CCC Projects in Fort Wayne

CCC Projects in Fort Wayne. . During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Federal Government established a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp on the northside of Fort Wayne. The CCC was part of President Roosevelt's New Deal; it was established in 1933 and expanded in 1935. Young from the CCC left a mark on the city by constructing distinct retaining walls from fieldstone, boulders and cut stone. CCC crews built stone retaining walls along Spy Run Creek. They also built the Brookview neighborhood's beloved iron walking bridge, improved roads in Irvington Park and completed a concrete bridge in Vesey Park that was used until the 1960s. The foundation of this bridge, just west of the modern walking bridge, remains a popular sitting spot. The massive stones at the bridge base were once part of Fort Wayne's old Federal Building and Post Office, built circa 1886 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The building was demolished circa 1935 and the stone was salvaged and reused. , [Captions] , Top left: The iron walking bridge was constructed by CCC workers (ACPL Community Album) , Top right: Article from the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, August 9, 1935 , Bottom left: Stone retaining walls line Spy Run Creek near the footbridge (Weintraut and Associates) , Bottom middle: Example of a promotional poster for the CCC, 1941 (LOC LC-DIG-PPMSCA-12896) , Bottom right: The old federal building and post office (ACPL Community Album) , Imagining History: Local historians believe the CCC may have been responsible for the construction of stone retaining walls found in front of many homes in northwest Fort Wayne neighborhoods like Brookview and Irvington Park. Can you spot stone walls in the neighborhoods that may have been built by CCC crews?