Historical Overviewof the Civilian Conservation Corps
In Maine
Historical OverviewPresident Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps in March of 1933. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) is widely considered one of the most successful programs of the Depression Era in the United States. By March of 1933, 13,600,000 people were unemployed in the United States. Because of this emergency, President Roosevelt created the CCC only days after his inauguration.
The plan was to put 500,000 unemployed youths to work in forests, parks and public lands. It was essentially a peacetime army that worked to conserve the country's natural resources and provide employment for young men during the Great Depression. Rather than establishing a new bureaucracy, the President established this program within existing governmental departments.
Within the first few months, over 250,000 young men were enrolled. Eventually, the CCC enrolled about 3 million unemployed and unmarried men to work on projects including reforestation, construction of fire-observation towers, laying of telephone lines, and development of state parks.
In Maine, over 17,000 young men served in the CCC between 1933 and 1942. The persons eligible for employment in the CCC were unemployed, between the ages of 17 and 25 and came from families on relief. Each person was paid $30 a month, of which $25 was sent to his family and the $5 could be used for personal expenses. The government provided room, board, clothing and tools.
The CCC was responsible for many conservation projects. Although CCC projects were carried out in every state, the CCC carried out many notable projects in Maine. Projects were conducted in state and national parks and Maine forests. In Maine, many of the roads, parks and other facilities that we all enjoy today were built or improved by the CCC during the 1930s and early 1940s.
Some of the larger projects that the CCC conducted were:
 | Constructing roads and trails in Baxter State Park, Mt. Blue State Park, Rangeley State Park and Camden Hills State Park |
| Constructing roads and bridges in Acadia National Park |
| Constructing many segments of 286 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine |
| Building the Evans Notch Road from the town of Fryeburg to Gilead in the White Mountains National Forest |
| Constructing the lower portion of Capitol Park |
| Planting trees in Capitol Park and the Veterans Administration Facility at Togus |
The CCC also carried out many forest-related projects including:
| Building fire-observation towers, storehouses and access trails |
| Fighting forest fires |
| Conducting forest insect and disease control projects |
| Planting trees to reforest areas of Maine |
