Lake Accotink Park CCC marker - Civilian Conservation Corps on Waymarking.com

Text of plaque:

"During the Depression, in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to help unemployed men, ages 18 to 25. CCC men created state parks, improved soil conservation, conducted reforestation and constructed fire trails. The men received food, clothing, shelter, health care, education and were paid $30 monthly, of which $25 was sent home. Projects of the racially segregated Fort Belvoir CCC camp, Army 3 VA-2399 C (Colored), included building fire trails through forested areas of Fairfax County. One such trail started at Old Keene Mill Road, crossed nearby Accotink Creek, then intersected with several old logging roads."

Per Historical Marker Database:

"Mary Lipsey, a Fairfax County History Commissioner, did the research and led the efforts to erect this marker. D. E. (Bill) Sheads walked the fire trail mentioned in this marker—which included a wooden bridge nearby, called the New Bridge—as a teenager. His father harvested timber and owned a steam-powered sawmill nearby. Mr. Sheads provided invaluable oral history and assisted in locating portions of the trail for the project."

From a memoir note from local resident Bill Sheads:

“There were two bridges on this road between Old Keene Mill Road and the railroad, one over Accotink Creek and the other over Rocky Branch. The Accotink bridge was approximately fifty to sixty feet long and ten feet wide, with high overhead wood supports. The Rocky Branch bridge was a smaller flat bridge about sixteen feet long. Most of the heavy timber beams and lumber for the bridges were purchased from the Sheads mill which was located in the area."