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Deer Creek Dam, CCC Government Camp, West side of U.S. Highway 189, north of railroad overpass and 2,000 feet southwest of Deer Creek Dam, Charleston, Wasatch County, UT
Summary
Significance: The government camp for Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers was established southwest of the Deer Creek Dam site in 1938 and was disbanded in 1941 with the completion of the dam's construction. The CCC was a federal work program introduced by President F. D. Roosevelt's historic New Deal Plan in 1933 as a response to massive unemployment spurred by the Great Depression. The CCC workers housed at the Deer Creek camp played a major role in the construction of the Deer Creek Dam and the Provo River Project at large. They provided labor for railroad and highway reconstruction; dismantling of the old railroad grade and structures; clearing of the damsite and other project lands; and manual labor on the construction projects themselves, such as hand excavation and form building at the dam. The Deer Creek Dam was constructed as the key structure of the Bureau of Reclamation's Provo River Project, the largest water resource development project undertaken in Utah. It was the second largest earth fill dam constructed by Reclamation at the time, and Reclamation's first project intended to provide domestic water. The Provo River Project followed a precedent of 40 Federal reclamation projects that had been or were nearly completed by 1930. Its construction was during a significant period of accelerated American infrastructure development founded on technological investment intended to make the West a sustainable, viable, and profitable landscape. The CCC workers housed at the Deer Creek camp played a significant role toward these ends. For additional information regarding the construction of the Deer Creek Dam, refer to "Deer Creek Dam," HAER No. UT-93.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1728
Survey number: HABS UT-137
Building/structure dates: 1938 Initial Construction
Franklin Roosevelt faced a problem when the Great Depression put millions of able-bodied men out of work. His response included national service programs like the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps. He believed that this civilian “tree army” would relieve the rural unemployed and keep youth “off the city street corners.” Formed in March 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps, CCC, was one of the first New Deal programs. CCC camps were established in communities across America. The Corps helped to build and improve roads, construct three lakes, create infrastructure at newly charted state parks, Each camp afforded purposeful work for hundreds of men and had a lasting impact in the area it was built. Camp commanders had army-like powers and workers were required to address superiors as “sir.” By September 1935 over 500,000 young men had lived in CCC camps. The men planted millions of trees on land made barren from fires, dug canals and ditches, built wildlife shelters, stocked rivers and lakes with nearly a billion fish, restored historic battlefields, and cleared beaches and campgrounds. In all, nearly 3 million young men participated in the CCC provided unexpected preparation for the massive call-up in World War II.
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