CCC Camp in Leeds, Utah
Very few of the countless travelers on I-15 are aware
of the very interesting Civilian Conservation Corp camp that is just North of
St. George in the tiny town of Leeds.
The address is: 96 W. Mulberry
Lane Leeds, UT 84746, and the
coordinates are:
37° 14' 5" North Latitude, 113° 22' 0" West Longitude. The remains of the Leeds CCC Camp are one
block west of Main Street (formerly Highway 91) on Mulberry Lane (200 South) in
Leeds. The original camp area was approximately 20 acres. I-15 runs over part
of the original camp area.
DESCRIPTION
The entrance to the Leeds CCC Camp was west from Main
Street (now an extension of Mulberry) and had stone pillars with a large sign
on each side of the road, with a stone wall along the north side.
The remaining buildings from the old Leeds CCC Camp
are identified here as Buildings 1-4. Three are on the road level and one on
the top of the hill. Buildings are numbered from east to west. They are of
similar construction, but of varying size and window and door opening patterns.
All four are built on concrete foundations, with walls of coursed rubble
masonry and concrete. The local, red-orange sandstone was used for all building
and retaining walls. The stone has been "squared up" to varying
degrees. The mortar in the masonry building walls is weathered but appears to
have been flush with the adjacent stonework. The buildings are all simple
rectangular structures, with Buildings 1, 2, and 3 set into the hillside,
functioning with the adjacent masonry retaining walls to create sloping
terraces up the hillside. There is no overt decoration on any of the buildings;
they are of simple, functional construction. The Leeds CCC Camp is contemporary
with the PWA Moderne architectural style that was employed extensively in the
construction of typically urban government and institutional buildings during
the New Deal era (1935-40). While there are some slight similarities in style
-- symmetrical facades and (relatively) smooth wall surfaces -- the Leeds CCC
buildings were very utilitarian in design, and reflected simple, vernacular
design.
Building 1 was originally the infirmary and is
approximately 192 square feet in size. The main elevation, pierced by a single
door opening (with a two-panel door with a single light), faces southwest. The
north side of the building is cut into the hillside with grade level about one
foot below the eaves. The only window openings are on the end walls, one window
per wall. While the window sash is missing, from historic photos it appears
that the windows may have been multiple light operable sash (hopper or single
casement). The gable ends are sheathed in weathered 1x12 wood planks. Above the
single door is a bracketed gable overdoor or porch roof. Both this room and the
main roof are covered with deteriorated corrugated metal and the eaves are
exposed, showing the simple 2x4 rafter ends. The interior is rough plaster with
single wire light with bulb. It appears the north wall of all three buildings
on the road level have been cut into the hill and forms placed to hold rock and
mortar fill. When the masonry cured, the forms were removed, and the walls
plastered and painted. A simple stone step and walk are in front of Building 1
and stone terraces extend from the east and west ends of the building.
Building 2, originally a dispensary/supply facility,
also faces southwest, toward the road. Approximately 480 square feet in size,
the floor and front porch with 6 steps are of concrete and stone, with a
three-panel solid core door at the west end of this side. The inside walls are
again white plaster. There are three taller windows in front, hinged to swing
open and have 2 x 3 glass panes framed in wood with the same type of windows on
each end of the building. The roof is corrugated metal and gable ends are again
1x12 planks. Lighting was provided by a single bare light fixture with exposed
wiring.
Building 3 is approximately 360 square feet in size
and functioned as a blacksmith shop. It has a southwest-facing, solid wood door
and two windows in this gable end. On the northwest side of building, there is
a double door and a single window. The windows are 2x3 panes in wooden frames.
The northeast wall is set into the hill. There is a single window opening at
grade on the northwest end. Inside along the southeast wall, a forge of some
type was used and an extra-large metal stove pipe was used, flanged to fit onto
the forge. The floor was of flagstone, a few still remain. The roof of this
building has deteriorated diamond-shaped shingles.
Building 4 is on top of the hill at the southwest end
of this promontory, above Buildings 1 and 2, in a position of natural
prominence. It functioned as the camp commander's headquarters. Approximately
496 square feet in size, it faces southwest with a door opening almost centered
on the wall with window openings on each side of the door. The windows were
casements with 2x3 panes and wooden frame. The same type of windows were on the
other sides of the building. The northeast wall has settled quite a bit at the
south corner. On the outside of this east wall initials and names (apparently
of several CCC "enrollees") have been cut into the stone of the
building. This building had a large room with two partitioned areas, one for a
small bath, toilet and basin, in the northeast corner. Eight inches west from
the front door a partition extended from the south wall to the north wall with
a door opening near the front (south). The same basic type of construction was
used for this building -- stone walls with rough plaster, painted white. While
the gabled roof has collapsed, it was covered inside with a ceiling of
wallboard or celotex. Illumination was again from one, single wire lights, one
in each room. The concrete floor had a linoleum floor cover. At the entrance, a
small concrete walk, two feet wide, extends to the west and south to the
terracing and steps. A level terrace, about twelve feet wide, was formed around
this building with concrete retaining walls on the downslope sides. Officers
from Fort Douglas and the CCC camp -- the "upper echelon," as one man
called them, used this building. Commander Shipley also had his office here.
