CCC Camp Shiloh, Russellville, Arkansas, was established as Company 3784, State Project Number SCS-8 (Soil Conservation Service) on June 25, 1935.
On Sunday, June 30, 1935, the first eight young men, all from the Sand Gap CCC Camp, commanded by Lieutenant John C. Foster, arrived at the Shiloh Camp CCC site, three miles north of Russellville. They found an “old field, strewn with waste lumber and overgrown with weeds.” The only camp buildings were the mess hall and barracks and there were “no lights; no (running) water; no dishes; and a few of the boys were without cots.”
On Monday, fifty-five more reported in, dozens more on Tuesday, and, by the end of the day on July 5th, there were 212 young men in camp.
While most people familiar with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) associate the organization with work in the forests and parks of the country in the 1930s, the primary focus of Camp Shiloh, also known as Fort Shiloh, was soil conservation, performing work to remedy soil erosion.
Aerial view of Camp Shiloh
“The main purpose of these soils conservation camps was to halt the loss of topsoil due to wind and water,” said Boyd Blythe, a former Camp Shiloh CCC worker who later lived in Mabelvale. “Camp Shiloh would have been considered a model soils conservation camp.”
The “using organization” was the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, which contracted with local farmers for the men to perform soil conservation work on the farms. Projects included terracing hillsides, preparing meadow strips—wide drainage ditches that controlled runoff and could be mowed for hay—, sodding pasture land, building stock ponds, and fencing. CCC men were hauled to the work sites by truck with lunch served in the field.
For recreation, sports teams were organized that played against other camps. Other entertainment opportunities were found nearby.
While most CCC camps were distant from towns and cities, Shiloh was less than 3 miles from Russellville. Because they were civilians, the men were free to leave camp once work was done.
Paid $25 a month with $20 going to their families, the men had $5 a month to do with as they wished. A taxi into town was only 35¢, usually split several ways. Soft drinks were a dime and tickets to a movie were only 25¢. Camp business benefitted the small town of Russellville.
excerpt from 1936 Pope County General Highway and Transportation Map,
Arkansas State Highway Commission
Although some of the US general public was against it, educational opportunities were made available in the CCC camps. A number of enrollees completed junior high and high school courses.
Some of the Shiloh men attended Arkansas Polytechnic College. However, most CCC workers at Tech were attached to the Lost Corner camp, whose “using organization” was the Forest Service. The Lost Corner CCC camp operated the pine tree nursery on the campus and the CCC workers lived on campus.
Camp Shiloh CCC camp was located on Shiloh Creek, east of Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church (closed in 1952 and demolished in the 1960s) and today’s Shiloh Park.
Camp Shiloh fulfilled its purpose of building “young men physically and spiritually and to start the nation on a conservation program.” During the Great Depression when a great many were unemployed, it provided useful employment, helping the participants “grow in self-confidence and to learn how to work with and relate to other persons.
Official Annual – Arkansas District Civilian Conservation Corps,
Seventh Corps Area
