History of CCC work in Mohican Forest focus of museum talk

LOUDONVILLE − The Cleo Redd Fisher Museum will close out its Speaker Series with a look at the history and legacy of Camp Mohican and the Civilian Conservation Corps' effort in Mohican State Forest.

The program is slated for 7 p.m. Monday.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work relief program that gave millions of young men employment on environmental projects during the Great Depression. Considered by many to be one of the most successful of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, the CCC planted more than 3 billion trees and constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks during its nine years of existence. The CCC helped to shape the modern national and state park systems.

Among the first camps established was Camp Mohican, enabling CCC workers to help develop forestry projects in Mohican State Forest. Despite uncertainty surrounding the future of the camp and the CCC as a whole, the project would prove to be worth funding and in the end was a staple of Mohican for nearly a decade.

Kenny Libben, curator of the CRF Museum, will build off last year's look at the greater role the CCC played across the state and the nation, and delve into the history of the CCC specifically in the Mohican area. With the help of original documents, photographs and interviews from camp residents, Libben will explore the establishment of the camp, the lives of those who lived and worked there and ultimately the work they completed and legacy left behind.

The program is free and open to the public and will be held in the lecture hall of the Cleo Redd Fisher Museum, 203 E. Main St. Doors open at 6:30. For more information, visit www.crfmuseum.com or call the museum at 419-994-4050.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Topic of Loudonville talk is Civilian Conservation Corps in Mohican