U.S. National Arboretum Unveils New Exhibit Celebrating Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1360

U.S. National Arboretum Unveils New Exhibit Celebrating Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1360

Contact: Nirav Shah
Email: Nirav Shah

WASHINGTON, December 6, 2024 – The United States National Arboretum (USNA) will commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1360 tomorrow with the unveiling of an exhibit dedicated to the African American men whose contributions to the Arboretum live on today.

The CCC was a public works program that provided men with jobs during the Great Depression. Company 1360 was an African American unit situated on the grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum in a location known as Camp NA-1.

“The Arboretum owes these men a debt of gratitude. We are thrilled to commemorate the enduring impact of Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1360, whose presence and hard work have shaped the Arboretum for the past nine decades. Their influence continues to enrich the landscape, and we are truly grateful for their legacy,” said USDA Agricultural Research Service Administrator Simon Liu.

In March 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated the CCC as a constructive component of the New Deal, effectively addressing the pressing issue of high unemployment among young men during the Great Depression. This program engaged over 2.5 million individuals, known as “Roosevelt’s Tree Army,” before its conclusion in June 1942. 

The new exhibit highlights two years of research conducted by USNA on the history of Company 1360, identifying enrollees and their CCC service records, documenting work performed at the Arboretum, and refining the camp’s location and layout.

“When Company 1360 arrived at the Arboretum, the land was a patchwork of small farms, a lot of overgrowth, abandoned and dilapidated structures, and no effective way to travel across the terrain. When they left, the Arboretum looked like something that merited the name,” said USNA Director Richard Olsen. 

USNA is a distinguished public garden and a leading institution for horticultural scientific research. Spanning over 451 acres in northeast Washington, D.C., the Arboretum actively promotes and supports discovery by offering a diverse array of scientific expertise, collaboration, and training opportunities. The grounds are accessible to the public at no charge, operating daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, except on December 25.

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.