Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) "Camp Green Ridge," Allegany County, Maryland

Camp Green Ridge 

Above: This is Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp S-53-Md., or "Camp Green Ridge," at Green Ridge State Forest, Allegany County, Maryland. This photo was taken when the camp was first set up and occupied by CCC Company 324, May 1933 (it wouldn't be long before the men built more permanent structures for themselves). On July 23, 1933, U.S. Congressman David J. Lewis, from nearby Cumberland, Maryland, spoke at the camp's well-attended flag raising ceremony. Musicians played and Reverend John T. Coburn of Cumberland's First Baptist Church gave the invocation (Cumberland Sunday Times, July 23, 1933). Photo from the Baltimore Sun, May 28, 1933, and newspapers.com. Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

CCC Company 324

Unless otherwise noted, the following photos are from: Civilian Conservation Corps, Official Annual, 1936, District No. 2, Third Corps Area (Direct Advertising Co., Baton Rouge, LA). Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Some of the members of CCC Company 324 at Camp Green Ridge. Company 324 spent over six years at the camp. Some members of 324 seem to have been a bit older and may have been World War I veterans, a group that was given an age waiver for enrollment in the CCC (in fact, there were many CCC companies consisting entirely of veterans). Many of the enrollees of Company 324 came from nearby towns, such as Cumberland, Flintstone, Westernport, and Little Orleans. Others came from further away, for example, Baltimore and Salisbury.

Above: Among Company 324's accomplishments: "50 miles of forest roads built and maintained" on state property (1936 Annual). Forest roads can improve the response-time to wildfires.

Above: Some of the Triple C's of Company 324 improving a road... the old-fashioned way.

Above: One of the primary jobs of the CCC was to control wildfires. This article shows one of Company 324's firefights. From the Cumberland Sunday Times, November 29, 1936, p. 9, and newspapers.com. Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: CCC work (like firefighting) could be dangerous, so health services were important. This is a first-aid vehicle at Camp Green Ridge.

Above: Members of Company 324 in a first-aid class. This type of instruction probably came in handy, as Company 324 participated in a number of rescue and relief missions. In November 1933, men from Company 324 found Robert Gault of McKees Rock, Pennsylvania, when he parachuted from a disabled plane and landed in a tree on nearby Polish Mountain. Gault had head injuries and was taken to a hospital in Cumberland (Daily Mail, Hagerstown, Maryland, November 9, 1933, p. 9). In January 1936, 20 men from Company 324 cleared 5 miles of snow to reach a woman who needed transportation to a hospital (1936 Annual). Two months later, Company 324 helped the town of Cumberland recover from a devastating flood (1936 Annual).

Above: Road construction, tree planting, and firefighting is hard work. Recreation was important for the CCC men to unwind. Ping pong, pool, baseball, and basketball were some of the common recreation outlets for the enrollees.

Above: For many CCC enrollees, regular and nutritious meals were a welcome part of being in the Corps. Here are kitchen staff at Camp Green Ridge.

Above: Here are members of Company 324 utilizing the camp's library.

The Woodsman

The following images are from Company 324's camp newspaper, The Woodsman. It was created and managed by the enrollees themselves, and gives us a further glimpse into life at Camp Green Ridge. Many editions of The Woodsman can be viewed online at the Center for Research Libraries, here.

Above: This sketch, from the April 10, 1936 edition of The Woodsman, gives us a general idea of what Camp Green Ridge looked like (albeit with flood waters from Fifteen Mile Creek, which overran its banks on March 17, 1936, and was part of a larger flood disaster in western Maryland). The next month's edition of The Woodsman explained that the camp was "within a stone's throw" of National Highway, Route 40, and "is located in a clearing of about fifteen acres at the bottom of Greenridge mountain, and is surrounded on all sides by forests of Pine and Oak trees." (Further below, you'll find details on where the camp site is and what it is used for today.)

