Near Delta in Clay County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Civilian Conservation Corps
Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 16, 2021
1. Civilian Conservation Corps Marker
On Oct. 29, 1929 the world changed as we know it. On that ominous day, the stock market crashed and facilitated the U.S. Great Depression. Many Americans were unemployed and numerous families lost their homes to foreclosure. In 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt developed the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was a joint program with the US Forest Service, Department Labor, Department of War, and National Park Service. Through this join program, young men were allowed to enlist and work for a dollar a day. They were only allowed to keep $5.00 and required to send the rest home to the struggling families.
The three CCC companies that built Cheaha State Park were Co 465, Co 468, and Co 2420. They built numerous parts of the park including: the road to the park, cabins, the tower, Bald Rock Lodge, the lake, pavilions, lake bathhouse, and trails. These boys became men as they worked on public lands, created parks, planted trees, fought forest fires, and helped to stabilize a nation. Cheaha is proud to carry the honor of being the oldest state park in Alabama; an honor made possible by the
this page online
Erected by Forest Service, USDA, Alabama State Parks.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1929.
Location. 33° 29.539′ N, 85° 48.618′ W. Marker is near Delta, Alabama, in Clay County. It can be reached from Alabama State Road 281 (Alabama Route 281). Located along the boardwalk to Bald Rock, within the Cheaha State Park, in the Talladega National Forest. Entrance fee charged. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 19644 AL-281, Delta AL 36258, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in East Alabama. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America,
Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 16, 2021
2. Marker near the beginning of the boardwalk trail to Bald Rock.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Managing Public Land (here, next to this marker); Native American Footsteps (approx. Ό mile away); Home Sweet Home (approx. Ό mile away); Won't You Be My Neighbor (approx. Ό mile away); Alabama's Highest Point (approx. half a mile away); CCC Bunker Observation Tower (approx. half a mile away); Charcoal Production at Caver-Christian-Davis Farm (approx. 7½ miles away); The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Today (approx. 7½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Delta.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 16, 2021
3. Bunker Observation Tower built by the CCC at Cheaha State Park.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 22, 2024. It was originally submitted on June 17, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 486 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 17, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
