You cannot visit Brown County State Park without seeing the results of the hard work and the craftsmanship of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The CCC came to Brown County about 1933. The CCC was a visible group of working men composed of veterans. They built all of the shelter houses in the state park and all of the log buildings. They hauled out huge blocks of stone and made them ready to use in the buildings where the stone is so beautiful and very visible.
Nicholas Roberts had four trucks that were used for various hauling jobs. He and his drivers took logs, cross ties and other native wood products out of the county. On return trips they picked up and delivered freight from the rail yards in Columbus. His business was quickly tapped to haul supplies to the builders of the new CCC camp up on Weed Patch Hill in Brown County State Park. When the corps members moved in, his trucks delivered their food supplies, clothing and tools.
The first arrivals lived in old surplus Army tents. These were soon replaced with barracks made of high quality construction lumber. The barracks were kept toasty warm throughout harsh winters by two potbellied stoves in each building. Their tight construction made them easy to heat. The mess hall had multiple stoves — no air-conditioning, but there were great hinged doors on all four sides that could be raised to let air flow through in the summer. The same was true of the barracks. The walls behind the big doors were screened to keep pesky woodland creatures outside in their native habitat.
After the war, it is a fact that building supplies of all sorts were in short supply because of that terrible war. Good quality lumber was simply not available. By then, the CCC was no longer needed. The barracks were about to be dismantled. The local residents heard that the barracks were about to become available to local bidders, who would take them down and clean everything off the site. Once purchased, the time allowed for their removal was very short.
One of the houses built of lumber gleaned from two of the CCC barracks is at 175 S. Jefferson St., in the southwestern part of Nashville today. This place has legendary significance because the land was part of Sylvanous “Vene” Schrock’s original homestead. Vene was the original model for the colorful Brown County character, Abe Martin.
The house was built by Carroll (Sandy) McDonald where he and his wife, Dorval Voland McDonald, and their two sons made their home.
