Camp Lee,  Company 532, SP-6
Camp Lee was home to Company 532, SP-6 and was located at Clifftop in Fayette County outside of what is now, Babcock State Park.  Along with Camp Beaver (Company 1522, SP-3) which was across the road, Camp Lee worked mainly on developing two state parks, Babcock and Hawks Nest.  Camp Lee had its start when Company 532 was transferred from McArthur, Ohio in July, 1935 where it was known as Camp Vinton with a PE designation responsible for Private Land Erosion.  Records show that the two camps were consolidated in 1937 when SP-6 moved across the street into SP-3 facilities.  SP-3 then was terminated.  The image at right, taken from a Thanksgiving Day Menu in 1936, shows both companies as SP-3.  Below are pictures of camp life and projects of the camp.

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Taken from a 1936 Thanksgiving Day Menu.



This is Camp Lee.  Notice the Headquarters Building in the upper right of the picture.



 This is Camp Lee. Notice the Headquarters Building in the upper right of the picture.



Camp Lee in Winter




Inside one of the barracks. A large coal burning furnace provided heat in the Winter.

Inside one of the barracks. A large coal burning furnace provided heat in the Winter.



Camp Lee mess hall.

Camp Lee mess hall.



Inside of the mess hall.

 Inside of Camp Lee mess hall.




A CCC truck loaded with a bulldozer.
 A Camp Lee CCC truck loaded with a bulldozer.



A building under construction at Babcock. It is perhaps one of the cabins.		 A building under construction at Babcock. It is perhaps one of the cabins.




Chowline in the field.




Completed cabins at Babcock.		 Completed cabins at Babcock State Park.



This is the mountain stream fed swimming pool at Babcock.		 This is the mountain stream fed swimming pool at Babcock State Park.



This is a group of CCC boys of Company 532 with their civilian supervisor in 1937.		 This is a group of CCC boys of Company 532 with their civilian supervisor in 1937.




Another group of men in a more relaxed pose.
 Another group of Camp Lee men in a more relaxed pose.





After a hard days work, a few of Company 532 boys relax.

After a hard days work, a few of Camp Lee Company 532 boys relax.





This new enrollee, John Boling from Ohio, is wearing the typical surplus WWI uniform. Note how large the shirt is. Uniforms were often issued without regard to size.

 This new enrollee, John Boling from Ohio, is wearing the typical surplus WWI uniform. Note how large the shirt is. Uniforms were often issued without regard to size.




John Boling as a Special Project Assistant. Note the insignia of rank on the sleeve and the much better fitting uniform. Also, you will note John appears to be much older than in the previous image. Normally, an enrollee was in the CCC for a maximum of two years. Although it was rare, some were allowed to stay longer, perhaps because of the dire straits of their families. In this case, John Boling stayed in for almost six years. At about the 5th year, he was disenrolled and brought back in a special category, perhaps similar to that of the Local Experienced Man provision. John was also married his last year in the CCC, another unusual practice.
John Boling as a Special Project Assistant. Note the insignia of rank on the sleeve and the much better fitting uniform. Also, you will note John appears to be much older than in the previous image. Normally, an enrollee was in the CCC for a maximum of two years. Although it was rare, some were allowed to stay longer, perhaps because of the dire straits of their families. In this case, John Boling stayed in for almost six years. At about the 5th year, he was disenrolled and brought back in a special category, perhaps similar to that of the Local Experienced Man provision. John was also married his last year in the CCC, another unusual practice.






This is a copy of a Camp Lee newspaper, Camp Crazy Critics.  These papers were done by a team of military and enrollees capturing camp life and providing informative pieces important to the enrollees. Other copies of Camp Crazy Critics are available online.  Copies of the newspaper that followed the termination of Camp Critics, Camp Lee Traveler, are also available online.
 Camp Lee newspaper Camp Crazy Critic from 1936.
620KB PDF





This is a copy of a Thanksgiving Day Menu and Camp roster.  Since Camp Lee and Camp Beaver were companion camps, they celebrated such events jointly.

 Camp Lee and Camp Beaver Thanksgiving Day Menu and Roster, 1936.
492KB PDF