© Photographed April 8, 2017
Erected 2015 by Forward Ontario
Erected 2015 by Forward Ontario
Ontario, Vernon County, Wisconsin
43.722751, -90.590023
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Ontario CCC Camp
Ontario CCC Camp
From 1935-1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed about 150 men at Camp Ontario, one of 60 camps in the state and one of more than 4,000 throughout the United States. Located just north of Ontario on Highway 131, the camp was a sprawling complex of barracks and other facilities designed to house young men who were unemployed during the Depression. They planted trees, built trails in parts and forests, ran telephone and electrical lines, and did a variety of other projects. They were paid $30 per month, of which $25 had to be sent home to their families.
Young men came mostly from other areas of Wisconsin and the Midwest. The CCC provided two sets of clothing and plenty of food, no doubt a great relief to the young men who had struggled to find adequate nourishment during the Depression years. Much of the work in the Ontario area consisted of grubbing out gooseberry bushes, which harbor a rust that infects white pine.
CCC Camps resembled Army life, making the young men well-prepared for the outbreak of World War II. The photo at left was taken in 1941, just prior to the camp's closing. A dozen or more of the young men returned to the Ontario area after the war, opening businesses, marrying and raising families.
The marker is located along the Ontario Welcome Center History Walk at Palen Memorial Park and is accessible on the northeast corner of the intersection of State Street and Pleasant Street, Ontario, Wisconsin 54651.
Civilian Conversation Corps Legacy
Civilian Conversation Corps Legacy
Wikipedia: Civilian Conservation Corps
PBS: The American Experience: Introduction: The Civilian Conservation Corps
Vernon Broadcaster (June 3, 2015): Ontario to celebrate opening of Palen Park on June 13
Click here to view all markers at the Ontario Welcome Center History Walk
PBS: The American Experience: Introduction: The Civilian Conservation Corps
Vernon Broadcaster (June 3, 2015): Ontario to celebrate opening of Palen Park on June 13
Click here to view all markers at the Ontario Welcome Center History Walk
The marker is located at the Ontario Welcome Center History Walk.
Looking west into town . . .
View coming into town from eastbound Wisconsin Highway 33.
The marker is located in Ontario, Wisconsin.
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