The Civilian Conservation Corps
How a Depression-era federal program shaped the forests and landscape of northern Wisconsin — and Lake Julia.
How a Depression-era federal program shaped the forests and landscape of northern Wisconsin — and Lake Julia.
Background
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created by President Franklin Roosevelt in the depths of the Great Depression. From 1933 to 1941, young men across the country worked in CCC camps — earning $1 a day, with $22–$25 per month sent home to support their families.
In Wisconsin alone, 92,000 young men worked in CCC camps, with an average of 46 camps in operation each year. Their labor transformed the landscape of northern Wisconsin, including the forests immediately surrounding Lake Julia.
CCC camps across northern Wisconsin reforested the Chequamegon and Nicolet National Forests, fought forest fires, built state parks, and revitalized the natural resources that define the region today. The forests that frame your view of Lake Julia are, in no small part, the legacy of those young men.
June 2022
In June 2022, the North Woods hosted two public events celebrating the CCC legacy — both free and open to the public.
Upper Peninsula author, filmmaker, and songwriter Bill Jamerson presented an hour-long musical and storytelling program at the Highway 70 West Sports Complex in Minocqua at 1:30 p.m.
Sponsored by the Lakeland Area Genealogy Society and Minocqua Public Library.
The newly dedicated Camp Mercer CCC Interpretive Trail along the Manitowish River was officially opened at 5 p.m., with a celebration at River's Edge Lodge in Manitowish Waters.
Trail is located on the original site of Camp Mercer, a collaboration among the DNR, Mercer Public Library, Wisconsin Historical Society, and Manitowish Waters Historical Society.
Visit & Learn
Pioneer Park in Rhinelander houses a dedicated CCC museum preserving the history of the corps in Wisconsin.
Learn More →The Historic Galloway House and Village in Fond du Lac also preserves CCC history and artifacts.
Learn More →Walk the original site of a CCC camp along the Manitowish River in Manitowish Waters.
Manitowish Waters Historical Society →