Camp Smokey--Company 1713 Historic district contains three buildings and one structure of historical and architectural significance erected in 1933 by Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1713 in Roaring River State Park. A fourth building in a highly altered condition is slated for restoration. These four buildings were part of the central compound of the CCC installation that replaced the original CCC tent camp at Roaring River during the summer and fall of 1933. 'The four buildings still in existence in the compound are the officers' quarters, foreman's quarters, hospital, and the education/supply building. Gone from the complex are the original mess hall and recreation hall, both of log construction, the old stone pumphouse, and all the enrollees' barracks, which were located southwest of the officers' compound. The officers' barracks and foreman's quarters were situated on a hill and so oriented as to command a view of the entire installation. The buildings as they stand today give some idea of the original circular arrangement of the officers' compound. A surviving stone chimney inscribed "CCC Co. 1713" marks the position of an old barracks building that did not survive. Remnants of a foundation indicate the location of the central pumphouse. The surviving buildings now serve as barracks for campers in an organized group camping facility known as Camp Smokey. Other camp buildings, such as the mess hall and recreation hall, are set apart. from the old CCC barracks and do not intrude upon the historic district. The old CCC-built. chimney, encircled by a concrete stage and facing a group of concrete benches, now serves as the focal point of a campfire circle or amphitheater in the camp…
Camp Smokey-Company 1713 Historic District is significant… it is the only surviving Civilian Conservation Corps officers' compound in the Missouri state park system; it is a good example of the military character of these installations, modified by rustic architectural details. The CCC buildings in Camp Smokey are unusual survivals, because of the normal practice of razing the barracks and related structures whenever a CCC company abandoned a particular camp. The buildings were intended only as temporary housing, not as permanent park structures. CCC Company 1713 left Roaring River State Park in November 1939, and all the remaining camp buildings were scheduled for demolition in early 1940. By that time, the four buildings left in the camp had become the property of the National Youth Administration. Tentative plans by that agency to develop a youth camp on the site did not materialize, and demolition was ordered. Late in January 1940, the Cassville Commercial Club, a local business organization, persuaded the NYA to leave the buildings in the park to be converted to a camp for underprivileged children. Since the 1940s, the buildings have served as barracks in Camp Smokey, a facility maintained by the state and used regularly by youth groups.
The buildings at Camp Smokey are in good condition and are maintained by the Roaring River State Park for use by youth groups.