1940- Kansas Camps in the Federal Census

In the spring of 1940 there were 14 C.C.C. camps in operation around Kansas- 1 state park improvement (Meade Co.), 2 state lake construction projects (Clark and Nemaha Co.), and 11 soil conservation projects (Atchison, Cloud, Coffey, Franklin, Jefferson, Kingman, Labette, Marshall, Morris, Sumner, and Wilson Counties). Being a Federal census year, the opportunity exists for information about specific camps and individuals to be found among the voluminous records produced by the enumeration of the population in 1940. For my Kansas research, I used a couple of online resources, the most user-friendly and effective one being the open-access 1940 records at www.FamilySearch.org. For a search of the 1940 Kansas records, try this: 1940-census-kansas and choose "explore images by location", searching by the term "C.C.C.". The resulting total of 14 enumeration districts are listed by township, the individual camps visible as unique subsets- the equivalent of small communities in each township. The camps are listed by their project number (e.g. "SCS-9, SCS-32, SP-3, etc.).

C.C.C. Camps in Kansas Identified From 1940 Federal Census
County	Company	Project	Date Established	Project Type	Enumerated Individuals
Atchison	Co. 767-C	SCS-33	10/3/39	Soil Conservation	2*
Clark	Co. 729	SCS-12	11/1/34	Lake Construction	7*
Cloud	Co. 788	SCS-34	1/5/40	Soil Conservation	0*
Coffey	Co. 4702	SCS-7	9/29/35	Soil Conservation	0*
Franklin	Co. 4719	SCS-5	7/26/35	Soil Conservation	23*
Jefferson	Co. 1763?	SCS-9	1/11/36?	Soil Conservation	2*
Kingman	Co. 4718-V	SCS-4	9/26/35	Soil Conservation	87*
Labette	Co. 4717-C	SCS-31	7/29/38	Soil Conservation	55*
Marshall	Co. 2735	SCS-30	7/12/37	Soil Conservation	2*
Meade	Co. 4755-CV	SP-3	2/1/39	Park Development	0*
Morris	Co. 4703	SCS-8	7/25/35	Soil Conservation	0*
Nemaha	Co. 2735	SCS-16	9/1/36	Lake Construction	2*
Sumner	Co. 786-C	SCS-32	7/31/38	Soil Conservation	2*
Wilson	Co. 784	SCS-22	10/11/34	Soil Conservation	23*
*Number from camp only. Additional individuals from nearby areas may be associated.

While initially exciting to see the camps show up so readily, the accompanying records are of varying, and occasionally quite limited, value. "No Population" is the only comment for several camps while others have only a handful of individuals enumerated; sometimes consisting of the military and/or SCS overhead and supervisory personnel, sometimes enrollees, and occasionally both. A few camps have a couple of dozen or even dozens of men listed. In some cases, scanning records from nearby enumeration districts revealed additional camp personnel in private residences and occasionally I would run onto enrollees as well. At first glance, it seems enumeration among camps was random and without pattern, but after some consideration, more thorough searching of adjacent enumeration districts and sampling districts in communities and townships elsewhere around the state I gained a better understanding of the records (I think...).



 Despite the limitations of the data, there is still something that can be gained from the census records as they relate to the Civilian Conservation Corps and over the coming weeks I hope to present some of the interesting details I've seen in the Kansas census data regarding education of enrollees, ages (particularly among the vets), where the men come from, the likelihood that some if not many of the project supervisors and personnel may be tied back to other projects around the state a few years prior, even some insight into where some of the enrollees former employment/area of training may have been, and we'll look into the question of why many camp enumerations are seemingly missing (and just who some of those individuals were that can be found nearby).

Woodson County Wanderings

Yesterday marked the first time in quite awhile that I made a field visit to a CCC project location. The destination was Woodson State Fishing Lake located a few miles southwest of Yates Center, KS. With the family in tow and a small lot of period photos to help identify construction and camp activities, we set out on a brilliantly sunny, breezy, late January afternoon.

Kansas Wildlife & Parks brochure PDF 

What a beautiful, secluded location! Tucked into a small valley in the oak filled hills of the Cross Timbers region, the 75+ year old lake still shines like a jewel. Despite the nice day, we had the place to ourselves.

Woodson State Fishing Lake looking northwest from CCC quarry locale.

Two CCC companies (Co. 1715 and 1709) were initially responsible for carrying out the lake construction, while a third (Co. 2735) worked here in the latter stages of the project, bringing it to a successful conclusion. The photos in my collection primarily depict the work of Co. 1709 from the earliest phases of construction to lake impoundment.

Mule teams and Caterpillar power (note Camp Woodson in background).

Lake Fegan dam and spillway from quarry locale.

