Civilian Conservation Corps

Saturday mornings can be very quiet in the library but it gives me the chance to catch up on some online learning opportunities. Consuming my early morning learning time today is the National Archive 2018 Virtual Genealogy Fair. It is a luxury to be able to listen to the nearly 6 hours of instruction about National Archive resources and record groups while working on a mindless inventory project.

My favorite session this year navigated through records held in the Still Picture unit that document Civilian Conservation Corp camps and activities. The online session provided a list of series that contain CCC photographs and included handouts. They also directed me to a 2015 session about the CCC Personnel Records.

The Civilian Conservation Corps created 16 SC State Parks. Before the CCC came to South Carolina there were no SC state parks! How’s that for a bit of trivia? According to the SC Encyclopedia the SC CCC employed 49,000 between 1933-1942. While this is a federal project and the records are at the National Archive in Washington, DC there are some records worth looking at in South Carolina.

The catalogs at USC Caroliniana Library and the South Carolina Historical Society both show SC CCC camp newspapers from around the state…lots of them! I shared a few below but there are really too many to share, check their catalogs.

The South Carolina State Archive has a treasure trove of records from the State Forestry Commission and the SC Dept. of Social Services pertaining to the CCC in South Carolina Below I’ve listed a few series that should be valuable to family historians.

National Archives

· NARA Virtual Genealogy Fairshttps://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealogy-fair

2018: How to search for photographs that document CC camps and activities.

2015: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Personnel Records



University of South Carolina Caroliniana Library/SCHS


· The Civilian Conservation Corps as a social resource in South Carolina by Edna Kennerly, 1940 (Thesis).
· Sample of CCC camp newspapers at Caroliniana:



Civilian Conservation, CCC Co.4475 (Chester, SC)

The bugle, CCC Co. 4468 (Barnwell, SC)

Indian speaks, CCC Co. 4469 (Richland County, SC)

The Oconee mountaineer (Walhalla, SC)

The terrace builder, CCC Co. 3451 (Laurens, SC)

Ambassador and The General, CCC Co. 4471 (Lee County, SC)

Hi-de-hi-de-ho, CCC Co.4487 (Anderson, SC)

Hill side news, CCC Co. 4470 (Montmorenci, SC)

See also:


· William Lee Davis papers. Includes CCC photo album from Abbeville, SC.





South Carolina State Archives


· State Commission of Forestry



Series: “S 162004” includes job applications.

“S 162005” includes photographs.


· South Carolina Dept. of Social Services



Series: “S 214006” includes personnel data cards.