About 86 years ago, about 200 men worked in a soil conservation camp just north of Cortez. They built fences, stabilized stream banks, constructed check dams, improved pastures, planted trees and even graveled portions of Main Street at the courthouse.
Established during the Great Depression under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the camp provided jobs for unemployed youths during hard times.
The sizable camp had a strong presence in much smaller Cortez, which had a population of about 1,800 people.
Dozens of newspaper articles detail the camp’s activities: lending labor to local projects, some campers having run-ins with the law and even a public event where half of Cortez attended an open house, according to local archaeologist Ryan Spittler.
“On the weekends, or certain times, they were able to go on leave, go to church Sundays, maybe to a restaurant or a bar in town. So, they were somewhat intertwined in the community,” he said. “It wasn’t just like this isolated camp at the northern edge of town.”
Renewed interest comes as the city of Cortez pursues further research through a $22,736 History Colorado grant, prompting Spittler and historians to seek family stories and artifacts. Officials ask residents with ancestral ties to share stories, photos, letters or artifacts. Families are encouraged to contact Spittler at ryan@woodscanyon.net or (970) 564-9640.
Through archaeology, archival research and community input, Spittler and the city hope to reconstruct the history of Civilian Conservation Corps Camp SCS-14-C (Company 3837), which operated from 1939 to 1941 near the Carpenter Natural Area.
The goal: learn what daily camp life was like and preserve those stories for city records, Spittler said.
Service projects related to soil conservation spanned the county and parts of Southwest Colorado, including Dolores and San Miguel counties.
Spittler, principal investigator at Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants Inc., said many enrollees were not local, traveling from Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. He believes a few families may still live here.
“There’s at least two families in the county that have ties to individuals at the camp. One of which I’ve reached out to, but I haven't heard back yet. It was only yesterday,” he said.
In 2024, Woods Canyon completed a cultural resource survey of the Carpenter and Geer Natural Areas at the city’s request. The survey documented 13 archaeological sites and seven isolated finds, offering new insight into the camp’s footprint and daily operations.
Spittler, who works as a principal investigator at Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants, Inc., said many of the enrollees were not local, traveling for the job from Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, and any ancestral ties would mean workers and or their families would’ve settled in the area for the next eight decades. But, he believes there could be a couple of families still here.
Spittler has additionally been performing archival research to uncover more records.
Using the National Archives, Spittler located about 140 enrollee records – official government files for each person stationed there – with enrollment dates, medical reports and disciplinary notes. Some men attended school classes; nine returned to high school and two to college. Recreational activities included pool, pingpong, dominoes and organized sports such as baseball, basketball, volleyball and softball.
He also conducted research at the Montezuma Heritage Museum in Cortez, reviewing the Montezuma Valley Journal and the Cortez Sentinel newspapers for further context on the camp’s role in the community.
“I can think of one where there was a mention of a boxing tournament and members of the camp had gone off to in Grand Junction. So yeah, just kind of sometimes kind of random things like that,” he said.
“I can think of one where there was a mention of a boxing tournament and members of the camp had gone off to Grand Junction,” he said. “So yeah, just kind of sometimes kind of random things like that.”
Spittler notes that because the CCC camp's history is recent and well-documented, the project offers a unique opportunity for community involvement. The availability of records makes it easier to engage the community to see if anyone has surviving information.
“I don't think anybody necessarily who was at the camp would be still living today. They’d be well over 100 years old. It's possible, but I think it’s more than likely their family members would be the ones that would have that information at this point,” he said.
The camp shut down to make more funds available for World War II, and its buildings were transferred to the Department of War. In the 1950s, a residential area replaced the camp. Spittler said he found trash and leftover materials from the camp’s buildings that now serve as artifacts.
