Once a week for the next several months we will explore the Civilian Conservation Corp Camp at Secret Valley, partially through the photographs of Charles H. Bennett, Company Clerk, who was stationed there from 1936 to 1938. Before the CCC camp was established at Secret Valley, there was a much smaller camp at the Fleming Ranch, known today as the Fleming Unit of the Honey Lake Wildlife Refuge. This consisted of approximately thirty men. It served two-fold. One for the men to get acquainted with the area to formulate what work would need to undertaken. Fleming Ranch had ample housing accommodations while the Secret Valley was being constructed. On August 20, 1935 the Secret Valley Civilian Conservation Corp Camp opened some thirty-five miles northeast of Susanville. One hundred and sixty-one young men arrived on a special 14-car train. The men came from New York and New Jersey. It was reported that it was quite a shock for them seeing this new environment of sagebrush and sand. These men would be sent to other camps, and Secret Valley became the home of Company 740 from men transferred from Piedmont, Missouri. The Secret Valley camp was also referred to District Grazing Camp No. 13. In future posts we will explore some of the work they did and during their short days off, some of their excursions.
When one enrolled into the CCC program one could enlist for six months and re-up to serve a maximum of two years.