Civilian Conservation Corps and the Work Projects Administration

      Did any of your aunts, uncles or grandparents with Ohio Co. connections ever work for the CCC camps (Civilian Conservation Corps) during the Great Depression, or were they involved in WPA (Work Projects Administration) work?  Was there a headquarters for signing up in Hartford?  I'm looking for real life accounts/stories  from Ohio Countians about these two govt. programs - 1933-1939.  Some of the work accomplished by the CCC included the improvement of millions of acres of federal and state lands and parks, building of new roads, placement of new telephone lines, building of fire towers and fighting forest fires, protection of natural wildlife habitats, improvement of streams, fish restocking, and planting of billions of trees. The CCC had great public support and was one of the most successful New Deal programs. About 80,000 Kentuckians served in the CCC, and nearly 100 camps were built across the Commonwealth. This, of course, was in the depth of the Great Depression and there were no jobs available. The CCC employed millions of unmarried men between the ages of 17 and 25 on projects in rural areas owned primarily by federal, state, and local governments. Enrollees usually served a term of six months, but they could serve up to four terms. They earned $30 a month, $25 of which was sent home to their families.

     WPA workers built many roads, streets, etc.,  concentrating on the construction of large-scale public works such as new schools and hospitals, dams and bridges, with the goal of providing employment and helping build or repair our infrastructure.  

     I have previously published an item about the WPA that described the Livermore Bridge on US 431, a WPA project, that was opened November 13, 1940;  the Hartford Municipal Waterworks, constructed by the WPA in 1941; and the County Courthouse in Hartford, constructed by the WPA in 1936-37, as was the Hartford City Hall and Fire Station Annex.

     If you have any information, family tales, or newspaper articles about the CCC or WPA, please contact me and I will publish them on this blog.