The Civilian Conservation Corps Camp at Morrison, Colorado

When one walks from the upper parking lot of Red Rocks Amphitheater towards the park, you will see this statue entitled "CCC Worker" dedicated in honor for the 3 million workers who served in the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1933 to 1942 and to honor those members of Co 1848, SP 13-C, at Morrison, Colorado, who were the builders of this Red Rocks Amphitheatre from 1936 to 1941.

The dedication plaque under the statue seen above.

Click here if you'd like to see one of the many concerts we attended in Red Rocks Amphitheater

Please click on twice to enlarge to read. This graphic is part of an exhibit inside a CCC Camp at Morrison, Colorado

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal program under President Franklin Roosevelt's administration, aimed at reducing unemployment among young men by giving them steady work improving the nation’s landscape, public lands, and infrastructure. When it was implemented in 1933, the CCC was the largest-ever public works program. At the president’s urging, the CCC enrolled 25,000 young men by April 6, 1933. The initial camp, appropriately called Roosevelt, was established on April 17 at George Washington National Forest near Luray, Virginia. Less than three months later, about 300,000 men from across the country were settled in some 1,500 camps. CCC enrollment was initially limited to single male US citizens between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. Enrollees were assigned to camps for an initial six-month period with the option to reenlist for up to two years. The height of CCC enrollment was reached in the summer of 1935 with over half a million men scattered across 2,600 camps. Each of these camps typically housed about 200 men. Corps members received housing, three meals a day and $30 a month — $25 of which went directly to their families.  The CCC program of the 1930s put 3 million men nationwide to work over the course of its 9.5-year life.

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Photo part of the CCC Camp from the Morrison CCC Camp exhibit.

Colorado’s first twenty-nine CCC camps were established in the summer of 1933. Two years later, at the height of the program, that number was forty-seven. In all, 172 camps spread across the mountains and plains. Men performed all types of badly needed conservation work.

A vintage photo of the natural setting of Red Rocks Amphitheater. part of the exhibit at the CCC Camp in Morrison, Colorado

One of the CCC’s most important projects was turning an incredible rock formation just outside of Denver into an actual amphitheater. Red Rocks Park, known for its towering 300-foot sandstone formation and 200-mile panoramic view of Denver and the plains, has become a destination for Colorado residents and tourists from around the world. The amphitheater, world-renowned for its natural acoustics and majestic landscape, often appears at the top of various lists of premier concert venues.  The Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp Co 1848, SP -13-C, was the camp responsible for building the amphitheater.

Please click on to enlarge

The Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp is part of the Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp historic district. The camp and adjoining Morrison Park comprise 18 acres of the overall 640 acres Red Rocks Park. The camp houses one of the largest collections of intact CCC buildings in the United States.

Please click on to enlarge

While the camp is not open to the public on a regular basis, we arranged a Ranger-led tour of the CCC Camp with members of a community group we belong to during the summer. It was fascinating to see where the men lived and worked while they built Red Rocks Amphitheater and hear some of their stories, narrated by the Ranger. 

Please click on twice to enlarge. This graphic is part of the exhibit at the CCC Camp in Morrison, Colorado.

Vintage photo of the construction of Red Rocks Amphitheater from the exhibit at the CCC Camp at Morrison, Colorado.

Please click on twice to enlarge. This graphic is part of the exhibit

About half of the CCC camps were assigned to two bureaus in the Department of Agriculture: the Forest Service and Soil Conservation Service. With Colorado’s vast forests, the CCC provided an unprecedented opportunity to accomplish many badly needed improvements. Among other tasks, enrollees built roads, trails, and campgrounds; planted millions of seedlings; thinned overcrowded timber stands; removed dead wood; and performed vital fire suppression services. On Colorado’s eastern plains, camps administered by the Soil Conservation Service completed soil and water erosion control projects resulting from overgrazing and prolonged drought.

Recently, HistoriCorps, a volunteer organization that helps preserve historic places, is restoring eleven more of the Morrison CCC Camp buildings in exchange for moving their Denver headquarters to the site. It is an opportunity for HistoriCorps to consolidate their operations and work with the city of Denver to rehabilitate the buildings at the CCC camp as well as throughout the Denver Mountain Parks system.

If you would like to join a group tour of the CCC Camp in Morrison, Colorado, you can arrange it by contacting Denver Mountain Parks at the email: mountainparks AT gmail DOT com or call 720.865.0900 and leave a message.

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