Tag: Civilian Conservation Corps

July 1, 1937: Watoga and Babcock State Parks Opened

On July 1, 1937, Watoga and Babcock state parks were opened to the public and quickly became centerpieces of the fledgling state park system. Both Watoga and Babcock were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC, one of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, was designed to put young people to work during the Great Depression.

Watoga, located in Pocahontas County, is West Virginia’s largest state park. Workers at three CCC camps built Watoga’s original cabins, superintendent’s residence, stable, restaurant-administration building, 11-acre lake, horse and foot trails, 14 miles of roads, and swimming pool, all between 1934 and 1937.

During those same years, CCC workers established Babcock State Park in Fayette County. Like Watoga, Babcock was built on a former logging site. Babcock’s cabins, picnic shelters, and other structures were built from locally quarried stone and American chestnut trees that’d been killed by the chestnut blight. CCC workers forged the door latches and other metal work on site. Babcock’s famous Glade Creek Mill was added in 1976.

Watoga and Babcock are two lasting legacies of the CCC, which gave jobs to more than 55,000 West Virginians.

April 6, 1938: Civilian Conservation Corps Establish Camp Kanawha

On April 6, 1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps established Camp Kanawha at the mouth of Shrewsbury Hollow, about seven miles south of Charleston. Over the next four years, CCC workers transformed the site, which had been heavily mined and timbered, into Kanawha State Forest.

The CCC removed abandoned houses, coal tipples, and other structures no longer in use and built roads, a superintendent’s residence, an office, a maintenance building, and picnic shelters. The superintendent’s residence and picnic shelters were made from native chestnut logs that had been felled by the recent blight. The CCC also built a dam across Davis Creek to create a small lake.

Today, the 9,300-acre Kanawha State Forest is a wildflower haven, with at least 574 species, and about 65 tree species. The forest also provides a nesting habitat for 19 species of wood warblers, which draws birders from as far away as Canada.  Recreational facilities include numerous hiking trails, a swimming pool, stables, picnic sites, playgrounds, a shooting range, and a campground.

The Kanawha State Forest Historic District, including the CCC-constructed buildings, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

October 23, 1943: German POWs Arrive at Camp Ashford

On October 23, 1943, German prisoners of war were moved into Camp Ashford at White Sulphur Springs. This was one of two POW camps in West Virginia during World War II. The other was at Camp Dawson in Preston County.

Camp Ashford was built in the summer of 1942 by Italian POWs, who stayed at the camp until the German prisoners arrived the following year. The 165-acre camp was a standard army double-barbed wire compound. It could hold up to 1,000 prisoners, who lived in former Civilian Conservation Corps buildings. While imprisoned in Greenbrier County, the Italian POWs also helped local farmers make hay and harvest crops.

When the German POWs arrived in October 1943, they were assigned to Ashford General Hospital. The hospital was located nearby at The Greenbrier, which the U.S. military had taken over during the war. The facility helped wounded military personnel recover through activities like swimming and golfing.

The German POWs stayed at Camp Ashford until the end of the war, when the camp was shut down and The Greenbrier was restored into the resort that tourists know today.

Justice Uses State Funds to Cover Boy Scouts Service Project

Gov. Jim Justice said Monday he’ll use a portion of his own contingency fund to pay for a service program conducted by the Boy Scouts of America during their upcoming Jamboree, but is blaming lawmakers for not including the money in the 2018 budget.

Justice’s office said in a press release that the governor will use $400,000 from his civil contingency fund to help pay for the community service projects thousands of Scouts will participate in during their time in West Virginia.

The Summit Bechtel Reserve, in Fayette County, will host the Scouts National Jamboree starting Wednesday, July 19.

The community service projects are administered by the Civil Conservation Corps and according to the Governor’s Office, will have a $7 million economic impact in the state.

Justice said Monday the money for the projects would have come from his Save Our State Fund, a proposed funding source overseen by the Dept. of Commerce that did not survive budget negotiations this year.

That detail, however, was not included in discussion about the fund during legislative meetings.

In a news release Monday, Justice said the money was “promised” to the Boy Scouts.

Years before taking office, Justice himself promised a $25 million personal donation to the Scouts, in 2011.

A 2016 NPR investigation found that Justice had only followed through with $5 million of that donation and additionally given the group land in Fayette County to create the James C. Justice National Scout Camp, named for is father. That camp is part of the national reserve.

Justice’s office immediately return a request for comment about the donation Monday.

The Boy Scouts of America issued the following emailed statement in response to inquiries about Justice’s donation:

“We would like to express our gratitude to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice for his leadership and contributions to the Boy Scouts of America and the 2017 National Jamboree. We are also appreciative of the Scouts and volunteers who are willing to spend their time at the Jamboree to help the surrounding communities.
“The Boy Scouts of America is proud to give back to the state of West Virginia, and we hope these service projects make a lasting impact in the community. We chose the New River Gorge area as the home of the summit for its stellar beauty and natural resources, so we want to contribute to the region and do what we can to keep it a beautiful place to live and visit.”

April 11, 1939: CCC Finish Work at Cabwaylingo State Forest

On April 11, 1939, Company 1558V of the Civilian Conservation Corps wrapped up its work at Camp Anthony Wayne, now known as Cabwaylingo State Forest, in Wayne County.

Two different CCC companies had occupied Camp Anthony Wayne between 1935 and ’39. The CCC surveyed timber and game, cut weeds and brush, cleared trails, and constructed log cabins, which are still in use at Cabwaylingo.

One of the CCC’s main roles at Camp Anthony Wayne—and across West Virginia—was to fight forest fires. Most of the land purchased to create Camp Anthony Wayne in 1933 had been small farms, with a history of forest fires due to arson and moonshining activities. The CCC was charged with combatting these fires and allowing the area to revert back to woodland.

The camp was named Cabwaylingo in honor of the neighboring counties of Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, and Mingo.  Today, Cabwaylingo State Forest offers a mosaic of trees, plus hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and swimming. Near the campgrounds stands one of the state’s few remaining fire towers, Tick Ridge, which was built in 1935.

October 23, 1943: German POWs Arrive at Camp Ashford

  German prisoners of war were moved into Camp Ashford at White Sulphur Springs. This was one of two POW camps in West Virginia during World War II. The other was at Camp Dawson in Preston County. Camp Ashford was built in the summer of 1942 by Italian POWs, who stayed at the camp until the German prisoners arrived the following year.

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