Chestnut CCC Cabin
The Emergency
Conservation Work Agency, popularly known as the Civilian Conservation Corps,
was one of the first of the National Recovery Organizations established by
President FD Roosevelt in 1933. The purpose of the Corps was to stop the
destruction of the nation's natural resources and to alleviate the distress
caused by unemployment. This would be accomplished through the establishment of
camps where young men would work on forest and park conservation.
The
museum's cabin was constructed in 1936 by the enrollees of Civilian Conservation
Corps Camp S-135, Dyer Farm, Potter County, PA. At that time it was the
intention of the PA Department of Forestry to develop a park with picnic and
cabin facilities in the vicinity of Camp S-135, which was located in a remote
region of southern Potter County known as the Dyer Farm. The Dyers, who were
among the original settlers, lived in the area from the mid-1850's until 1900.
Camp S-135 was located on the farm site approximately one mile from the cabin's
location.
After June of 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps was
discontinued. The cabin, together with seven other structures, was rented on a
seasonal basis until 1947, at which time the cabin became available for yearly
lease. Five individuals, all from the Pittsburgh area, held the leases on Cabin
No. 4 from 1947 until 1989 when the final leaseholder discontinued the lease
agreement. The museum volunteers, through a fundraising effort, were responsible
for dismantling, relocating and restoring the cabin, where it stands as a
memorial to the thousands of young men who served in the CCC throughout the
Commonwealth.