Wednesday, November 19, 2008

CCC Dam

CCC Dam

One of my favorite hikes in the Mena area is the hike back to an old stone dam that is not far from town. I first found the dam in August 2006 through Geocaching. There was a cache listed that was called The CCC DAM BOMBER TRAIL cache. I had a hard time figuring out how to get to this cache, and even though I made it I did everything wrong. I found an old cowpath through the brush that took me to the bottom of the dam on Ward Lake. I climbed the dam and bushwacked through the bottom of Ward Lake as it was dry. I found my way up the creek bed and eventually came to the bottom of the CCC Dam. I had to climb the dam to get to the cache. Once I made it to the dam, I realized that there was a trail, and I took it out to the road.

On The Dam
GINA ON THE DAM

I like to take people on this hike back to the dam. Last Sunday, Gina and I hiked back to the dam with our friend Deanna. It was a beautiful day. We took Deanna's dog Cowboy with us. He was great to hike with.

Gina and Cowboy
GINA AND COWBOY ON THE TRAIL

I haven't been able to finds out anything definite, but I am sure that the dam was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC was a work relief program for young men from unemployed families, established on March 21, 1933, by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As part of Roosevelt's New Deal legislation, it was designed to combat unemployment during the Great Depression. The CCC became one of the most popular New Deal programs among the general public and operated in every U.S. state.

During its nine-year existence the CCC enlisted nearly 3 million single men between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five to work at erosion control, fire prevention, land reclamation, and pest eradication. For their service, enrollees received $30 monthly, $25 of which they were required to send home to their families.

In Arkansas, the CCC erected 446 buildings, constructed 6,500 miles of road, built eight dams, laid 250 miles of fence, erected 86 lookout towers in forests, planted 19.4 million trees and strung 8,600 miles of telephone line. They also built cabins, pavilions, bridges and trails in Arkansas’ state parks.

View From Below The Dam
VIEW FROM BELOW THE DAM

Every time that I reach the dam I am amazed by it . It looks like an archeological site. The trail is almost never used, so there is absolutely no indication of people having been there. Every time I see it I feel like I have discovered it again.

Gina and I On The Trail
GINA AND I ON THE TRAIL

8 comments:

  1. Looks like a wonderful area to hike!

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  2. Nice post and photos, Richard, and lots of good information about the CCC in Arkansas. My dad was a supervisor with the CCC in the late 1930's until Pearl Harbor Day in '41. His crew built a dam at what is now Balmorhea State Park, TX and did the clearing, building construction and pathways for Bandelier National Monument, NM. I've visited Bandelier several times, but have not been to Balmorhea since I was about 5 years old

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  3. That is a very interesting story - I'd love to see that trail if it isn't too far to walk.

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  4. Very interesting post, Richie and you have a pretty wife and a lovely dog.

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  5. Oh wow... what a pretty area to walk. Definitely a place I would be investigating. I love the Autumn leaves. Cowboy is a handsome dog!

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  6. What a wonderful place to walk.I would like to walk my dogs in an area like that,so pieceful and beautiful.
    Have a nice weekend:o)

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  7. Looked like a nice place to take a walk. Have a nice weekend.

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