from the Rabun County Historical Society
Reforestation, Roads, Telephones and Four Camps The Civilian Conservation Corps in Rabun County by Dick Cinquina
F
ranklin Delano Roosevelt assumed the U.S. presidency in 1933 at the depth of the Great Depression. National unemployment stood at a staggering 25%. FDR’s landslide election was a plea for help from a desperate and demoralized nation. Upon being sworn into office on March 4, 1933, FDR launched what became known as “The Hundred Days,” a whirlwind of New Deal legislation aimed at alleviating the misery caused by the Depression. The Emergency Conservation Work Act (ECW) was one of the first pieces of legislation FDR submitted to Congress. It would recruit hundreds of thousands of unemployed young men into a peacetime army and put them to work on conservation and other land improvement projects around the nation. CCC or Roosevelt’s Tree Army The ECW bill was sent to Congress on March 27. It was passed and signed into law by FDR only four days later on March 31. The act created the Civilian Conservation Corps, better known as the CCC. Considered one of FDR’s pet projects and sometimes called “Roosevelt’s Tree Army,” the CCC was mandated to recruit 500,000 men by July, 1933. Enrollees were to be 17 to 21; unmarried; unemployed members of families on relief or eligible for public assistance; not enrolled in school; in good physical condition; and “of good character.” They would be paid $30 a month or $1 per day. Of that, $25 was to be sent home to their families and $5 kept for spending money. The U.S. Army was tasked with recruiting and processing recruits as well as running the CCC camps.
Rock crusher used for paving roads, near Camp Tree on the Coleman River from the Green family and set about building the camp. It was ready in two weeks. Joining Camp Warwoman within several weeks were Camp Tree (F-5) located at the confluence of the Coleman and Tallulah rivers in the Persimmon area; Camp Lake Rabun (F-9) situated in Lakemont; and Camp Gafton (F-10) built on Lake Burton near Moccasin Creek. Each camp housed approximately 200 men. An enlistment was for six months but could be renewed three times for a total service period of two years. Many men did exactly that.
Four CCC Camps in Rabun County
Spartan Living Conditions
Within a week of the CCC’s creation, Rabun County sent a delegation to Washington requesting a camp for the county. The delegates must have had political clout, because they returned with news that Rabun County would be home to not one but four CCC camps.
Like most CCC camps, living conditions in the Rabun County camps were spartan. The men slept in tents before open bay barracks were built. The barracks were heated by a potbellied stove. The camps also included a large mess hall, motor pool, infirmary and recreation hall. Clothing and all necessary gear were furnished by the government.
On Tuesday, May 16, 1933, the first men arrived at Camp Warwoman (F-6), located near the site of the check-in station of the Warwoman Wildlife Management Area in eastern Rabun County. Forty-three recruits and several army officers pitched tents on property purchased
The Rabun County camps also had classroom buildings. According to a November 1933 Clayton Tribune article, “…the boys can secure the essential rudiments of a beneficial education. Of course, reading, writing and arithmetic will be taught, but there also will be courses in
Dick Cinquina holds graduate degrees in history and journalism, making his work for the Rabun County Historical Society a natural fit for his interests. He is the retired president of Equity Market Partners, a national financial consulting firm he founded in 1981. In addition to writing monthly articles for the Georgia Mountain Laurel, Dick helped produce the Society’s new web site and is involved with the renovation of the group’s museum. After vacationing in this area for many years, he and his wife Anne moved to Rabun County in 2018 form Amelia Island, Florida.
84 GML - June 2021