Above: From The Woodsman, April 1939. Green Ridge State Forest was considered a good forestry experience for the CCC enrollees, "for in it are most of the varieties of trees native to Maryland. There are pitch pine, white pine, Virginia pine, several oaks, sugar maple, red and silver maples, ash, sycamore, elm, tulip poplar, river birch and hickory, among others" (Baltimore Sun, May 28, 1933). In addition to tree planting, the CCC also cleared out dead trees and thinned out overgrown sections of Green Ridge State Forest.

Above: Dances were eagerly announced and reported in The Woodsman. The CCC men would spruce up their recreation building for their female guests, and women came from several surrounding towns, such as Cumberland and Hancock. Nationwide, many CCC men met their future wives while serving in FDR's Tree Army.

Above: A wide variety of courses were offered at Camp Green Ridge, as shown in the October 1936 edition of The Woodsman. The education program in the Civilian Conservation Corps was extensive.

Above: The May edition of The Woodsman proudly described an improved library.

Above: A February 1937 article, highlighting CCC boys who played music on Cumberland radio station WTBO (a radio station that still operates today).

Above: A festive cover! Notice the location, "Flintstone, MD." The described location of CCC camps was often by the nearest post office or railroad stop.

Above: Company 324's Christmas Dinner menu for 1935. Looks good, except for the cigarettes (!).

Above: These two images from different issues of The Woodsman give us a good idea of what the camp entrance looked like.

Camp Green Ridge Today

Above: The Green Ridge Youth Center, former CCC camp S-53-Md., "Camp Green Ridge," near the junction of 15 Mile Creek Road and Interstate 68 (note: I-68 did not exist during the time of the CCC). I don't know how many of the current structures at the youth center date back to the CCC days, perhaps quite a few. Company 324 built the nearby Green Ridge State Forest Superintendent's Residence. It is north of the youth center, on the other side Interstate 68 (see "Superintendent's Residence, Green Ridge State Forest," Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties, Maryland Historical Trust, accessed November 26, 2023). Image above from Google Earth, November 2023.

Above: This is a Google Streetview image of a section of the Green Ridge Youth Center. There are several interesting things about this photo. First, the structure with the chimney looks very similar to the building behind the CCC kitchen staff (find that photo above). Second, the wood siding on the yellow building looks nearly identical to the chestnut siding on the CCC Officer Quarters still extant at Swallow Falls State Park, Oakland, Maryland (see photos of that building on the Living New Deal's project page, here). And third, a 1955 newspaper article described how cinder blocks were being used to replace wood pilings on the old CCC barracks. In this image, you can see a cinder block foundation on what might be a former CCC barracks. ("Western Md. U.S. 40 Draws Group's Fire," The News (Frederick, Maryland), August 12, 1955, see subsection, "Pleased With Boys Camp").

Chronology of Camp Green Ridge

1933-1939: The home of CCC Company 324.

1939-1942: The home of CCC Company 335, an all-African American unit (see "1938-1942 -- Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps," Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, National Park Service, accessed November 26, 2023). See the last photo of this blog post, showing members of Company 335.

1944-1945: Used as a German POW camp. While held at Camp Green Ridge the German prisoners picked apples and cut pulpwood. (See the following articles: "Prisoners of War May Be Assigned To Green Ridge," The Cumberland News, November 16, 1943, p. 12; "Picking of Apples Behind Schedule," Cumberland Evening Times, October 2, 1944, p. 5; "Men At POW Camps Will Continue Work," The Morning Herald (Hagerstown, Maryland), September 10, 1945, p. 54; "Green Ridge POW Camp Closed Nov. 1," Cumberland Evening Times, October 29, 1945, p. 10; "German POW Leaves Handiwork Here," Cumberland Sunday Times, January 6, 1946, p. 5); and "Western Md. U.S. 40 Draws Group's Fire," The News (Frederick, Maryland), August 12, 1955, p. 12, see subsection, "Pleased With Boys Camp.")

