Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Koke'e State Park, Historical camp buildings in Kokee State Park, United States
The Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Kōkeʻe State Park is a historic work settlement of seventeen contributing and three non-contributing buildings, including barracks, a mess hall, and a ranger's cabin built in 1930. The camp administration building, 812 square feet, now serves as the Natural History Museum. The lumber was floated ashore in saltwater at Port Allen, which gave it lasting termite protection.
Built in 1935 as one of five Hawaii camps of the Civilian Conservation Corps under Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, the camp housed workers who cut trails, built roads and fences, planted over a million trees on Kauaʻi, fought forest fires and removed feral mammals. After the CCC disbanded in 1943, the 443d Airlift Wing used it during World War II, then the Job Corps from 1966 to 1973 and the Youth Conservation Corps. Hurricane Iwa devastated it in 1982; Hui O Laka restored it in the 1990s, and it joined the National Register on December 20, 1996.
The camp shows how the government employed people and organized their work lives during the 1930s. The wooden buildings and their layout reflect the daily routines and living conditions typical for workers of that era.
The camp sits on Hawaii Route 550 in Waimea, Kauai, within Kokeʻe State Park. The former administration building, an 812-square-foot structure, now holds the Natural History Museum. Overnight stays in the executive building require advance reservations and are limited mainly to Hui O Laka volunteers and researchers, with rental fees paid ahead; large group functions need prior approval.
The lumber for the camp could not be unloaded directly at Port Allen because the harbour was too shallow and no equipment was available to lift it. Instead, the timber was floated ashore in salt water, and the soaking gave the wood termite protection that kept it largely intact when the camp was listed on the National Register in 1996.
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