Historic Marker: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

On April 5, 2008 at Lake Accotink Park, Fairfax County celebrated the CCC's 75th anniversary and unveiled an historic marker commemorating the CCC's contributions to the county.


In the photo on the right, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (center), Vice Chairman and Braddock District Supervisor Sharon Bulova, and Bill Sheads unveil the marker. In the second photo, Park Director Tawny Hammond (left, partially obscured) and Mary Lipsey join the group.

Bill Sheads' memory of a CCC-built fire road provided the seed for Mary Lipsey's research and effort within the Fairfax County History Commission to approve the historic marker.

The marker stands beside the path of the former fire road, now entrance to the park headquarters building. It reads: "THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS - During the Depression, in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to help unemployed men, ages 18 to 25. CCC men created state parks, improved soil conservation, conducted reforestation and constructed fire trails. The men received food, clothing, shelter, health care, education and were paid $30 monthly, of which $25 was sent home. Projects of the racially segregated Fort Belvoir CCC camp, Army 3 VA-2399 C ("Colored"), included building fire trails through forested areas of Fairfax County. One such trail started at Old Keene Mill Road, crossed nearby Accotink Creek, and ended at Backlick Road. The Fairfax County History Commission, 2007"

Photos courtesy of John Browne

Oliver Farm, Annandale, Virginia

On Christmas Eve 1931, Robert Stringfellow Oliver, his wife Charlene Byrd Oliver, seven children and 24 cattle moved from Shirlington to this farm house in Annandale, which stands on Gallows Road near Columbia Pike. The cattle drive and move were so well planned that Mrs. Oliver was able to entertain as usual on the very next day, Christmas. Before marrying his wife and becoming a farmer, Mr. Oliver had been a street car driver in D.C. Their original farm was in Shirlington, but when that area became too crowded, Mr. Oliver purchased 89 acres in Annandale in 1926. He spent the next five years clearing the land and building the house. In Annandale, Mr. Oliver was a dairy farmer. Each morning the dairy company would pick up the milk cans and also regularly return for unannounced inspections.

Gladys Oliver McElwee, next to the youngest of the eight children remembers that the house had electricity and one bathroom for the ten members of the household. Her five brothers shared one large room. There was also an outhouse in the fields. Besides cows, the family had pigs, chickens, work horses and a vegetable garden. Gladys remembers that one of her brothers while milking a cow got mad at her and sprayed the cow's milk in Gladys' face. Mrs. McElwee also recalls her father leasing land during World War II for an Army radar station. One of her fondest memories was going to D.C. for dance lessons. She would catch the bus on Columbia Pike and ride into Washington for a quarter. She also remembers that her family avoided the local general store and would ride into Alexandria to shop, because her father said that the local store was too expensive. To this day, Gladys said she does not consider herself a farm girl although she grew up on this farm in Annandale.

Undated photograph courtesy of Gladys Oliver McElwee

Camp Reports: Civilian Conservation Corps No. 2339C Camp

CCC No. 2399C Camp, also known as Army-3VA Camp, was located at the U.S. Army's Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County. A racially segregated unit, it was comprised of African Americans except for assigned Army Reserve officers and other leaders. The Camp's work on reforestation and fire control projects included road construction and firefighting in and near Braddock District. A significant but nearly forgotten contribution was construction in the 1930s of an access road through an extensive forest area bounded by Braddock, Rolling, Backlick and Old Keene Mill roads. Erased by suburban development, the road no longer appears on current maps. Today, that former forest has been replaced largely by the community of Springfield and Lake Accotink Park. Lake Accotink was originally created during World War I as a water source for Fort Belvoir.

Two camp inspection reports - for March 21, 1936 and March 8, 1938 - provide insights into the people, operations and life of CCC No. 2399C Camp, including:
--Location, size and description of camp and its facilities
--U.S. Army Reserve officers, camp leaders and personnel assigned
--Compensation
--Details about camp sanitation, medical services, motor vehicles and safety program
--Evaluation ratings on camp facilities, conditions, personnel and morale
--Food, meals and daily menus
--Mission, responsibilities, work projects and plans
--Sports and recreation
--Religious services
--Health, including deaths of camp personnel
--Education, including efforts to eliminate illiteracy

Courtesy of Mary Lipsey; obtained during her research of the CCC from the The National Archives and Records Administration.

Essay: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

In a chance conversation with Mary Lipsey, Bill Sheads mentioned the CCC's work in the 1930s in building a road through what was then an extensive forest, likely for fire control access. The CCC's role was all but forgotten and the road, erased by suburban development, had disappeared from current maps. Mary's research has verified the road's construction and location and led to creation of the first historic marker to commemorate the CCC's contributions to Fairfax County.

Courtesy of Mary Lipsey

Oral History, Part 2: Lee Hubbard

Part 2 of two parts. Lee Hubbard's family can trace its roots in Fairfax County to the 1700s. He discusses his childhood and milestone events. Lee Hubbard became a member of the police department and he talks about criminal cases, traffic, and the growth, administration, and operation of the police department.

Oral History, Part 2: Delbert (Bill) Sheads and Elsie Sisson (1921 - 2008)

In Part 2 of two interview sessions, Bill and Elsie (Sheads) Sisson, brother and sister, reminisce about their family, which came to the Braddock District from Culpepper, Virginia, in 1903. They talk about people and places, schools, lumbering and saw mills, and church life.

Oral History: James Roland

James Roland was born in northern Virginia. His parents had moved to the area from Tennessee after World War II because of the better job market. James Roland learned carpentry and dry wall from his father, joined him in business, and then turned to carpentry and building. As a boy, he delivered papers on horseback. He remembers retrieving Civil War artifacts on local property, raising farm animals and distances traveled on rural roads for shopping, schools, and medical care. Railroads and hobos are among his early memories.

Oral History: Dennis Howard

Dennis Howard traces part of the history of African Americans in Fairfax County from the nineteenth century. He recreates the story of his own family from slavery to the present day. His ancestor, Horace Gibson, and fellow former slave Moses Parker established a blacksmith shop and purchased land near the intersection of Little River Turnpike and Prosperity Avenue after the Civil War. The partners eventually expanded their holdings to 400 acres, and the area later became known as Ilda.

Page Parker Family, circa 1887

Page Augustus Parker and Matilda Gibson Parker and their daughters, Maude, Molly, and Alice, circa 1887. The couple took over the blacksmith shop founded by Moses Parker, father of Page Augustus, and his partner, Horace Gibson. The blacksmith shop on the corner of Little River Turnpike and today's Prosperity Avenue served travelers between Alexandria and points west. By 1878, the Gibsons and Parkers owned 400 acres of land that formed Ilda, a community of shops and a church probably named after Matilda Gibson Parker.

Courtesy of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish, from the book Shades of Gray: A Beginning...The Origins and Development of a Black Family in Fairfax, VA by Hareem Badil-Abish

Hareem Badil-Abish photos are copyrighted and may be reproduced or otherwise used only with written permission of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish.

Ernest (Buddy) Belote, circa 1960

Ernest (Buddy) Belote worked as a broadcast engineer for WTOP radio station in Washington, D.C. His profession brought him close to leading national figures, and he reported on major events of the day including the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the health crisis of President Dwight Eisenhower.

Courtesy Ernest (Buddy) Belote