If you haven’t noticed by now, HistoriCorps is often associated with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Restoring CCC built structures has been a niche our organization has gladly sought to fulfill and our upcoming project at Camp Rabideau may be one of those crown jewel moments where our non-profit’s mission and the CCC’s heritage intersect to make a legacy defining impact.

Camp Rabideau, located inside the Chippewa National Forest of northern Minnesota, is an exemplary effort of preservation and curation. Built in the 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, Camp Rabideau is one of hundreds of work camps developed from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal aimed at countering the Great Depression by putting young men to work on public lands projects across the country. The camp itself saw action from 1935 through 1941 and was built from pre-fabricated materials with the intention of being a temporary compound. Ninety years later Camp Rabideau has weathered father time due to a series of fortunate circumstances that otherwise would have left it dilapidated like most of its counterparts.

With the onset of World War II, the buildings at Camp Rabideau fell into disuse and the inevitable lack of maintenance that accompanies it. However, in 1946 the University of Illinois began utilizing Camp Rabideau for its engineering and forestry schools, but by the early 1970s it was clear these structures were not built to last and the university moved on. Over the next 20 years the camp would fall further into decay with only thirteen of the original 25 buildings still intact. In 1991 the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota would step in to help preserve this fading landmark of the New Deal and by 1999 the Chippewa National Forest would begin its own restoration efforts that would ultimately lead to a continued push for more preservation work at the camp.

In 2006 the camp was designated as a National Historic Landmark and by 2010 was repurposed as the Rabideau Conservation Academy and Learning Center, providing year-round youth programs for kids and young adults serving the nearby local counties. It’s this legacy of providing opportunities to young folks that sets Camp Rabideau apart from the many of disheveled CCC camps and recreation areas spread across the county. If you want a hands on opportunity to preserve a truly historic place that will live on in service of others, this opportunity cannot be missed!