Camden State Park

The radio on the end table looked authentic, but we soon learned it was a replica. It fit well into the décor of the historic Redwood Lodge, built in 1934 by the VCC, Veteran’s Conservation Corp, in what was to become Camden State Park.

(I had heard of the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, that Franklin D. Roosevelt established in 1933 as part of the New Deal Program to provide jobs and help lift the US out of the Great Depression. Similarly, the VCC hired veterans of WWI during the same time period for the same purpose.)

Redwood Lodge, Camden State Park

We stayed a couple of nights in the historic lodge. It was fun to learn the 1930’s look-alike radio on the end table had two buttons to push: one told the history of the park and lodge, the other button was a recording of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Speech.  

The radio replica in the lodge.

It was enjoyable sitting back and listening to this information without seeing anything on a screen. We could picture in our minds what it was like before television, when people sat around their radios and just listened.

The living area of the Redwood Lodge. Photo by ba.

During the Great Depression (August 1934 for this particular VCC group), war veterans came by train, were transferred to trucks and then driven to newly purchased state land in the Redwood River valley in southwestern Minnesota, to build a new state park.

An updated bridge in the park…designed to match park building’s stonework.

The men of “Company 2713”, as this group were named, worked through two winters to build picnic shelters, bath houses, restrooms, bridges, trails, and in this case, a custodian’s lodge (renovated in 2018 for rental), all within the new Camden State Park. We learned the “custodian” was the park manager.

Redwood River, runs through Camden State Park…as does an active railroad track.

The buildings are made of stone and logs. They are beautiful and well-built. Similar buildings are found throughout 27 of Minnesota’s state parks, built by the CCC or VCC. 

View of the prairie from Camden State Park.

What a legacy these men left us to enjoy for so many years.

There are many fields of pink clover in the park and surrounding area.