WPA, CCC put men to work during the Great Depression
Approximately 140 men, mostly age 17-28, comprised the CCC Camp Anthony Wayne, located on the grounds of the Wayne County Infirmary east of Wooster. From 1935-41 the group provided drainage improvement and soil conservation throughout Wayne and surrounding counties, with most, if not all, of the men coming from points outside of Wayne County.
The 1920s were a boom time. The United States had emerged from World War I victorious over the tyranny of Germany. New technology was emerging. Automobiles, telephones and air travel were exciting changes in industry.
In response the stock market soared. It seemed like the prosperity would never end, but it did. On Oct. 28, 1929, the Dow dropped 13%. The following day saw another 12% drop. By summer 1930 the Dow had lost 89%, triggering the Great Depression.
By 1933 more than 67% of construction workers and 40% of factory workers in Ohio were unemployed. The state’s overall unemployment rate exceeded 37%. Workers who managed to keep their jobs often experienced reduced hours and wages.
President Herbert Hoover believed the stock market crash to be a temporary event and the market would fix itself, taking a hands-off approach initially. But the markets did not recover as he had hoped. He authorized a few programs aimed mostly at institutions. The voters saw this as inaction and replaced him with Franklin D. Roosevelt.
As president Roosevelt spearheaded massive relief programs to benefit average citizens. Among these programs were the Works Progress Administration, which hired laid-off workers and funded public works projects, and the Civilian Conservation Corps, which hired young men to work on projects designed to improve natural conservation.
WPA
The WPA was a program created in 1935 to contend with the withering effects of the Great Depression. Over its eight-year term, the WPA employed roughly 8 1/2 million Americans to construct or repair public buildings, roads and other public infrastructure. The WPA also sponsored arts projects, employing tens of thousands of artisans in fields like writing, music and painting — all of this designed to provide relief for the unemployed while contributing to the national recovery.
Locally, the WPA funded road and highway construction and repair, city street repair, water and sewer construction and repair, and curbs and sidewalk maintenance. It also funded adult education classes and local library services. The Wayne County Highway Department garage, Rittman’s City Hall, a bridge at Wooster City Park and a mural at the Orrville Post Office were all partially funded by the WPA. Hundreds of miles of county roadways, city sidewalks, and water supply and sewer lines were all improved using the WPA.
CCC
The CCC was created April 5, 1933, as part of the New Deal legislation. Its mission was to provide employment for young men age 18-25 (later expanded to 17-28), mostly who came from homes that were on some sort of relief payments. The men were paid $30 per month. All but $5 had to be sent home to the family. In return the men learned life skills and provided service to the country to maintain and improve public infrastructure.
CCC was organized into camps, where workers were housed, clothed, fed and trained. The camps were operated like military camps. Indeed, leadership of the camps came from the U.S. military, they being the experts at managing large organized groups.
There were over 100 CCC camps located in Ohio. Each had a special type of work. Locally, Wooster had Camp Anthony Wayne, located on the grounds of the Wayne County Infirmary, east of Wooster. It was dedicated in 1935. This camp was tasked with improving local drainage ditches.
One newspaper article dated Nov. 11, 1935, reports the Camp Anthony Wayne crew was to revitalize the Fall Creek Ditch in Milton Township, as 215 men and a diesel dragline were to be utilized to clear 65 years’ worth of underbrush. The adjoining land owners were responsible for the diesel fuel, nothing else.
To the south was Camp Killbuck, whose mandate was soil conservation. To that end they planted thousands of trees. Camp Killbuck was located 2 miles south of Shreve.
In 1939 Camp Killbuck was shuttered, its staff released or moved to other camps. The Camp Killbuck mandate was transferred to Camp Anthony Wayne, which became a soil conservation camp.
Nearby, there were CCC camps in Dover, New Philadelphia, Mansfield and Loudonville. The Loudonville CCC camp contributed much to Mohican State Park, some of the work still in use today.
World War II brought an end to the Great Depression as factories switched to wartime production. The people employed by the WPA and CCC left to become part of this new effort, either as members of the military or workers in the plants. Congress quickly reappropriated the funds from the program and formally terminated the Civilian Conservation Corps on June 30, 1942.
Camp Anthony Wayne was razed in fall 1942 to provide materials for the World War II war effort.
Looking Back is a feature by local historian Mike Franks. He can be emailed at mlfranks@gmail.com.