How FDR’s New Deal Shaped Mt. Airy Forest

Experience the local Cincinnati park shaped by members of FDR’s New Deal Program!

Join the Greenspace Alliance and Cincinnati Parks for this month’s Meet A Greenspace Hike on Tuesday, October 13, from 5:30-7:00 PM to explore the Blue Spruce Trail at Mt. Airy Forest. 

Urban Reforestation

Established in 1911, Mt. Airy Forest is one of the earliest, and possibly the earliest, examples of an urban reforestation project in the country. Urban reforestation is the large-scale planting of trees in urban environments. It provides a multitude of benefits, including improved air quality, the sequestration of carbon dioxide within the soil, increased shade and reduced heat exposure due to tree canopy coverage, rainwater filtration, and better wildlife habitat 

These benefits have lasting effects on surrounding communities. For example, better air quality improves residents’ health, shade from tree canopies helps reduce energy costs, and the natural beauty that trees provide increases property values. 

New Deal Programs at Work!

Before becoming a forest, Mt. Airy was farmland. With few trees and major erosion issues, the land was eventually sold to the City of Cincinnati with a vision of transforming it into a park. Volunteer garden clubs have worked to reforest Mt. Airy at various times throughout the years, as well as two New Deal Programs: the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Both programs were part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposed plan to help lift the United States out of the Great Depression. These programs did just that – providing direct relief, money, and resources to the people most impacted by the circumstances of the Depression.

The CCC allowed single men ages 18 to 25 to enlist in work programs to improve America’s public lands, forests, and parks. The WPA was the most famous of all of President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. It employed workers to build bridges, roads, public buildings, public parks, and airports. Much of Cincinnati’s prominent architecture, including roads such as Columbia Parkway and Victory Parkway, was created by both agencies.

Thousands of people have left their mark on Mt. Airy, shaping the park into what you see today. In 1934, the Conservation Corps Company 1505-C SP-17 came to Mt. Airy. Composed of 200 young African American men, Company 1505-C set to work building trails and amenities, such as public restrooms and picnic shelters, as well as replanting the trees that had been removed when the land was used for farming. They worked from 7 am to 4 pm daily for $25/month, and had to send 80% of that to support their families.

In addition to working the land, the CCC’s central mission was to shape its members into well-educated employees. That meant corpsmen enjoyed free classes dedicated to forestry, history, reading, and writing as a way to further their education while they worked. Additionally, they were provided nutritious meals, recreation time to pursue their hobbies, housing, and one set of clothes for work and one set for finer occasions.

In 1937, Camp 1505-C was disbanded due to an array of reasons relating to project completion, federal funding, and material shortages. Men from this camp were allowed to go to several nearby CCC camps to continue their service. The camp and all of its amenities, including the men’s barracks, were later converted into a shelter for men experiencing homelessness, which eventually closed in 2011-2012. Some of the buildings the CCC men built still stand today.

The Cincinnati Conservation Stewards, a skills-based volunteer program hosted by Cincinnati Parks, continues the stewardship of Mt. Airy Forest. If you’d like to learn more about the work of the Company 1505-C SP-17, check out Cincinnati Parks’ An Army of Peace Story Map!

Explore Mt. Airy Forest!

We hope you’ll join us at our upcoming hike with Cincinnati Parks! The hike will take place on Tuesday, October 13, from 5:30-7:00 PM. Staff from Cincinnati Parks will guide the hike and share about the work that has been done along the Blue Spruce Trail. We will meet at Blue Spruce Road, Cincinnati, OH (use this Google pin to help you identify the area).

This hike is part of our monthly Meet a Greenspace Hiking series. We hope these hikes will provide the time and space they need to reconnect with nature. If you have any questions, contact Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance Manager, Claire Carlson, at claire@greenumbrella.org.