Buckingham County: CCC Camp P-56
This coming July marks the 80th anniversary of the establishment of Buckingham County’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp P-56 at the foot of Willis Mountain.
In 1997, the many accomplishments of the men at the camp were acknowledged with an historic marker which reads:
On this site in July 1933, CCC Camp P-56 Company 1367, opened with an enrollment of 192 Virginia men. The camp, which was organized as one of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal employment programs, consisted of 52 small barracks, a large dining hall, two garages, and many other buildings. While at this camp, the men constructed 275 miles of forest roads, several bridges, three lookout towers, and numerous recreation buildings. The CCC also provided opportunities for the young men to further their education. In December 1937 “the camp” closed and all the buildings soon were demolished.
I’m preparing an article for the Buckingham Beacon commemorating the men of Camp P-56 and am in the process of collecting stories and images.
Did your father, uncle, or friend work for at Buckingham’s Camp P-56?
If so, let me hear from you. Please contact me at jlyeck@gmail.com.
My father was in WV CCCCamp. I would like to see if I can get information on him and pictures, when he was in there. Can you help?
Frances,
West Virginia appears to have a very active CCC legacy group. There is a book available about all the Camps in WV. “C. C. C. Camps in West Virginia: 1933-1942” by Milton Harr. I purchased it in Kindle format from Amazon.
The National Archives has information in both St. Louis and Washington, D.C. The National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis maintains Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollee papers. You can learn more at:
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/archival-programs/civilian-personnel-archival/ccc-holdings-access.html. Most of the records concerning the CCC are housed at the National Archive in Washington, D.C. A finding aid is located at: http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/035.html
Good hunting!