African Americans in the CCC

Front: Aiken State Park was one of 17 state parks built in S.C. by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which was racially segregated. Company 1438, a white unit, began work on the park in 1934. They were replaced in 1936 by Company 4470, an African American unit who worked here until 1939 and ultimately built most of the park. When the park opened in 1936, it prohibited African American visitors. Reverse: Most Black CCC workers in S.C. were assigned to forestry projects, and Aiken was one of the only S.C. state parks constructed by an African American unit. Workers here planted trees, fought wildfires, stocked fish, and built roads, buildings, trails, dams, and other resources around the park. Aiken and the rest of the state park system did not fully integrate until 1966.