Dining hall at Cabin Camp 3

Dear Jake & Amelia,
Thirty miles south of Washington D.C. we found the Prince William National Forest Park. Years ago, in the fall, Algonquin Indians came to these rolling ridges to gather nuts and hunt deer. They carried their winter stocks back to their camps on the Potomac. As we walked through the forest park, the ground was littered with chestnuts, hickory and beech nuts. The pale brown leaves of the mountain holly shimmered. 

In 1941, so that urban children could experience the outdoors, five camps were built on this land by the Civilian Conservation Corps  Each camp has several cabins, a central dining hall and a community building. The CCC work crews who built them were unskilled labor, headed by a skilled foreman. The building materials were local. The lumber was cut from trees in the forest. The cabins blend into the woods.   

Our ranger friend Pete gave us a tour of Cabin Camp 3. The dining hall is a beautiful building of post and beam construction with wood trusses and subtle, thoughtful building details. Each foreman used his own details. As we looked up at the trusses in the dining hall, we noticed that the bottom chords sit about eighteen inches above the wall plate, adding perceived height to the room. Outside, the brick chimney flue is held away from the exterior wall in a way that eliminates the need for extensive flashing. The buildings are sided with waney board, inch thick planks with wavy, untrimmed edges. Sadly, most of the slate roofs have been replaced by asphalt shingles. 

These historic buildings are waiting to be restored. In the meantime, they are available to rent, perfect for an adventure in the forest.

Nancy & Peter

Dining Hall Truss Detail 

Dining Hall Plan

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