Grizzly Campground Pavilion Restoration
September 22 - September 27
FreeJoin us in shadow of Mt. Rushmore, as HistoriCorps is revs up to restore the fabled Grizzly Campground Pavilion!
SESSION DATES: August 25-30, September 1-6, September 22-27
PROJECT SUPERVISOR: Erin Crooks!
CREW LEADER: Ashley Aus
Project Site Description & History
In the shadow of our nation’s most controversial memorial, HistoriCorps next project sits humbly beneath the pine forests of South Dakota’s Black Hills. The Grizzly Campground Pavilion is a unique stone and log structure built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and is a prime example of the primitive yet utilitarian shelters constructed in its era. Located along the scenic Iron Mountain Road, a 17-mile stretch of road winding through the Black Hills, participating volunteers will have one heck of an opportunity to mix their preservation efforts with some of the country’s most breathtaking scenery and tourist attractions.
The CCC has a touted reputation in South Dakota, with over 50 camps established statewide employing upwards of 30-thousand men, the majority being sent to the Black Hills. At Custer State Park which included 125,000 acres of pristine wilderness just south of Mt. Rushmore Memorial, the CCC constructed many recreation areas at popular sites like Horse Thief Lake, which were only possible from initial work constructing dams that allowed for various recreation lakes to be developed. With a variety of Public, private, federal, and state land managers sprawling across the Black Hills, the Black Hills National Forest oversees the majority of land share in the region.
Derived in 1897 as the Black Hills Forest Reserve, the now Black Hills National Forest was created as one of the preliminary preservation areas in the United States due to increased forest fires that lead to legislation of the Timber Culture Act and Forest Reserve Act of 1891 as safeguards to protect the natural resources of the region. Derived from the Lakota language, the words “Paha Sapa,” meaning “hills that are black,” honor the dark, pine-covered hills rising several thousand feet above the surrounding prairie. Our project at the Grizzly Creek Campground is located in the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve and is close to the Black Elk Wilderness, South Dakota’s only designated wilderness area. This area encompasses the Harney Range, an area long held sacred by American Indians.
With so much history tucked into one corner of the American West, HistoriCorps is excited to offer volunteers an opportunity to visit the Black Hills and preserve a celebrated legacy of preservation work. For more information about the history of the CCC in the Black Hills, visit The Official CCC Museum of South Dakota’s website and also take a look at South Dakota Public Broadcasting piece on the history of the CCC in South Dakota.
Location and Logistics
SESSION DATES: August 25-30, September 1-6, September 22-27
Please plan to arrive at the campsite no earlier than 5pm and no later than 7pm on the first day of your session.
LOCATION: Located approximately 6 minutes from Mt. Rushmore National Memorial!
Scope of Work
HistoriCorps is committed to educating and training volunteers in preservation skills, with an overarching mission of inspiring a preservation ethic in all those involved. Learning and working alongside expert HistoriCorps field staff, volunteers and applying the traditional skills necessary to restore the Grizzly Campground Pavilion:
- Install cedar shingle roof
- Repair or replace rafter tails
- Stain logs and visible sheathing repairs
- Remove biological growth from exterior stonework and chimney
- Reset and repoint stone masonry walls, chimney, and flagstone floor steps
- Repair or replace damaged or cracked firebrick in fireplace
- Improve site drainage
