This preserved CCC camp from the 1930's is now the headquarters of the Red Lake Wildlife Management Area. Tours are available from the DNR staff at the camp. Open year-round.

THE HISTORY OF NORRIS CAMP
The Headquarters for the Red Lake Wildlife Management Area. MN DNR - Section of Wildlife

The history of Norris Camp began in 1933 with President Roosevelt's New Deal programs. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of these programs and it became the impetus for creating Norris Camp. The CCC was created to help spur the United States' economy out of the Great Depression by hiring unemployed young men for public conservation work. Close to 200 men and officers were stationed at Norris Camp performing a variety of tasks.

CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS
Work at the camp was hard and extensive. The men usually put in ten to twelve hour days. They were involved in labor intensive work such as construction, digging wells, building dams, and planting trees. They also started logging operations at several camps. Due to unstable political and economic conditions, the CCC program was replaced after only a year by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Resettlement Administration (RA).

The WPA was developed to establish jobs and to construct projects of lasting value and, like the CCC, it offered jobs to unemployed men. RA work projects were designed to rehabilitate land left by settlers who were relocated out of the area.

Due to poor farming soil, many early settlers were unable to make a living by farming and became tax delinquent. Therefore, the Federal government offered to purchase the land and relocate the settlers to an area better suited for farming. Some homesteaders felt pressured into moving because the government closed schools and discontinued road maintenance, while others saw it as an opportunity for improvement.

The RESETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION
The RA was created to help resettle homesteaders and restore the land left by settlers. Through the years, over 1000 men were stationed at camp as part of the WAP and RA and they were involved in numerous projects. They removed buildings and filled in wells left by relocated settlers, planted trees, built dams, and transplanted wildlife to better habitat. They built many of the lookout towers and recreational areas throughout the county and improved many roads and trails. They also built several satellite camps that served as work stations when in the field.

LIFE AT NORRIS CAMP
Life for many workers included few luxuries. The laborers were given room and board plus about $45 a month. $40 of this had to be sent home to help out their families. Specialists and other positions of responsibility received larger stipends. A member of a RA wildlife crew describes life in a temporary work camp: "It consisted of a large, double-walled tent, a barrel stove heater, a wood cook stove, straw ticks, and lots of wool blankets, pots, pans, and eating utensils, We constructed one large common bunkout of logs and spruce boughs. Many nights it got down to 40 below zero. At night we had to let the fire die down to avoid sparks from setting our tent on fire. Our many thicknesses of wool blankets felt real good then."

Some of the workers at Norris Camp went on to accomplish great things after they left the WPA and RA programs. One man, who was unable to get a position as camp timekeeper because he didn't have a high school diploma, went on to finish his diploma as well as a degree in law. He worked with the State Department in various capacities and eventually became a Consul for the U.S. in Mexico, Hong Kong, Australia, the Philippines, and Ecuador.

A HISTORICAL PLACE
After housing the WPA and RA programs, Norris Camp went on to become one of the State’s law enforcement schools. A shooting range was built and prospective officers received a variety of training in law enforcement techniques. Norris Camp also housed several federal fire-fighting crews during the hot spring and summer of 1977.

Norris Camp has also been the headquarters for the Red Lake Wildlife Management Area ever since it was first built as a CCC camp in 1935. The Red Lake WMA, known earlier as the Red Lake Game Refuge, was established in 1932. Many various research projects, habitat improvement projects, and population surveys have been completed there, including attempts to reintroduce Canada geese and woodland caribou.

Norris Camp has a rich history that spans over half a century, ten presidents, and numerous State and Federal programs. It has employed and housed well over 1000 people and is one of the last CCC and RA camps in the nation in operational condition. Norris Camp is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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