A common decorative style using local stone to create columns and a castellated wall along the dam drive was employed at Lake Fegan where sandstone blocks form a row of columns on the downstream side of the dam and a decorative and functional castellated wall on the impoundment side.

Woodson State Fishing Lake- decorative stonework along dam road.

I have not always been successful in relocating remnants of CCC camps, even when having maps or photographic evidence of their locations. Camp Woodson was by comparison, fairly easy to identify with several landmarks tying historic photos to existing remains starting with a fireplace and chimney standing in a pasture adjacent to the lake property. Other areas of sandstone blocks, brick piers, brick and stone rubble, and scattered evidence of roads and other camp features were noted across the same short grazed pasture. Visible evidence of Camp Woodson was more limited on the lake property where thick stands of native grass and scattered thickets and trees obscured visibility. Additionally, it is clear that developments associated with the activity of the lake over the past 75+ years have impacted the remains of the former camp, but enough remains of the camp to warrant more formal documentation and mapping to record visible features. Interestingly, Camp Woodson was one of those early Kansas camps where boxcars were relied upon for some of the camp buildings (at least early on). I was pleased to see several instances of correlation between my period photographs and the modern landscape.

Fireplace and chimney of former CCC camp building.

My son and his big find- the flagpole base inscribed "CCC, Co. 1709, 1934".

Photo of Company 1709 at retreat (note flagpole and chimney).

Lake Garnett, Camp Anderson, and Civilian Conservation Corps Co. #1715

 Photo of Company 1715, July 9, 1935

Source: Anderson County Historical Society collection (Merritt McDonald donation)

I finally had a chance this week to stop by the Anderson County Historical Society in Garnett to spend some time researching. I was met by longtime ACHS president Dorothy Lickteig who had mentioned in previous correspondence with her that they did have some photos of the CCC camp in their collections. While I spent the afternoon looking through Garnett area photos, pulling photos of the lake and camp, and scanning them, Dorothy graciously copied relevant notes from ACHS history publications highlighting the project from the perspective of the local paper.

The project itself involved the construction of a dam to form Lake Garnett, located on the north side of town. The lake and surrounding park property continues to be a center of recreation for the community today and was recently nominated as an "8 Wonders of Kansas" in the customs category.

PDF of Garnett's "8 Wonders of Kansas" nomination

Besides the lake, the location includes a number of New Deal era resources constructed by WPA and NYA crews in the late 1930s after completion of the lake including a swimming pool, football stadium, shelterhouses, restrooms, and picnic tables, of local stone and concrete creating a great rustic look to the park development.

Company 1715 came to Garnett in November of 1934 from the project near Toronto where work was ongoing to construct what is today called Woodson State Fishing Lake. The Garnett project received the support of former governor and then longtime U.S. Senator Arthur Capper whose hometown was Garnett. The work on dam construction was largely complete in the latter half of 1936 with other work wrapping up in late summer 1937.

 C.C.C. Camp Anderson Under Construction, October 26, 1934

Source: Anderson County Historical Society collections

Lake Garnett Construction- Clearing Location.

 Source: Anderson County Historical Society collections (Kenneth Knouse donation)

 Lake Garnett Shortly After Completion (note C.C.C. camp in background)

Source: Anderson County Historical Society collections

Giant City State Park

Okay, you got me...not Kansas, but it does have a personal connection so bear with me.

I just finished a new (2010) book by Kay Rippelmeyer entitled Giant City State Park and the Civilian Conservation Corps: A History in Words and Pictures. I had been eagerly anticipating the release since happening upon it on Amazon a few months ago with a "preorder" option. While I am interested in almost any of the recent publications detailing the work of the CCC around the country, this one holds my interest even more since I lived just a few minutes from Giant City State Park while working in Southern Illinois in the mid-1990s. The park is a great slice of the Southern Illinois landscape and that in itself makes it worth a stop for those who might be making a trip through that part of the world- the fact that it was developed by the CCC is a bonus. A visit to Giant City Lodge is a must if you make the stop at the park.

Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources- Giant City State Park

Giant City Lodge

The park was home to two camps, one positioned in each of two counties (Jackson and Union), in part to ease tension in local politics where different political parties were in control in each county. Work included constructing infrastructure to make the park more accessible and user-friendly as well as conservation work of the park's natural and cultural environs.

The background focusing on this particular park development, the history of the work at the park, and the numerous illustrations of the work through period photographs and other documents (186 illustrations total) is what I enjoyed the most. I can hardly wait to go back and visit again now that I'm armed with this guide to the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps at Giant City State Park. If you're interested in the work of the CCC in park development at the state level, this is an excellent and focused history of such work in Illinois. I look forward to Rippelmeyer's future publication on the Shawnee National Forest and the CCC for much the same reason. Check it out if you get the chance...