1955-1976: Home of the Green Ridge Forestry Camp for Boys (see previously cited article; and "Governor McKeldin Proposes Establishment Of Boys' Camp At CCC Site In Green Ridge State Forest," Evening Times (Cumberland, Maryland), February 10, 1955, p. 20; and "Green Ridge Youth Center," Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, accessed November 26, 2023).

1977-present: In 1977, the facility was renamed "Green Ridge Youth Center" and "currently serves up to 40 male youth who have been ordered by the courts to receive treatment services. The treatment program serves male youth primarily between the ages of 14 and 18 and typically lasts six to nine months. GRYC provides dietary, medical, educational and counseling services as well as space for recreation. In addition to receiving services, youth residing at GYRC attend school in the facility year round, five days a week for six hours a day" ("Green Ridge Youth Center," Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, accessed November 26, 2023).

Those Who Served

The following are some of the citizens of Cumberland and Flintstone who served in CCC Company 324 at Camp Green Ridge. The names are from the 1936 Annual and The Woodsman.

Cumberland:

R. A. Brotemarkle

A.T. Cannon

David Cleckner

Raymond A. Clites

E.L. Emerick

Price Engle

John Grady

W.R. Hite

Marshall Long

Joseph M. Lueck

Charles H. Merrit

J. Morgan

D. Rawlings

James W. Shipley

H.V. Sirbaugh

Howard Swisher

James Walters

Russel Welch

R.P. Welsh

B. Williams, Jr.

E.C. Rice

Flintstone:

Marvin W. Alt

Herman D. Barnes

Lloyd D. Barnes

Charles B. Bowman

William A. Bowman

G.E. Bowman

Hugh Imes

Eugene S. Kifer

L. Krumbine

Van J. McDonald

Aubrey D. Mauzy

William Mauzy

Weaton L. May

Blaine B. McElfish

Charles M. Moyer

Hercules Northcraft (see Northcraft's Find A Grave page; he may have been a WWI vet)

Andrew J. Rexroade

Thomas Rexroade

Bernard K. Smith

Russell O. Smith

Calvin W. Sowers

George Trail

James Trail

William Trail

Charles W. Turner

Omar Vance

Ora Vance

Joseph L. Wallizer

Leo M. Weimer

Ralph Whorton

Robert Whorton

Above: Trees at Green Ridge State Forest. How many of these trees were planted by the CCC, and specifically by those enrollees named above? Photo by Brent McKee, 2012.

Above: CCC Company 335, an all-African American unit, moved into Camp Green Ridge in October or November 1939 (Company 324 had moved to Snow Hill, Maryland). This photo shows members of Company 335 when they were stationed at Cedarville State Forest in Prince George's County, Maryland, 1937. While at Camp Green Ridge, enrollees of Company 335 probably engaged in the same type of forestry work as Company 324 and, as war approached, they also participated in national defense training in Cumberland (see "1938-1942 -- Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps," Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, National Park Service, accessed November 26, 2023). When I have time to do more research, I'll probably do a blog post on this company too. Photo above from Civilian Conservation Corps, Official Annual, 1937, District No. 3, Third Corps Area (Direct Advertising Co., Baton Rouge, LA). Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

The Women of the CCC

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) is remembered as an all male workforce, but women helped keep the Three C's rolling too. Below are some of the women who supported the Corps.

