DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Fort Griffin has to say — and brother, it's a story worth the stop. Now, most people know the Great Depression hit this country like a freight train with no brakes. But what a lot of folks don't fully appreciate is what came rolling back the other way — three thousand camps, spread from one edge of this nation to the other, full of young men with strong backs and not much else.
That was the Civilian Conservation Corps, and it operated nationwide between 1933 and 1942 with one purpose: conserve natural resources and put 2.5 million young men to work. Roughly 50,000 of those men were Texans. Fifty thousand.
And their fingerprints are all over this state's park system to this day. Now, Fort Griffin had a colorful frontier history — and the people of Shackelford County knew it. Knew it well enough that local citizens donated the historic site to the state, hoping it would be preserved.
The National Park Service approved a new CCC camp right here at Fort Griffin State Park in 1939, and not long after, crews from existing camps over in Cleburne and Lockhart came rolling in — 1939 and 1940. Then something interesting happened in the spring of 1940. As the original company members were discharged, local area men signed up and were assigned to Fort Griffin.
Their own backyard, essentially. Many of these men enrolled in classes at the camp and at the local high school. They played sports, got involved in local activities.
It wasn't just a work crew — it was a community taking root right alongside the work. And what work it was. Around 200 men put their hands to a stone pavilion, park roads, 24 table and bench combinations, 14 campfire places, two latrines, surveys of the park, a water drainage system and entrance gate, and planted trees and shrubs across hundreds of acres.
Now, some local groups had been hoping the focus would land on restoring the historical features of Fort Griffin — and that's a hope you can certainly understand, given what this place meant. But most of the work completed at the time went toward recreational amenities. That's just what the record shows.
The rock gate, the roads, the fort ruins, the pavilion — they remain at the site. Standing testimony to what those hands built. The camp was abandoned on December 1, 1941.
You don't have to think too hard about what was brewing in the world that December. Many of those young men went straight into military service and World War II. The tools barely had time to cool.
And in the 1940s, many of the buildings the CCC had used were moved to military camps or schools throughout Texas — scattered across the state like seeds. They came here to build something lasting. And then the world called, and they went.
What they left behind is still standing.
What the marker says
THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS (CCC) OPERATED NATIONWIDE BETWEEN 1933 AND 1942 TO CONSERVE NATURAL RESOURCES AND TO PROVIDE WORK FOR YOUNG MEN DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION. THE FEDERAL PROGRAM PROVIDED EMPLOYMENT FOR 2.5 MILLION YOUNG MEN WORKING OUT OF 3,000 CAMPS. ROUGHLY 50,000 TEXANS WERE ENROLLED IN THE CCC AND MADE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE’S PARK SYSTEM. THE COLORFUL FRONTIER HISTORY OF FORT GRIFFIN AND THE NEED FOR ITS PRESERVATION PROMPTED CITIZENS OF SHACKELFORD COUNTY TO DONATE THE HISTORIC SITE TO THE STATE. THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE APPROVED A NEW CCC CAMP AT FORT GRIFFIN STATE PARK IN 1939. CREWS FROM EXISTING CAMPS IN CLEBURNE AND LOCKHART ARRIVED IN 1939 AND 1940. IN THE SPRING OF 1940, AS ORIGINAL COMPANY MEMBERS WERE DISCHARGED, LOCAL AREA MEN SIGNED UP AND WERE ASSIGNED TO FORT GRIFFIN. MANY OF THESE MEN ENROLLED IN CLASSES AT THE CAMP AND LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL, AND PARTICIPATED IN LOCAL SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES. AROUND 200 MEN COMPLETED A STONE PAVILION, PARK ROADS, 24 TABLE AND BENCH COMBINATIONS, 14 CAMP FIRE PLACES, TWO LATRINES, SURVEYS OF THE PARK, A WATER DRAINAGE SYSTEM AND ENTRANCE GATE, AND PLANTED TREES AND SHRUBS ON HUNDREDS OF ACRES. ALTHOUGH SOME LOCAL GROUPS HOPED THAT THE FOCUS WOULD BE ON THE RESTORATION OF HISTORICAL FEATURES, MOST OF THE WORK COMPLETED AT THE TIME WAS ON RECREATIONAL AMENITIES. THE ROCK GATE, ROADS, FORT RUINS AND PAVILION REMAIN AT THE SITE. THE CAMP WAS ABANDONED ON DEC. 1, 1941. MANY OF THE YOUNG MEN WENT STRAIGHT INTO MILITARY SERVICE AND WWII. IN THE 1940s, MANY BUILDINGS USED BY THE CCC WERE MOVED TO MILITARY CAMPS OR SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT TEXAS.