Lone Star Lake- "dream of Douglas County sportsmen and citizens"

 1937 Aerial showing Lone Star Lake construction

Work on a 1,400 foot long, 45 foot high earthen core dam that would eventually create a nearly 200 acre lake began in August 1934. No less than four CCC companies were stationed here over a period of more than 5 years including Co. #2734 in August 1934, Co. #1764 in October 1934, Co. #767 in November 1935, and Co. #1728 in October 1936, although not all companies were assigned to the project at one time. Co. 767 and 1728 were comprised of African-Americans, two of only five such companies involved with projects in Kansas. A Lawrence Journal World account dated July 27, 1940 read "Fishermen stormed Lone Star Lake this morning at the official opening of the new Douglas county resort".

Lone Star Lake was originally the conception of a private group who sold cabin lots to fund purchase of the necessary property. The property, minus the cabin lots, was turned over to Douglas County when additional acreage became necessary for the impoundment and the county issued bonds to cover the purchase. A visit today will bring you to a quiet lake nestled in a wooded valley just a few miles southwest of Lawrence. The property is maintained by Douglas County Public Works; fishing by Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

KDWP- Lone Star Lake

The original CCC camp area occupied an upland edge overlooking the valley where the lake was constructed. Today this area is part of the lake campground.

Oblique angle aerial photo (view NW) showing Lone Star Lake

construction. Note CCC camp in foreground.

Where I Met The CCC

 

In July 2008 I was introduced to the Civilian Conservation Corps during a visit to Scott State Park north of Scott City, KS. The lake itself was a project initiated by the State of Kansas as an enhancement to a new state park. The lake was opened to the public in June 1930 to much fanfare and the park was a source of pride locally and a popular attraction in the region.

In early August 1933 torrential rainfall in the Ladder Creek basin overwhelmed the impoundment and the west end of the dam failed when the spillway was undercut by floodwaters. The popularity of the young lake and state park created a groundswell to repair the dam that rose to the highest levels of state government. Governor Alf Landon quickly recommended that the project be included among others being proposed elsewhere in the state and by the end of August the Scott County News Chronicle led with a the headline "C.C.C. Workers To Be Here Soon". Company 731 arrived during the third week of October, establishing Camp McGinnis on the west side of the lake, a short distance southwest of the spillway.

The photo above is a picture I took from the caprock overlooking this camp location. Concrete footings/slabs, landscape modifications, and a well are visible at the location today and the camp was recorded as an archaeological site (14SC326) as a result of my visit. According to newspaper accounts, many of the camp buildings were adobe. Grass and soil were excavated locally, combined with a suitable amount of water and the mixture pressed into blocks. A number of western Kansas camps are noted to have used this technique for building camp structures and other buildings.

Interestingly, this camp and project are not among those listed for Kansas, probably in part due to the short notice leading up to establishment of the camp. A report in the Colby Free Press Tribune dated 10/11/33 notes that a number of camps would established in the region between October 1st through the 15th including one at Atwood, KS. Company 731 eventually made it to Atwood in May 1934 after completing the repairs on the dam at Scott County State Park. I believe the company was diverted from its intended original destination and was reassigned to Scott County to answer the public demand for a quick, cost effective solution to a devastating situation.

It was while trying to find corroborating evidence of local reports about a CCC camp at the park that I became interested in the work done elsewhere in the state and realized that there had been relatively little done to tell the story of the contributions the CCC made throughout the state. In this case the efforts of the CCC saved a regional attraction of significant historical interest that has since continued to be a jewel in the state park system. The CCC is one significant chapter in the history of Scott County and Scott State Park.

Scott State Park

Kansas Preservation: Archeology Training Program Revisits Its Roots 

CCC camp "Big News" to Community

I spent a little time at the Jefferson County Historical Society in Oskaloosa, KS on Saturday looking for details concerning the establishment of a camp in that county. An announcement in one of the local papers expresses a common sentiment to the pending establishment of a CCC camp nearby.

From the Oskaloosa Independent, April 25, 1935:

"Announcement from Washington that Jefferson County is on the list for a CCC soil erosion camp is one of the biggest pieces of news for the farmers of this county since the beginning of the New Deal."

Eventually this camp housed Co. 1763 of junior enrollees who worked on various soil conservation projects in the area. Interestingly, the location of this camp was on the Curry farm north of Oskaloosa, the boyhood home of famed regionalist artist John Steuart Curry. The home has since been moved to the grounds of the Jefferson County Historical Society in Oskaloosa where it houses a collection of Curry memorabilia.