C.C.C. Camp Pigeon Lake

The Civilian Conservation Corps camp east of Drummond Wisconsin actually is referred to variously as "Camp Drummond", "Camp Pigeon" and "Camp Pigeon Lake".  The latter seems most sensible, as it is in fact on Pigeon Lake.   Maybe there was some long forgotten convention on length of names.

The story is a familiar one.  It was opened in October of 1934 by CCC Company 640.  This was one of the older companies in the area, as evidenced by the low number.  The 1933 date on the sign likely refers to their formation that year, although they were at other camps before Pigeon.

Here's part of the traditional group photo.  Notable in this one are a fair number of hospital personnel.

When you travel through the area today it is densely wooded, making it easy to forget that in the early 20th century it was a logged over mess of stumps and washed out gullies.  Company 640 spent a lot of time on erosion control and reforesting.

Also noteworthy in the montage of photos below are the nice ambulance in front of the camp hospital, and the camp orchestra.  I've puzzled over an enlarged version and can't quite make out their name....CAMP PIGEON ????TEERS.

The camp baseball team was good, although the basketball team was better, taking second in the state CCC tournament.  The fellow who looks like the manager seems to be wearing a jersey that says CAMP PIGEON CCC.  Very cool artifact, I've never seen anything like it that survived.

A 1937 tabulation listed what Camp Pigeon had accomplished in the previous 31 months. 

"..more than sixty miles of trails, one ranger station built, 1,568 acres planted with trees, 1,944 acres of timber stand improvement completed, two fire towers constructed, 249 miles of lineal survey run, twelve miles of telephone lines constructed, and ribies ( maybe rabies?) eradicated to the extent of 2,430 acres, besides considerable work in lake surveying and planting fish."

At the close of the CCC era most camps were abandoned and were soon nothing but ruins.  But a few had a different fate.  From 1938 (reported but probably in error, 1948 would make more sense) to 1959 the camp was used by a variety of groups...Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and church groups.  In 1959 it was purchased from the Forest Service by the regents of the state college system.  This was under a "surplus property" program so presumably ownership had been retained during its summer camp era.  It became a most associated with the University of Wisconsin River Falls branch, who ran art, biology, business and teacher's education classes there.  It is a "second act" story rather like that of Camp Taylor Lake.

The facility was considerably expanded during that era and quite well maintained.  Sometimes it was loaned out to other groups such as the Elder Hostel program.

A few pictures from the summer of 2020.

Definite summer camp vibe.  I'm not seeing much of the earlier military style layout. 

But here and there, if you know what you are looking for.....

Faint traces of the CCC past.

The place has an eerie quiet to it now.  Evidently the last active use of it was in 2014.  At that point it was closed, supposedly with dinner plates still on the tables of the mess hall waiting for another batch of hungry campers.  Enrollment in Field Station classes had declined.  Maybe the more exotic lure of semesters abroad was just impossible to match.  The property reverted to the State of Wisconsin.  Several years of trying to find another educational use having failed the property is now for sale.