Introduction | Selection | Photos | Leland | Activity
Men lived in bunkhouses like
these at the International
Peace Garden Camp 744
and ate in mess halls –
an organization that was
similar to Army life. The
commanding officers of
the CCC camps were usually
Army officers, though the
agency emphasized that the
CCC was not a branch of the
military.
Bunkhouses, mess halls, canteens and
other CCC buildings were temporary.
In some states, CCC men lived in tents,
but in North Dakota, severe winters
required that they have buildings.
These buildings at CCC Camp 744 at the
International Peace Garden were covered
with tar paper and were constructed to
be torn down after the project was
completed. This photograph was taken
in 1935 by Thomas Falck, of Lignite, ND.
Two young men stand near a stone wall
they probably have been working on.
CCC men learned skills such as
stonework and woodwork. The stone
and log structures they built are
still standing in many parks and
national forest camps around the
country. Low, sturdy buildings of log
and stone were typical of state and
federal tourist sites in the 1930s.
CCC Company 794 built this stone
building at the International Peace
Garden along North Dakota’s border
with Manitoba.
One advantage for the CCC men was
travel to other parts of the country.
These young men with a North Dakota
company had been working in Arkansas
and were preparing to return to
Bismarck, ND in 1936.
As in many other associations of young
men, sports were an important leisure
time activity. These two young men are
practicing boxing – or perhaps just
pretending to box – at CCC camp 2760
near Wishek, ND.
Members of the CCC Company 764
formed a basketball team. They
proudly wore NODAK 764 on their
jerseys. They may have been
working in Arkansas at the time.
CCC workers learned skills such as
driving trucks and tractors, cutting
and placing stone, road building,
and wood cutting. Though the CCC
was not a vocational program, many
young men were discharged with new
work skills.
Building roads and structures
required careful surveying –
another skill CCC workers could
learn on the job.
CCC members cut stone to build
structures for the park that would
become Theodore Roosevelt National
Park near Medora. Goggles protect
their eyes from stone chips.
The canteen was a place where the
men could purchase sodas, candy,
and other items. There was space
to relax and socialize. Here
several young men drink sodas while
two officers talk at another table.
CCC members became good
friends while working on
projects near Medora, ND.
CCC groups still have reunions
to renew their friendships.