While it is significantly deteriorated, the form and feeling of the building
remain.
The other major, contributory feature (structure) of
the district is the extensive stone terracing with integral stairways. The
southwest side of the hill, between the buildings on ground level and the
buildings on the top of the hill was all terraced. Each level being
approximately 48 inches high and the top of each terrace was leveled out
somewhat. The steps were made of the same local stone as used for the
terracing, and these started on the east side of Building 2. There are four
rows of terracing, with eight to ten steps between each row. On the southwest
side of hill, going down to the north side of blacksmith shop (Building 3)
there also exists a row of steps. On the west side, from the Building 4, a road
goes down to the old road that was in use then. Approximately 120 feet to the
north, from the bottom of this road, there is a stone horse corral. (This
feature may be more closely associated with the U.S. Forest Service usage of
the site.) Extensive rock work was done in the camp area but has been
substantially destroyed. Some still remains outside of the proposed district
(i.e., behind an existing house owned by the Prisbreys, the stone pier at the
entrance to Mulberry, and near the on-ramp to 1-15).
Demolished buildings include the barracks which each
housed 50 men, the dining hall, the library, and several other essentially
temporary structures (see historic photos). These frame buildings were
typically built on concrete foundations with 10 to 12-inch-wide
board-and-batten siding and simple gable roofs. No type of insulation was used.
Light was provided through multiple light, hopper (bottom hinged) windows and
single, bare light bulbs with exposed wiring. Interior furnishings were
spartan.
Also destroyed over the years were the latrines,
showers, and swimming pool. The latrines were earth pits with seats made of
wood, twenty holes each. Urinals were of galvanized iron and were nailed to the
wall. Shower rooms were the same type of plank construction with concrete
floors, 20 shower heads and floor drains. The pool was filled in c. 1980 when
some CCC stone work on Main Street was destroyed by the Leeds Town Council. The
stone work was bladed down together with large trees overhanging the wall and
street. The debris was pushed into the old CCC swimming pool at the west end of
the road (now called Mulberry). Just beyond the pool area is the fence of 1-15.
Remaining CCC-era features outside of the proposed
National Register site include the stone entrance piers (now missing their
steel and wood signs), some terracing of the earth, the frame horse barn, and
the foundation of a pump house and the pond -- all located south and west of
Mulberry. Of these features, only a few (the barn, stone piers and the pond)
perhaps retain their integrity but all have been substantially altered over the
years. While interesting, they are not essential to the current understanding
or interpretation of the CCC Camp. The Leeds Historical Society has initially
focussed on the structures within the parcel of ground likely to be donated for
rehabilitation and interpretation (see master plan drawing). Additional
features may be included as warranted by future research.
HISTORY
The Leeds CCC camp opened in October 1933 under the
direction of the Dixie National Forest Service on the site of an existing
ranger station. Stone was recovered from the neighboring silver mining ghost town
of Silver Reef to build the CCC administrative buildings.
A large crowd attended the dedication of this camp on
November 11, 1933. The American Legion conducted the program and the Dixie
College Band played the music.
John Shipley was the commanding officer. Some of the
other officers were Captain McBride, Fat Larson (a slim man), Dorsey, Verle
Newbold, and Ken Carnahan. Al Dobruskey ran the big Caterpillar for the Forest
Service and Dill Pickles (a nickname) was a mechanic.
Leeds, a town of less than 200, more than doubled with
the opening of the camp. Two hundred young men from all over the country
resided and worked at Camp #585. Townspeople were reluctant at first about the
impact the camp would have on local life, but support grew as the CCC camp
clearly provided a boon to the struggling economy of Leeds. The community
became even more accepting as the men worked on local projects, like a swimming
pool, in their off-duty hours.
The Leeds CCC crews built the road to Oak Grove and
completed the Oak Grove Campground, which included a tennis court, wading pool,
and playground.
The Leeds CCC Camp was closed in 1942, and most of the
wood frame buildings were removed by 1950. These included the barracks
buildings which were to the west past where the freeway now runs. Abner Perry
from Cedar City bought the barracks and hired Reed Cox, Klingensmith, and Glenn
Beal to dismantle them. He hauled the materials to Cedar City to build other buildings.
Construction of the I-15 freeway in the 1970s
reportedly destroyed several remaining historic structures.
The remains of the CCC camp were recorded as an
historic archeological site in 1989 as part of a survey for cultural resources
near 1-15. The resulting form for site 42WS2394 lists eighteen features
(buildings, terraces, roads, trash sites, etc.). Several of these features are
located outside the boundaries for a nomination which focuses on the most
significant historic features included in the property to be donated to the
Leeds Historical Society.
The Leeds CCC Camp Historic District was added to the
National Register of Historic Places (#1993000062) on March 4, 1993. Today only
the four stone administrative buildings remain on 2 1/3 acres which make up the
historical site. You may tour them today as they are just inside these
monuments. The majority of the camp buildings, like the barracks, camp mess
hall, and warehouses, were wooden and have not survived.
This is the only CCC Camp in Utah with buildings still
standing.
