Rabideau CCC Camp

The camp was established in 1935 as a project of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program. The camp, one of 2650 nationwide, was home to about 300 men aged 17–21. Like most CCC camps, the Rabideau camp was established to provide work to those unemployed as a result of the Great Depression. Enrollees at the camp came mostly from Northern Minnesota and worked on projects within the Chippewa National Forest, such as building roads and other facilities, surveying, wildlife protection, and other forestry activities. Like most other CCC projects, the Rabideau camp was built for temporary occupation. Most CCC camps were abandoned when the United States entered World War II, and most of them fell into disuse. The Rabideau camp survived because the University of Illinois used the buildings for its engineering and forestry schools between 1946 and 1972. Unfortunately, the buildings, being mostly prefabricated and having insubstantial foundations, continued to deteriorate. Thirteen of the original 25 buildings remain, including the mess hall, five barracks, three officers' quarters, the recreation hall, the hospital, the laundry building, and the education building. == Historic status ==

In 1999, the United States Forest Service began a three-year effort to stabilize and restore the Education Building. A contractor placed a foundation under the building, replaced the roof, and repaired some floors and siding. Throughout the next two years, a staff of 26 volunteers from the Forest Service's Passport in Time program spent nearly 1000 hours with general interior repairs. ==Repurposing==

The camp was recently repurposed as the Rabideau Conservation Academy and Learning Center, a year-round learning center for children and young adults from Cass County and Beltrami County. The project was sponsored by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to provide learning opportunities, bolster self-confidence, and provide a path to jobs and higher education. ==See also==