In less than a decade, the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) Camp at Sullivan Lake left its mark on Pend Oreille County through the construction of airstrips, lookout towers, trails, roads, bridges, ranger stations, and more. The men worked long hours for relatively low pay, giving credence to the program’s motto “We Can Take It!’

The CCC established its presence at Sullivan Lake in 1933 when an initial group of 30 men: 3 Army officers, 2 Army enlisted men, and 25 CCC enrollees went to work constructing Sullivan Lake CCC Camp F-1, one of 2,650 CCC camps built nationwide. Work on the Sullivan Lake facility involved clearing brush and timber and constructing a mess hall and barracks. By mid-June, some 200 men had taken up residence at the camp where they were reportedly “playing volleyball, horseshoes, kitten ball, and boxing.”

Despite such reports, the experience at Sullivan Lake was certainly not all fun and games. Judging by the program’s accomplishments, it’s amazing that the men found time for leisure at all. By the close of the 1934 season, CCC crews working in the USFS Region 1 had conducted blister rust control on 196,394 acres of forest and performed fire reduction work on another 1,149 acres. They  built 641 miles of telephone lines, 749 miles of roads and trails, 128 lookout towers, and 33 other structures. They also surveyed 18,000 acres of timber.

In 1935, the government decided to turn Camp F-1 into a year-round facility. Over the next few years, the CCC took on countless projects in the area. Eventually, World War II and the need to redirect resources led Congress to end the program. But the CCC left a positive impression not only on the national forests but also on the young men who served. Camp Sullivan CCC recruits interviewed decades later recalled it as being among the “best years” of their life.

Credits and Sources:

Bamonte, Tony, and Susan Schaeffer Bamonte. History of Pend Oreille County. Spokane: Tornado Creek Publications, 1996.

Donovan, Sally. Colville National Forest, Sullivan Lake Administrative Site, 2009.

Hudson, Lorelea, et al., Cultural Resource Consultants, Inc., A Historic Overview for the Colville and Idaho Panhandle National Forests and the Bureau of Land Management Spokane and Coeur d’Alene Districts, Northeastern Washington/Northern Idaho: A Cultural Resource Narrative. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region, Report No. 6, 1995.

Strelnik, Jillene S. “History of the CCC at Sullivan Lake,” January 22, 1987. Records of the Pend Oreille County Historical Society.

Unknown. “History of Company 2920.” Records of the Pend Oreille County Historical Society.

Photographs courtesy of the Pend Oreille County Library District.