Group to restore historical camp in Grundy Forest

For more than 75 years, the former Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the Grundy Forest State Natural Area has been vacant, deteriorating, overtaken by vegetation.

The village that housed nearly 200 CCC members from 1936 to 1942 was mostly destroyed and abandoned when its members were needed for World War II.

“It’s basically been abandoned for 80 years, so Mother Nature has pretty much taken it over again,” said Rick Dreves, Friends of South Cumberland State Park communications chairman.

The CCC was formed by the federal government to create jobs for young men needing work during the Great Depression. The men did community projects that included building roads, creating fire towers and even helping fight fires when needed.

A massive fire in the late 1930s nearly destroyed the nearby town of Park City. CCC members came alongside townsfolk to extinguish the flames before the city was completely engulfed.

“It would have destroyed the entire town had they not been involved,” South Cumberland Park Ranger Park Greer said.

The men also built the chain of Grundy Lakes now used for swimming, paddling and fishing, and some of the trails that became South Cumberland State Park.

When they left to fight in the war, the men worked to clean up the camp as best as they could, demolishing the buildings and attempting to restore the area closer to its natural habitat. All that remains is some foundation from the buildings.

Now, the group, with the help of South Cumberland State Park and volunteers, is hoping to restore the historical aspect of the camp.

“There’s a lot of things like this going on in the county. There’s seems to be a resurgence of trying to restore our historic places,” Tracy City Mayor Larry Phipps said. “We don’t want this to slip through our fingers and be forgotten.”

The group is asking the community for help with the project. Members are looking for a diagram or old photos that show the camp layout and how the buildings were used.

They’ve been able to piece together what some of the buildings were, but if they can find photographs or a diagram of the buildings, they’ll be able to better show the history of the camp.

The site is not going to be entirely rebuilt. Instead, the group will use its funds to build frames outlining the buildings and add interpretive signs to tell the camp’s history.

It’s a strategy used at national parks across the country, including Blue Heron in Oneida, Tenn., to re-create the historical aspect of an area at a cheaper price.

Those with historical items pertaining to the camp are asked to email FriendsofSouthCumberland@gmail.com.

Contact Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6361. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook @Chattanooga Outdoors.