the CCC put thousands of young men to work across the United States.

Civilian Conservation Corps employees raising a telephone poll
Civilian Conservation Corps employees raising a telephone poll

The U.S. Army oversaw housing, healthcare, education, feeding, and moving men and materials. Each man received $30 a month, but $25 was sent home to his family.

Thirty-three camps were located in Florida. Camp BF-1, BF stood for Bird Refuge, was assigned to the St. Marks Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, as it was called at the time. It was one of the few African-American camps in the CCC.

Civilian Conservation Corps employees raising a telephone poll
Civilian Conservation Corps employees raising a telephone poll

Between 1934 and the early 1940s, men from this camp built the refuge. Heavy equipment used to construct roads and impoundments included dump trucks, draglines, a bulldozer, and a rock crusher, but most of the work depended on the muscles and skills of the men.

When road conditions prevented a truck from operating, the bulldozer provided the horsepower.
When road conditions prevented a truck from operating, the bulldozer provided the horsepower.

Almost everything was fabricated by the CCC men. Poles that carried the power and telephone lines, fence posts, and cypress for siding and roofing were cut on the refuge and trimmed by hand. Among their accomplishments are the earthen levees surrounding the pools, miles of ditches, 30 acres cleared for a reservoir, and Lighthouse Road. They built dwellings and other buildings, a diversion dam, and two lookout towers. They strung 30.8 miles of telephone line and 4.5 miles of power line, cleared a 24-mile truck trail, 21.5 miles of firebreaks, ran surveys, installed cattle guards, and devoted 416 man-days to fighting forest fires. Smaller projects included building toolboxes and desks, and landscaping. With little heavy equipment available at the time, their main tools were shovels and muscles. Their work was deeply appreciated by the staff.

Dragline mat material being taken from the East River Swamp
Dragline mat material being taken from the East River Swamp

Most of the structures they built no longer exist. Their legacy lives on in Lighthouse Road and the pools that provide habitat for migratory and resident wildlife.

Maple lumber from trees harvested from refuge swamps was used to construct desks and other furniture used in refuge offices and residences.
Maple lumber from trees harvested from refuge swamps was used to construct desks and other furniture used in refuge offices and residences.

When the U.S. entered World War II, the CCC program ended. Most of the CCC men went to war. Their training and experience had prepared them well for serving their country.

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