Civilian Conservation Corps at Grand Canyon

Park Ranger Bob Audretsch describes the work of the CCC in Grand Canyon National Park during the 1930's.

Download the CCC Walking Tour Brochure here: http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/CCC-Walking-Tour-GRCA.pdf

Grand Canyon's first CCC company (Company 819)
arrived on May 29, 1933 and continued on the South Rim until the end of the program in July, 1942. The men of Company 819 built the stone wall along the rim between El Tovar Hotel and Bright Angel Lodge, improved the Bright Angel Trail, landscaped the Grand Canyon Village area and, constructed the Community Building.

Other CCC companies established camps on the North Rim, at Desert View, and at the bottom of the canyon near Phantom Ranch.

Many of the CCC enrollees came from Arizona, with significant contingents from Texas and Oklahoma.

During 1933-1936 Company 818 worked on the North Rim during the summer and moved to the canyon bottom for the winter. While camped at the bottom of the canyon, Company 818 completed the Colorado River Trail, the most difficult trail ever constructed at Grand Canyon!

Nationwide the accomplishments of the Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees can be measured in several ways: more than three billion trees planted, 28,000 miles of trails constructed, and 63,000 buildings constructed.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• CCC
• new deal
• great depression
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• grand canyon
• national park
• conservation
• WPA