Living Legacy of Camp Pattison: Civilian Conservation Corps at Pattison State Park, 1935-1942

Abstract

This research examines the history of the involvement of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at Pattison State Park. Often overlooked were the lives of the men in Company 3663 and how living and working at Camp Pattison changed their lives for the better and transformed public spaces still enjoyed by Wisconsinites today. In present commemoration of the CCC’s work at Pattison, the lives of the men who built the park go unknown to visitors. By exploring how the CCC improved the site while also improving the lives of corpsmen, this project argues there is a greater need for acknowledgement related to working-class labor in Wisconsin’s public parks. One prominent sign recognizes the work on the CCC-built shelter building, only saying that the men had chiseled rock to build the shelter; to the average visitor, this is the only time they engage with the history of the park or the men who built it. But, through new synthesis of primary and secondary source material, this project argues there is a need for wider-ranging acknowledgement of the lives and accomplishments of men at Camp Pattison and the state park.