The Utah Division of State History, partnering with the University of Utah Marriott Library, has digitized and published the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Newsletters Collection, 1935-1941. The CCC Newsletter Collection includes weekly newsletters from CCC camps located in Utah. Featuring original artwork by camp members, these newsletters detail work projects, courses taught at camp, recreation, and other facets of camp life.

“It’s an amazing resource,” said Melissa Coy, project manager for the CCC Newsletters digitization project. “These newsletters provide a window into camp life, and they reveal much about the mission of the CCC and the values and worldviews of the men in the camps. Their unique and readable nature makes the newsletters an excellent primary source for classroom instruction.”

When FDR took office in March 1933, the Great Depression was at its worst point, with bank failures, inflation, and one in four individuals out of work. In exchange for food, clothing, a bunk, and a small allowance ($5), young men enrolled in the CCC sent the bulk of their earnings ($25) directly to their families back home. Nicknamed FDR’s “Forest Army,” the CCC planted trees, built trails, established phone lines, constructed fences, bridges, roads, and created check and silt dams for flood control. CCC members spent their individual earnings in Utah, amounting to more than $125,000 a month. Utah businesses secured government contracts to supply equipment, lumber, and foodstuffs. When the CCC ended in 1942, the Federal Security Agency estimated that the CCC had spent over $52 million in Utah. The hiking trails, campgrounds, and fishing enjoyed by Utahans today is rooted in the hard, physical labor of the men enlisted in the Civilian Conservation Corps.