Above: Workers of the U.S. Quartermaster Corps, assigned to the CCC's Third Corps Area (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and DC). The Quartermaster Corps, a branch of the U.S. Army, managed clothing, food, supplies, and various services. Photo from Civilian Conservation Corps, Official Annual, 1937, District No. 3, Third Corps Area (Direct Advertising Co., Baton Rouge, LA), used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Workers in the Finance Office of the District Headquarters for the Sixth Corps Area of the CCC (Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin). Photo from Civilian Conservation Corps, Annual, 1937, Sparta District, Sixth Corps Area (Direct Advertising Co., Baton Rouge, LA), used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Dorothy Burdette, a 19-year-old Apache woman and office worker in the Civilian Conservation Corps - Indian Division, San Carlos Reservation, Arizona, 1942. For more information about Ms. Burdette, see my blog post from December 1, 2020, "An American Indian Woman in the CCC, her U.S. Marine brother, and today's Burdette Hall building." Photo from Indians at Work, a publication of the U.S. Office of Indians Affairs, March 1942.

Above: Helan Lortz (left), clerk, and Helan Hayward, assistant clerk, U.S. Forestry Service, assigned to the Seventh Corps Area of the CCC (Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Missouri). The Forestry Service provided technical assistance to the CCC. Photo from Civilian Conservation Corps, Official Annual, 1937, Missouri-Kansas District, Seventh Corps Area (Direct Advertising Co., Baton Rouge, LA), used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Miss Bell was the sponsor for CCC Company 3477, Heflin, Alabama. I'm not exactly sure what sponsors did (and it does not appear that sponsorship occurred nationwide in the CCC) but I would guess that they welcomed CCC enrollees, informed them of area resources, and worked towards good relations between the CCC camps and surrounding communities. Photo from Civilian Conservation Corps, Annual, 1938, District D, Fourth Corps Area (Army and Navy Publishing Co., Baton Rouge, LA), used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Miss Keith sponsored CCC Company 3482, Alexandria, Alabama. Company 3482 engaged in soil conservation work - planting trees, terracing, diversion ditches, etc. Photo from Civilian Conservation Corps, Annual, 1938, District D, Fourth Corps Area (Army and Navy Publishing Co., Baton Rouge, LA), used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Ms. Martin sponsored CCC Company 3490, Calhoun City, Mississippi. Company 3490 engaged in extensive firefighting work. Photo from Civilian Conservation Corps, Annual, 1938, District D, Fourth Corps Area (Army and Navy Publishing Co., Baton Rouge, LA), used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers, assigned to the CCC's Fort George Wright District, Ninth Corps Area (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada, and California). Because much of the CCC's work was dangerous, camp first aid and district-wide medical services were vital. Photo from Civilian Conservation Corps, Annual, 1937, The Fort George Wright District (published by the CCC).

Above: Civilian personnel of the U.S. Army Adjutant General's Office, assigned to the CCC's Tucson District, Eighth Corps Area (Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Wyoming). The Adjutant General's Office took care of enrollee records, CCC education programs, and Corps-wide communications and coordination. Photo from Civilian Conservation Corps, Official Annual, 1936, Tucson District, 8th Corps Area (Direct Advertising Co., Baton Rouge, LA), used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Where did all the WPA sewing machines go?

Above: WPA sewing room workers in New York City, between 1935 and 1943. Across the country, WPA workers created 382 million articles of clothing for low-income Americans. They also made tens of thousands of other items, such as curtains, sheets, dolls, flags, and military items. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA sewing room project in Washington, DC, April 1938. Notice that the sewing desks are more individualized. But... what happened to all the WPA sewing machines & desks after the WPA was discontinued? Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Part of a longer newspaper article about the stalled fate of a large batch of WPA sewing machines. From The Des Moines Register, March 21, 1943, p. 38. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Where did the WPA sewing machines & desks go?

As the WPA neared its end, there was a lot of equipment to manage and find a home for. Many sewing machines (most or all of which were Singer brand) and desks ended up in private industry, especially the defense industry. But what about after the war? And what about those that didn't end up in the defense industry? Where did they go?

A review of newspaper archives shows that WPA sewing machines and desks had varied, interesting, and sometimes odd fates. Some were sold off to private citizens, for example, in 1948, the city of Waco, Texas, held an auction and one winner was "Lawrence E. Lynn... who bid $45 on six machines," about $562 in 2022 dollars ("Net Profit On Ex-WPA Sewing Machines Here," The Waco Times-Herald, May 20, 1948, p. 1).

