DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say — and friend, this one's worth pulling over for. Now, picture the country in March 1933. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt and the United States Congress are staring down an unemployment crisis the likes of which would make your hair stand up, and they cook up something called the Civilian Conservation Corps — the CCC — as part of the New Deal's push to put unemployed workers on public projects. That's where our story starts. Three months after the CCC is born, a outfit called Company 1814 gets organized all the way up in Fort Logan, Colorado.
Colorado. These boys are tagged for reforestation and conservation work, and the road ahead of them is a long one. They move to Groveton, Texas.
Then Austin. And then — on June 4, 1937 — they roll into Linden, Cass County, and they set up camp on the nearby hillside. Now I want you to hold that image for a second.
A company of young men, far from home, on a hillside in East Texas. What are they about to build? Thirty-five miles of roads.
Twenty-five bridges. One hundred and forty-seven miles of telephone line strung through the trees. And when the forest decided to catch fire — as East Texas forests have a habit of doing — these men spent long hours fighting and suppressing those fires too.
Working right alongside the U.S. Forest Service the whole while. But here's the part the marker mentions that I think says something about the character of these fellas — when they weren't building roads and bridges and running telephone wire through the piney woods, they were landscaping their own campground.
Flowers. Grass. These men made that hillside camp look like somewhere worth living.
And the community noticed. In April 1939, Company 1814 threw open the gates for an open house, and hundreds of Linden residents came out to see what had been accomplished. Hundreds.
Then comes October 4, 1939. Company 1814 is transferred to Arizona, and just like that, the camp on the hillside is abandoned. But it wasn't erased.
Rock walls still stand. Cabin foundations still hold their shape in the earth. Equipment remains at the site.
The marker calls their legacy an important part of the heritage of Cass County and the East Texas forest industry — and when you consider thirty-five miles of road, twenty-five bridges, and a hundred and forty-seven miles of telephone line laid by men who also found time to plant flowers, well... that's a legacy that earns the word.
What the marker says
As part of the New Deal's efforts to offer unemployed workers jobs on public projects, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States Congress created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in March 1933. Three months later, Company 1814 was organized in Fort Logan, Colorado, to serve in reforestation and other conservation efforts. After transfers to Groveton and Austin, Texas, the company was transferred to Linden on June 4, 1937. The CCC enrollees in Linden established their camp here on the nearby hillside. Working closely with the U.S. Forest Service, they built 35 miles of roads with 25 bridges, ran 147 miles of telephone line, and spent many hours fighting and suppressing forest fires in the area. While living here, the men also landscaped their campground with flowers and grass. In April 1939, they held an open house for the community during which hundreds of residents came out to learn of the accomplishments of the local CCC camp. On October 4, 1939, company 1814 was transferred to Arizona, and the camp in Linden was abandoned. Some physical evidence of their headquarters, including rock walls, cabin foundations and equipment, remains at the site. Their legacy stands as an important part of the heritage of Cass County and the East Texas forest industry. (2001)