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Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-2012

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Williams, Gerald W.
Title
Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps
Dates
1933-2012 (inclusive)
1933-2001 (bulk)
Quantity
1.90 cubic feet, including 258 photographs, 2 sound recordings, 5 VHS videotapes, and 2 DVDs, (6 boxes including 1 oversize, and 2 map folders)
Collection Number
MSS CCC
Summary
The Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps is made up of publications, photographs, newspaper clippings, maps, architectural drawings, artifacts, DVDs, sound recordings, and VHS videotapes documenting various Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps and enrollees in Oregon and other states. These materials were acquired by U.S. Forest Service Historian Gerald W. Williams.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Established in 1933 as one of President Franklin Roosevelt's governmental "New Deal" agencies designed to stimulate the depressed national economy, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed 3.4 million men over a period of 9 years in a variety of projects throughout the United States. The camps resided on public lands managed by the federal and state government and the projects primarily entailed land improvement efforts such as the development of park infrastructure, erosion control measures, road building, and reforestation. There were a total of 4500 camps nationwide with about 300 in Oregon.

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Content Description

The Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps consists of materials acquired by U.S. Forest Service Historian Gerald W. Williams that document the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program in Oregon and other states. This collection is made up of publications, photographs, newspaper clippings, maps, architectural drawings, artifacts, DVDs, sound recordings, and VHS videotapes that reflect the CCC program during its operation from 1933 to 1942 as well as in later decades in oral histories with CCC enrollees. Documentation of everyday life and activities in the CCC camps can be found in camp newsletters, photographs, newspaper clippings, and artifacts. Recollections by CCC enrollees are captured in some of the publications, newspaper clippings, reports, sound recordings, VHS videotapes, and DVDs. These items also contain contextual information about the overall history of the CCC program and its impact upon the country.

Oregon CCC Camps documented in this collection include: Camp Belknap, Mist, Camp Kerby, Fall Creek, Odell Lake, Camp Gunter, Camp Nehalem, and Camp Cascadia.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps (MSS CCC), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps consists of 11 series: 1. Publications, 1933-2012; 2. Reports, 1938-1982; 3. Newspaper Clippings, 1933-1986;  4. Photographs, 1933-2001; 5. Ephemera, 1933-1941; 6. Artifacts, 1933-1938; 7. Architectural Drawings, 1933;  8. Maps, 1933-1941; 9. Sound Recordings, 1983; 10. VHS Videotapes, 1993-1999; and 11. DVDs, 2005-2008.

Acquisition Information

Originally described as part of the Gerald W. Williams Collection, these materials were separated in 2016 from the Williams Collection to form this new collection.

Related Materials

The OSU Special Collections and Archives Center has several collections documenting Camp Arboretum, the CCC camp that resided from 1933 until 1942 on the site of Peavy Arboretum in the McDonald Research Forest. These collections include the  College of Forestry Records (RG 139), the Royal G. Jackson Papers, the Soap Creek Valley History Project Oral Histories (OH 06), the Horner Museum Oral History Collection (OH 010), Harriet's Photograph Collection (P HC), and the Memorabilia Collection.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012

    Series 1 is made up of publications documenting the CCC that were published during the program's operation and later as historical studies with CCC enrollees. In addition to newsletters published at various Oregon CCC camps, this series includes: books, brochures, newspapers, magazines, and a manual.

    • Description: Book: The CCC Camps in West Virginia: 1933-1942

      Milton Harr

      Dates: 1992
      Container: Box/Folder 1.1
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Book: Once In a Lifetime: A Guide To The CCC Camp

      Ned H. Dearborn

      Dates: 1936
      Container: Box/Folder 1.2
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Book: We Can Take It: A Short Story of The CCC

      Ray Hoyt

      Dates: 1935
      Container: Box/Folder 1.3
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Brochures and Event Programs
      Dates: 2001
      Container: Box/Folder 1.4
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Camp Newsletters
      Dates: 1933-1936
      Container: Box/Folder 1.5
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Camp Newsletters
      Dates: 1936-1941
      Container: Box/Folder 1.6
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Foxfire Journal: Civilian Conservation Corps Editions-Volumes 1 and 2
      Dates: 1982-1983
      Container: Box/Folder 1.7
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: A Guide to Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Newspapers

      The Center for Research Libraries.

      Dates: 1991
      Container: Box/Folder 1.8
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: A Guide to Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Newspapers
      Dates: 1991
      Container: Box/Folder 1.9
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Roosevelt's Tree Army: A Brief History of the Civilian Conservation Corps

      National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni

      Dates: 2000
      Container: Box/Folder 3.1
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: The Review Newspaper

      CCC Vancouver Barracks District newspaper. Vol. 4, No. 78. July 15, 1940

      Dates: 1940
      Container: Box/Folder 3.2
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Happy Days

      The National Weekly Publication of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Ten issues published from November 8, 1941 through January 10, 1942 document the changes that were underway at the CCC prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the immediate impact on the program in late 1941 and early 1942.

      Dates: 1941-1942
      Container: Box/Folder 3.4
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Yearbook for CCC Company 927

      A photocopy. Yearbook contains photographs depicting CCC projects in Oregon. McKenzie River area.

      Dates: 1937
      Container: Box/Folder 2.1
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Conservation Corps Manual and Related Instructions-North Central Region
      Dates: 1933-1934
      Container: Box/Folder 2.2
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: CCC Legacy Journal
      Dates: 2012
      Container: Box/Folder 2.3
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Time Magazine

      Cover story and "newsmaker" of the week is Robert Fechner, CCC director. Vol. 33, No. 6. February 6, 1939

      Dates: 1939
      Container: Box/Folder 2.4
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012
    • Description: Official Annual - Vancouver Barracks

      For the Vancouver Barracks CCC District, Ninth Corps Area with headquarters at the Vancouver Barracks, Washington. This District covered Oregon and the Columbia River Basin in Washington and included 28 companies of enrollees.

