“Civilian Conservation Corps Camp – Pactola”

camp f-4: Pactola Campsite inundated by Lake Pactola Companies: 1789 - - 6/8/33-10/352748 - - 5/25/36-1940

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal relief program during 1933-1942 that gave jobless men work renovating abused lands. The Army built 48 200-man camps in South Dakota and provided food, clothing, medical care, pay and programs of education, recreation and religion for 23,709 enrollees (single men aged 17-25 who sent $25 of their $30 wage to their families) and war veterans. Camps and work projects were supervised by another 2834 men.

The Office of Indian Affairs ran smaller units for 4554 American Indians.

Camp F-4 was part of a national CCC program to renovate forests and build more recreation areas. Work projects, supervised by the USDA Forest Service, included tree thinning, pruning and planting; fire prevention and suppression; rodent, disease and insect control; grazing land improvement and recreational area development. Enrollees removed dead, diseased, suppressed and excess trees (used for posts, poles and firewood) from hundreds of acres of pine leaving

enough trees to produce good quality lumber. They removed flammable debris from forests and nearby areas and quelled forest fires. CCs built firetrails and roads and erected dams, wells and fences for livestock. They manned sidecamps to build more roads, spread grasshopper bait, built Victoria dam and helped erect Sheridan dam.

Erected in 1991 by CCC Alumni, the South Dakota State Historical Society, the South Dakota Department of Transportation and Black Hills National Forest.

Pennington County