Deer Creek Dam, CCC Government Camp, West side of U.S. Highway 189, north of railroad overpass and 2, 000 feet southwest of Deer Creek Dam, Charleston

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS UT-137. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

West side of U.S. Hwy north of railroad overpass and feet southwest of Deer Creek Dam (HAER No. UT- 93-A), Charleston vicinity, Wasatch County, Utah. Quad: Aspen Grove, Utah:1993; Charleston, Utah:1993. UTM: Zone 12 A: mE 44 mN B: mE mN C: mE 44 mN D: mE mN Date of Construction:

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS UT-137. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The government camp for Civilian Conservation Corps workers was established southwest of the Deer Creek Dam site in and was disbanded in with the completion of the dam's construction. The CCC was a federal work program introduced by President F. D. Roosevelt's historic New Deal plan in as a response to massive unemployment spurred by the Great Depression. The CCC workers housed at the Deer Creek camp played a major role in the construction of the Deer Creek Dam and the Provo River Project at large. They provided labor for railroad and highway reconstruction; dismantling of the old railroad grade and structures; clearing of the damsite and other project lands; and manual labor on the construction projects themselves, Deer Creek Dam, CCC Government Camp HABS No.

UT-137 (page 2) such as hand excavation and form building at the dam. The Deer Creek Dam was constructed as the key structure of the Bureau of Reclamation's Provo River Project, the largest water resource development project undertaken in Utah. It was the second largest earth fill dam constructed by Reclamation at the time, and Reclamation's first project intended to provide domestic water. The Provo River Project followed a precedent of 40 Federal reclamation projects that had been or were nearly completed by Its construction was during a significant period of accelerated American infrastructure development founded on technological investment intended to make the West a sustainable, viable, and profitable landscape.

The CCC workers housed at the Deer Creek camp played a significant role toward these ends. For additional information regarding the construction of the Deer Creek Dam, refer to "Deer Creek Dam," HAER No. UT-93. Project Statement: This HABS project was undertaken by the Utah Department of Transportation in order to document the historic features of the camp prior to the realignment and improvement of U. S. Highway 189 in the area. Preparation for construction of the project's Deer Creek portion has been underway since the and the work is expected to begin in The field work, site plan, historical reports, and photographs were prepared by Alpine Archaeological Consultants, Inc., Montrose, Colorado. Jonathon C.

Horn served as the Principal Investigator, and Gianfranco Archimede conducted the fieldwork, historic research, large-format photography, and report preparation.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS UT-137. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Gianfranco Archimede, Alpine Archaeological Consultants, Inc., April Deer Creek Dam, CCC Government Camp HABS No. UT-137 (page 3) A government camp for Civilian Conservation Corps workers was established approximately one-quarter mile southwest of the Deer Creek damsite, in a drainage area between the North Deer Creek and Weeks' borrow pits to the north and south. The area of the camp was also between U.S. Highway 189 and a large bend of the relocated Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad grade on the east and west. Deer Creek ran through the camp, and it is probable that the original housing area was constructed along its banks. Dam construction workers hired by the contractor were not permitted to stay in the camp, as they were not government employees.

Although the contractor might have established a separate camp at the damsite, it was unnecessary because most workers chose to stay in nearby communities. 1 Very little documentation is available to establish many details about the true size and character of the original camp, or how many people were housed there. The property was purchased from the Julius Anderson family by Reclamation in and the camp was established prior to December of that year, before the dam project was open for bids in the spring of CCC forces completed initial clearing of the damsite by the end of January 2 The camp was equipped with piped culinary water, a septic tank, a "complete sewage disposal system built prior to the establishment of the camp," several cottages, and recreational facilities.

3 It is likely that camp structures were wood frame with either poured concrete floors and footings or raised post bungalow-style supports. Structures may have included several bunk houses, a cook house, a bath house, a pump house, sheds, and a mess hall. A sprinkler system was installed and landscaping work took place in 4 Reports made on the camp during the dam project told that optimum health and sanitary conditions were maintained throughout the duration of the construction project. CCC workers played a major role in the Provo River Project and at the Deer Creek Dam.