In December 1942, sewing machines that had been used by the WPA in Indiana were sent to North Africa to support the U.S. armed forces there ("WPA Sewing Machines On Way To N. Africa," The Franklin Evening Star (Franklin, Indiana), December 14, 1942, p. 4).

5,000 WPA sewing machines apparently ended up in Brazil, for reasons not altogether clear ("Another Rosy Dream Goes 'Boom'," Shawnee News-Star (Shawnee, Oklahoma), March 21, 1944. p 4).

The Red Cross repaired broken WPA sewing machines and sent them abroad, presumably to distressed communities ("Red Cross Has Quota Of $7,000 For Funds Drive," The Lock Haven Express (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania), February 6, 1948, p. 1).

Some WPA sewing machines were destroyed. For example, in an article about a sewing machine repairman, "He says his biggest disappointment in business was when he had an opportunity to buy 800 WPA project sewing machines in Indianapolis and arrived with the money an hour after the warehouse where they were stored had burned" ("Women Flock to Argos Man, Now 70; He's the Sewing Machine Repairman," The Indianapolis Star, November 12, 1944, p. 57). 

Complete WPA sewing machines and desks seem rare today, especially ones with metal "WPA" tags on them. This author has seen only one. No doubt there are at least a few more, perhaps scattered across the globe without identifying tags, and thus with owners unaware of their machines's history of social welfare and the common good.

Above: An interesting sewing needle book, promoting FDR and the New Deal. Photo by Brent McKee. Unknown artist.

Above: A closer view of the middle graphic of the sewing needle book. Photo by Brent McKee. Unknown artist.

Above: Inside the sewing needle book. Photo by Brent McKee.

The Triple C's of Gettysburg

Unless otherwise noted, photos below are from C.C.C. Annual, 1936, District No. 1, Third Corps Area (Direct Advertising Co., Baton Rouge, LA) and are used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Enrollees of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1355, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1936. Companies 1355 and 385, in partnership with the National Park Service, restored, developed, and maintained Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-1942.

Above: Music recreation at CCC Company 385, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Above: Company 385's band. Many enrollees came to the CCC with existing skills, such as music, athletics, carpentry, and farming. 

Above: Members of Company 1355 constructing a fence at Gettysburg National Military Park. The CCC and the National Park Service endeavored to restore the battlefield to its 1863 appearance.

Above: Company 385 on their way to a work site. Much of the CCC's work at the park centered around landscape architecture, such as lawn maintenance, transplanting trees, trail construction, and rebuilding at least one Union fortification (Culp's Hill). And the work was voluminous. For example, during their first four years at the park, CCC workers removed 1,341 tree stumps (Renaissance News, March 1937, p. 6).

Above: Classroom instruction at Company 385. Educational opportunities in the CCC were numerous.

Above: "Many athletic activities are carried on in [Company 385's] camp, such as baseball, boxing, quoits [similar to horseshoes], basket ball, volley ball and ping pong" (C.C.C. Annual, 1936, District No. 1, Third Corps Area, p. 199 (Direct Advertising Co., Baton Rouge, LA)).

Above: Boxers from Company 1355. Athletics, recreation, work projects, and good meals created fit bodies for the 3 million who served in the CCC.

Above: The cover of Renaissance News, Company 385's camp newspaper, December 1935 edition. The newspaper--created by the enrollees--contained poetry, humor, announcements, camp happenings, and more. Image courtesy of Center for Research Libraries.

Above: Part of Company 385. How was the quality of the CCC's work? In 1938, the National Park Service said that they wanted their Triple C's for another 10 years (“Lists Enough C.C.C. Work Here To Last 10 Years,” The Gettysburg Compiler (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania), August 6, 1938, p. 3).