FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2000

OHIO CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS RECONSTRUCTING
HISTORIC LOG BARN AT HOCKING COLLEGE

COLUMBUS, OH – Members of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) are finishing reconstruction of an authentic log barn on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville.

The 25-foot by 75-foot structure, dating from the 1830s or 1840s, originally stood near Zanesville. In 1998, corpsmembers from the Zanesville CCC Camp dismantled the two-story barn, numbered the logs and moved them to the Robbins Crossing area at Hocking College. There, corpsmembers from the Zaleski CCC Camp poured a new concrete foundation for the structure and began the time consuming task of reassembling its hand-hewn log walls. ODNR’s Division of Forestry supplied replacement logs when some of the originals were deemed structurally unsafe or unsuitable for reconstruction.

Ohio CCC Chief Sally Prouty said the project is a source of pride for corpsmembers and staff, who provided not only the labor, but also significant design strategies for the rebuilt barn. In all, about 40 corpsmembers worked a total of 5,852 hours on the barn reconstruction project.

Work on the project halted temporarily in 1999 while efforts of Zaleski corpsmembers were directed to repairing flood-damaged portions of Old Man’s Cave and other Hocking Hills state parks. Recently, corpsmembers added gable ends and a roof to the barn’s log walls, bringing it close to completion.

Russell K. Tippett, dean of the School of Natural Resources and Ecological Sciences at Hocking College, said the school will use the finished barn to house oxen and draft horses for the Robbins Crossing village. Robbins Crossing is a replicated pre-Civil War Ohio village that serves at a learning laboratory for students of historical interpretation attending the college. Students dressed in authentic historic garb provide demonstrations of frontier arts and crafts for about 30,000 visitors to Robbins Crossing each year.

The barn is the ninth log structure erected by CCC corpsmembers at Robbins Crossing in recent years. Others are the village office, general store and blacksmith shop; Kidner House; Anthony House; the McInturf School/Church building; McInturf House; and Wolfe House. The newly reconstructed log barn will be named the Howdyshell barn in honor of its donor.

The Ohio CCC provides employment and training opportunities for young Ohioans, age 18 to 24. Young adults enrolled in the program receive valuable work experience, educational opportunities and life-skill training – all while completing meaningful conservation and recreation projects to benefit citizens of Ohio. Today’s Ohio CCC builds on the proud tradition of the federal Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and 1940s.

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