They provided labor for railroad and highway reconstruction; dismantling of the old railroad grade and structures; clearing of the damsite and other project lands; and manual labor on the construction projects themselves, such as hand excavation and form building at the dam. It is likely that the camp was disbanded following the completion of the dam project in October however, it is not known what was removed from the area at that time. Reclamation owned the land and maintained the camp area for dam keepers' housing throughout the next several decades. Sometime during the 1 U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Project History: Provo River Project- Utah, Deer Creek Division, Vol. II, submitted by E. 0. Larson, Construction Engineer (Provo: UT: Bureau of Reclamation), p.

50. 2 Ibid., p. 8. 3 Ibid., p. 50; Project History: Provo River Project-Utah, Deer Creek Division, Vol. III, p. 87. 4 Project History: Provo River Project-Utah, Deer Creek Division, Vol. III, p. 30. Deer Creek Dam, CCC Government Camp HABS No. UT-137 (page 4) the area was leased to the State of Utah for the purpose of housing employees engaged at state recreational sites in the Deer Creek Reservoir area, such as the Wasatch Mountain State Park. The original layout of the camp is unknown and it is, therefore, difficult to firmly establish what parts of the current landscape are left from the original occupation of the camp; however, it is likely that few, if any, are. Little evidence remains of the North Deer Creek and Weeks' borrow pit areas situated north and south of the camp.

Drastic alteration of the landscape since by the Utah Department of Transportation's preparation to relocate U.S. Highway 189 has compromised the entire eastern portion of the camp. A large earthen highway berm, oriented northeast to southwest, covers the eastern portion of the original camp area, as evidenced by the cutting off of the paved residential area loop road. The berm was constructed adjacent to the existing highway and rises approximately 80 feet above the ground level of the camp. The camp area is no longer visible from the highway because of the berm's great height. The placement of the berm necessitated the reconstruction of the camp's access road to its present configuration because the original access road was covered by the berm.

Another major alteration is the diversion of Deer Creek through a diversion gate and the construction of a rock-lined flood control canal. The 430-foot-long, 33-foot-wide canal follows the course of the residential loop road from west to east toward a concrete culvert that channels the creek under the highway berm. A 20-foot-wide by 8-foot-tall concrete wall oriented north to south at the upstream (west) end of the canal diverts the creek through an adjacent control gate north of the wall. The course of the creek then meanders eastward along the north side of the canal toward the culvert in an obvious man-made pattern. During times of heavy water flow, Deer Creek overflows the concrete wall and spills into the flood canal.

Also, the course of the creek can be entirely diverted into the flood canal by closing the control gate. Construction of the flood canal required the removal of a large corrugated sheet metal storage shed that was moved to its location in as well as the removal of two small wooden sheds in the area of the control gate. The current layout of the camp area consists of a paved loop access road that surrounds the residential area; a large fenced-in corral area between the west edge of the loop road, the railroad grade, and Deer Creek; and an unused area on the south side of the loop road between the access road and the highway berm. The camp area that is in use today is all south of Deer Creek, which defines the northern boundary of the camp.

The residential area is defined by the inside oval formed by the loop road. It is landscaped with well-kept grass on all sides of the houses. The corral area is west of the residential area, and is mostly dirt with a Deer Creek Dam, CCC Government Camp HABS No. UT-137 (page 5) number of tall trees. It contains several outbuildings/animal shelters, a pump house, and remnants of the original camp's concrete features. The unused area is south of the residential area and southwest of the corral area. It is overgrown and contains a number of tall trees, evidence of fencing, and a former trash pit. The fencelines are clearly not historical elements of the complex, having been installed or replaced during the recent landscape modifications.

ADDENDUM TO: HABS UT-137 DEER CREEK DAM, CCC GOVERNMENT CAMP HABS UT-137 West side of U.S. Highway north of railroad overpass and feet southwest of Deer Creek Dam Charleston vicinity Wasatch County Utah REDUCED COPIES OF MEASURED DRAWINGS HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior C Street NW Washington, DC