One afternoon in July 1933, a heavy truck could not turn around on a narrow forest road; to solve the problem, several “husky lads put their shoulders to the truck and lifted the chassis and set it down again in the desired position.” It was Mineral County’s first impression of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) men now posted in their midst.

In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the CCC to alleviate unemployment during the Great Depression. Mineral County had multiple camps. Camps at St. Regis, Haugan, and Superior hosted companies of 200 men from all over the county. Military officials ran the camps and many of the supplies, including uniforms, were left over from World War I. “The emergency rations had hardtack that was stamped U.S. Army 1918,” Bert Morris recalled. “We would fry our bacon in [our] shovel and then soak the hardtack in the grease. Not too bad if you were hungry.”

The CCC’s motto was “We Can Take It!” and their work varied widely. In Mineral County they expanded the Savenac Nursery. They built the steel bridge at Cedar and Oregon Creeks, the dam at Flat Creek, the Superior Ranger Station, and the lookout tower on Illinois Peak. They constructed the Pardee Creek Road, the Trout Creek Road, and—with the combined efforts of two other CCC camps—connected St. Regis to Paradise. They also responded to emergencies such as avalanches and forest fires. In their free time, men read at the camp library, played in the camp band, worked on an education, gambled, and challenged other CCC camps to boxing and basketball matches.

Over two million men enlisted in the CCC over its nine year tenure, and as many as 1,500 of them served in Mineral County. Most CCC camps dissolved at the outset of World War II. The camps at Haugan and Gold Creek closed by the end of 1942.

Credits and Sources:

Civilian Conservation Corps. Your CCC: A Handbook for Enrollees.Third Edition. Washington, DC: Happy Days Publishing Company, n.d.

Davis-Quitt, Deb. “‘We Can Take It!’: The CCC Story in Mineral County.” Publisher unknown, date unknown.

------. Along the Mullan Trail.Publisher unknown, date unknown.

Mineral County Historical Society. Mineral County History.Superior, MT: Mineral County Historical Society, 2004.

Mountain Chieftan[camp newsletter]. Haugan, MT:  Civilian Conservation Corps. December 24, 1936.

Historic photographs of “Aerial of Camp Taft,” “Taft Company Photo,” and “Taft Company Band,” courtesy of Mountain Chieftan[camp newsletter]. Haugan, MT:  Civilian Conservation Corps. December 24, 1936.

Historic photograph of “Camp Taft Archway” of Mineral County Historical Museum, Superior, MT.

Contemporary photographs of Savenac Nursery and Civilian Conservation Corps Statue courtesy of Historical Research Associates, Inc.