What the name means Civilian - non-military.  The young men were in camps led by military officers, but were not in the military.  They were civilians. Conservation - protecting the environment.  What we call the environmental or "green" movement used to be called the conservation movement. Corps - a group organized and prepared for a common purpose.  It is pronounced as if it were spelled "core."  Don't pronounce the p or the s.

The first CCC camp opened in 1933 in a national forest near Edinburg, Virginia.
It was called Camp Roosevelt.  The photo below shows young men assigned
to that camp working just after they arrived that spring.  Tents were used
at first, but were replaced by wood buildings the men built.  
 






Below:  The men at Camp Roosevelt assembled in the morning
to hear their assignments.  They were paid $30 per month, with
$25 of that sent home to help support their families.












  More than a thousand CCC camps were opened that first year,
including the one shown below in Maryland.  The CCC became one of the
most popular of the New Deal programs with the American public. 











Many of those who signed up for the CCC were malnourished and
poorly clothed when they arrived.  Once in the camps, with good food,
clothing, and work, they quickly improved their condition.

Below:  Two men at a CCC camp near Jonesville, Virginia.













The CCC ended in 1942

The Civilian Conservation Corps program was ended in 1942, during
World War II.  Many of the projects built by the CCC can still be
seen in America's national parks today.
 
Which category or categories did the CCC belong to, in the chart below?



 







Remembering the first CCC camp

The photo below shows a memorial marker at the location of
Camp Roosevelt, the nation's first CCC camp.  It is now a public
camping site.  The marker was put up for the 50th
anniversary of the CCC camp.















The first three photos shown above are from National Archives.
The next two photos are from the Library of Congress.
The New Deal chart and the color photo of
Camp Roosevelt are by David Burns.
Some of the photos have been edited or resized for this page.

Copyright Notice    Copyright 2009, 2016 by David Burns.  All rights reserved.  As a guide to the Virginia Standards of Learning, some pages necessarily include phrases or sentences from that document, which is available online from the Virginia Department of Education.  The author's copyright extends to the original text and graphics, unique design and layout, and related material.