      Dates: 1937
      Container: Box/Folder 6.1
      Location: Series 1: Publications, 1933-2012

  • Series 2: Reports, 1938-1982

    Series 2 is made up of reports addressing CCC activity in Oregon parks, the Klamath National Forest, and Wisconsin. There is also a study of the financial administration of the CCC program in New England.

    • Description: Chronological History of the Klamath National Forest: Volume IV-The CCC Decade

      R. W. Bower

      Dates: 1982
      Container: Box/Folder 2.5
      Location: Series 2: Reports, 1938-1982
    • Description: An Audit of the New Deal in New England

      Statistical Department of the New England Council.

      Dates: 1934
      Container: Box/Folder 2.6
      Location: Series 2: Reports, 1938-1982
    • Description: A Study of Parks, Parkways and Recreational Areas of Oregon: Volume I-Present Development

      The State Parks Commission and the Oregon State Planning Board

      Dates: 1938
      Container: Box/Folder 2.7
      Location: Series 2: Reports, 1938-1982
    • Description: Future Forest Towns In Northern Wisconsin: The Passing of the Sawmill Towns

      R. B. Goodman

      Dates: 1933
      Container: Box/Folder 2.8
      Location: Series 2: Reports, 1938-1982

  • Series 3: Newspaper Clippings, 1933-1986

    Series 3 consists of clippings from various newspapers and other publications featuring stories about events in Oregon CCC camps, poems by CCC enrollees, and accounts from enrollees recalling their experiences. About half of the clippings were published in the U. S. Forest Service publication Six Twenty Six.

  • Series 4: Photographs, 1933-2001

    Series 4 is made up of photographic images depicting CCC camps throughout the U.S. and reunions of enrollees. In addition to group shots, there are views of enrollees working on projects, camp facilities, and examples of logos and posters publicizing the program. The photographs number 36 prints and 222 slides.

  • Series 5: Ephemera, 1933-1939

    Series 5 contains camp member lists, service documentation from various CCC enrollees, a discharge certificate, and other paper-based ephemera.

    • Description: Ephemera
      Dates: 1933-1939
      Container: Box/Folder 2.12
      Location: Series 5: Ephemera, 1933-1939
    • Description: Certificate of Discharge

      Discharge certificate for John Iskerk from Camp Long Lake (Wisconsin).  Certificate in poor condition.

      Dates: 1939
      Container: Box/Folder 2.13
      Location: Series 5: Ephemera, 1933-1939

  • Series 6: Artifacts, 1933-1938

    Series 6 is made up of lapel pins, patches, and buttons worn by CCC enrollees and camp staff. This series also includes coinage used for exchange at the camps and a board game inspired by the CCC program "The Forest Ranger Game in Connection with the CCC Camps."

  • Series 7: Architectural Drawings, 1933

    Series 7 consists of a set of architectural drawings outlining the details for a CCC camp oriented toward reforestation projects. Numbering 13 sheets in total, the drawings contain construction details and building specifications for various camp structures.

  • Series 8: Maps, 1933-1941

    Series 8 is made up of three maps of the continental United States depicting the location of CCC camps throughout the country, the number of enrollees in each state, the types of public land where the camps resided, and the location of CCC central repair shops.

  • Series 9: Sound Recordings, 1983

    Series 9 is made up of two cassette sound recordings containing interviews with CCC enrollees at the 1983 Oregon State Fair.

  • Series 10: VHS Videotapes, 1993-1999

    Series 10 contains five films on VHS videotape about CCC camps in the Pacific Northwest, Virginia, Michigan, and the program's nationwide impact.

    • Description: 5.3: CCC: A Letter Home

      Northwest Interpretative Association. Original production by the U.S. Forest Service (8:20)

      Dates: Undated
      Container: Box item 5.3
      Location: Series 10: VHS Videotapes, 1993-1999
    • Description: 5.4: Forests and Men: The President's Conservation Corps at Work

      Original produced in 1933. (10:27)

      Dates: undated
      Container: Box item 5.4
      Location: Series 10: VHS Videotapes, 1993-1999
    • Description: 5.5: Camp Forgotten: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan

      Forgotten Films.

      Dates: 1993
      Container: Box item 5.5
      Location: Series 10: VHS Videotapes, 1993-1999
    • Description: 5.6: The CCC Boys.

      Episode of "Living in Virginia." WVPT Video Library

      Dates: 1999
      Container: Box item 5.6
      Location: Series 10: VHS Videotapes, 1993-1999
    • Description: 5.7: The New Deal-CCC.

      A recording of a Bill Moyers program. Also includes other Moyers' shows "World War I-U.S. Home Front" and "World War I-Airplanes and Aces."

      Dates: circa 1984
      Container: Box item 5.7
      Location: Series 10: VHS Videotapes, 1993-1999

  • Series 11: DVDs, 2005-2008

    Series 11 contains 2 DVDs produced by the U.S. Forest Service about the Civilian Conservation Corps program.

    • Description: 5.8: The Civilian Conservation Corps At Work: Oregon-Washington
      Dates: 2005
      Container: Box item 5.8
      Location: Series 11: DVDs, 2005-2008
    • Description: 5.9: A Great and Lasting Good: A Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps
      Dates: 2008
      Container: Box item 5.9
      Location: Series 11: DVDs, 2005-2008

Finding Aid Authors: Karl McCreary and Elizabeth Nielsen.
2019

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