View source for Civilian Conservation Corp Camp at Harold Parker State Forest


In the 1930s, two Civilian Conservation Corps Camps were established in Harold Parker State Forest, Camp S-5 (Company 110) and Camp S-76 (Company 167).   The camps work included reforestation work, damming ponds, road and trail creation and building recreational facilities.  Camp S-76 also provided assistance to local communities during emergencies. <ref> https://archive.org/details/civilianconserva00berg/mode/2up?q=harold+parker  Civilian Conservation Corps : shaping the forests and parks of Massachusetts : a statewide survey of Civilian Conservation Corps resources]</ref> <ref> [https://archive.org/details/annualreportofco00mass_5/page/n3/mode/2up Annual Report of the Commissioner of Conservation and State Forester (1920-1938)] </ref> Creating stocked ponds for public fishing was a major goal of Harold Parker camp leadership, <ref> Ponds in Parker forest for fish raising,''The Andover Townsman,'' June 30, 1933. </ref> Hundreds of men, many of them local, worked in and led the camps' work. <ref>State forest to be recreational park, ''The Andover Townsman,'' June 1, 1934 </ref>  

[[File:Road and Bridge over the Skug River.png|600px|thumb|...''Road and Bridge over the Skug River, Harold Parker State Forest, 1933 from the University of Massachusetts Archives and Special Collections''....click to enlarge|right]]


[[Image:Dam No. 2 Harold Parker State Forest, 1933.png|600px|thumb|...''Dam No. 2 Harold Parker State Forest, 1933, from the University of Massachusetts Archives and Special Collections''.... click to enlarge|right]]

The camp crews provided recreational opportunities for themselves and the Town of Andover. <ref> C.C.C. recreation program launched, ''The Andover Townsman,'' July 20, 1934. </ref> The Town of Andover invited CCC camp crews to take classes at Punchard High School, to borrow library books and to generally be a part of town life. The Andover Selectmen voted to allow the C.C.C. crews use of Pomp's Pond for recreation. <ref> C.C.C. Camps enjoying sports, ''The Andover Townsman,'' September 7, 1934. </ref>  There is some evidence that camp crew used their time to become qualified for permanent employment. <ref> CCC member becomes state police officer, ''The Andover Townsman'', January 8, 1937. </ref> 

Massachusetts Senator, David I. Walsh, inspected the camp in 1934. <ref> C.C.C. Inspected by Senator Walsh, ''The Andover Townsman,'' August 31, 1934. </ref> Four-term Boston Mayor and one-term MA governor, James Michael Curley visited the camps with his daughter Mary in February 1935. <ref> [https://archive.org/details/JamesMichaelCurleyScrapbook-v127/page/n55/mode/2up?q=%22harold+parker%22 Governor visits camp in Andover, ''Lawrence Evening Sun'', February 17, 1935.] </ref> Employment counselors were brought in to advise the camp crew on tips and techniques for finding stable employment. <ref> Employment counselor talks to C.C.C. boys, ''The Andover Townsman,'' May 25, 1934. </ref> 



The C.C.C. Camp facilities in Harold Parker State Forest officially closed on July 28, 1941. <ref> Local C.C.C. Camp closes July 28, ''The Andover Townsman,'' July 24, 1941. </ref>  Military police batallions were in residence at Harold Parker in the early years of World War II, after the C.C.C. camps shuttered. <ref> New tenants at state forest, ''The Andover Townsman,'' March 19, 1942.</ref> <br><br>

'''HAROLD PARKER REVIEW CAMP NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES''' <br>
The Harold Parker Review was a type-written and hand-illustrated camp newsletter begun in 1934. <ref> Paper published by C.C.C. boys, ''The Andover Townsman'', August 3, 1934. </ref>Digitized copies of [https://dds.crl.edu/crldelivery/10461 The Harold Parker Review], a type-written and hand-illustrated CCC camp newsletter are available from the Center for Research Libraries digital collections.  

'''Civilian Conservation Corps Camp/Harold Parker photographs''' are held in the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Archives and Special Collections and may be viewed online on the Digital Public Library of America platform with a keyword search for "Harold Parker" and limited to the format type "images." [http://dp.la dp.la] 

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