Elmira in Chemung County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
A Civil Rights Victory
The CCC At Newtown
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
1. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Newtown Battlefield Preservation has a special place in the history of African Americans' struggle for equality in the United States. When 180 young African-American men of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1251 arrived to work on improving the park in August 1935, all of the company's officers were white. Officers for CCC camps were drawn from the United States Army, which actively opposed appointing African Americans as company commanders. But as President Roosevelt ran for reelection in 1936, the criticism of a few congressmen, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and others led to two groundbreaking exceptions. One was at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania; the other was here at Newtown Battlefield Reservation where Company 1251's white officers were quietly replaced with three African Americans in June 1937.
The Civilian Conservation Corps
In April 1933, newly elected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced a national economic crisis known as the Great Depression. Of the many programs he initiated to restore hope and confidence in the economy, perhaps the most celebrated was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Young men and World War I veterans were organized into companies that did sorely needed conservation work. Each man received a dollar a day, three meals,
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Man-Made Features. In addition, it is included in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the Former U.S. Presidents: #32 Franklin D. Roosevelt series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1935.
Location. 42° 2.78′ N, 76° 44.017′ W. Marker is in Elmira, New York, in Chemung County. It is on Newtown Reservation Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Elmira NY 14901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York and in the Southern Tier. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Newtown Battlefield Reservation (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Battle of Newtown (about 300 feet away); Flagstaffs - Newtown Battlefield (about 400 feet away); Major General John Sullivan (about 600 feet away); The Sullivan Campaign (about 700 feet away); Fire on the Frontier - 1778 (about 700 feet away); a different marker also named The Battle of Newtown (about 700 feet away); Divided Peoples (about 800 feet away); Newtown (approx. half a mile away); Routes of the Armies / Newtown 1779 (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Elmira.
Another marker
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
2. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Also see . . . Civilian Conservation Corps. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families as part of the New Deal. Originally for young men ages 18–23, it was eventually expanded to young men ages 17–28. (Submitted on November 6, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
3. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
4. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
5. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Men from Company 1251 transplanted large trees during the winter. They also cleared brush and improved the park's roads.
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
6. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
7. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Company 1251 constructed most of the park's buildings, including the cabins, the bathroom building, and this picnic lodge which still has its CCC-built tables and chairs.
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
8. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
The African-American officers who took over Company 1251 were commanding officer, Captain Joseph A. Holmes; his adjutant Lieutenant Henry Scott; and the company surgeon, Lieutenant R.E. Braun. Captain Holmes is seated in the center, with Lieutenant Scott immediately to his left. Lieutenant Braun was no longer with the company when this photograph was taken in 1938.
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
9. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Camp SP-46, home to Company 1251 from August 1935, was located on a farm in the valley north of the Newtown Battlefield Reservation. It was torn down when Company 1251 left in October 1937.
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
10. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
This composite photograph of Company 1251 was taken in September 1938, about a year after the company was transferred from Newtown to work at Grass Point Stater Park in the Thousand Islands. Many of the men pictured had worked at Newtown Battlefield Reservation.
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
11. A Civil Rights Victory Marker
Photographed by Brian Scott, September 21, 2015
12. A Civil Rights Victory Marker and Picnic Lodge
Credits. This page was last revised on August 1, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 658 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. submitted on November 6, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
