Located on property belonging to what was then referred to as the Board Corral Ranch the camp was located a little over 18 miles to the NE of Vya, 60 miles ENE of Alturas, and 230 miles N of Reno.
NARRATIVE REPORT FOR CAMP DG-7 SWINFORD SPRINGS VIA NEVADA JUNE 30,1935
By L.S. Beaman, Camp Superintendent
Swinford Springs is a group of springs located at the base of the Forty-nine Range on the western side of Long Valley in northern Washoe County in Nevada. Long Valley is a typical Nevada valley, about sixty miles in length and from five to ten miles in width. Several small streams flow into tree valley from the Forty-nine Range in the spring and early summer.
Lost Truck and Camping In The Rain
To Swinford Springs, the site of DG-7, on April 27, came an advance detail of twenty-five CCC enrollees, under the command of Lieutenant A. R. Urbank, from Spring Flat Camp, in the Medford district, Oregon. The trucks carrying the tentage for the spike camp were misdirected and did not reach Swinford Springs with the trucks carrying the enrollees, the subsistence and the bedding, and a heavy spring rain was failing. Out in the sage, with no protection from the elements, camp was struck, under conditions that would have discouraged older and more experienced men. The next morning, undismayed by an uncomfortable night, Lieutenant Urbank and his boys courageously set to work and by noontime when the tentage arrived, the brush was cleared away and an improvised field range set up. By the time the spike camp [A spike camp is a temporary, remote campsite used by hunters, backpackers, or wilderness workers, set up away from a main base camp. - FN] was established, Lieutenant., William McLeod, Construction Officer from Camp Hackamore arrived to begin construction on a permanent camp.
A Stuck Truck
On the first day of May the first load of lumber arrived, to sink hub-deep in the mud within three hundred yards of the camp site. A county caterpillar and grader under the direction of Lawrence Herren, Road Supervisor from Vya, were enlisted to construct a new road from the main county road into the new camp site, a distance of about a mile. Lieutenant McLeod soon had the actual building under way with a force of twenty-four carpenters and helpers. Lieutenant Urbank with his forces, was busy clearing ground, digging drains and hauling rock for foundation work. With the two combined forces the camp took on a busy aspect. Camp Superintendent L. S. Beaman arrived on May 3 from Reno, Nevada, in company with Elwood Boerlin, Assistant County Farm Bureau Agent.
The Area Is Scouted For Tasks To Perform
They began a general survey of the surrounding territory with a view to laying out a work program which would put to work the two hundred men scheduled to arrive May 18. Considerable territory was covered in the ensuing three or four days before Mr. Boerlin had to return to Reno. On the 8th of May, Mr. Harry Wilson, a stockman of eastern Washoe County, took Mr. Beaman to his ranch in Wall Canyon, where saddle horses were waiting to take them into territory that could not be reached by car. Two days were spent in riding over range which was in fine condition at that time of year. A number of springs were visited, all of them needing development badly. Though some of the finest range in Washoe County is found in this district, water holes are scarce. On the tenth of May the Superintendent secured a Chevrolet coupe from Lawrence Herren and continued to cover the territory adjacent to the Swinford Springs Camp. He visited many of the surrounding the ranches.
Cattlemen Versus Sheepmen
Every man contacted had some development work in mind and was very friendly to the Division of Grazing, though it was apparent that there was some dissention between the sheepmen and cattlemen as to where water should be developed. The Superintendent now attacked the problem of sorting out the most worthy projects, seeking to choose those which would best conserve the range and benefit the greatest number of both sheepmen and cattlemen. On the twelfth of May a round table meeting of some twenty cattlemen was held at the Surprise Hotel in Cedarville, at the invitation of the Superintendent. This group was fairly well agreed on a program of spring and well development, which when presented to the sheepmen later, met with bitter opposition on the grounds that this development would make it possible for horses and cattle to graze parts of the range which the sheepmen had heretofore considered as their own. As many of these sheep-men were large tax-payers, their arguments had to be considered in the selection of water development projects. As the spring and well development would not employ any considerable number of COG enrollees, the Superintendent was faced with the task of finding other projects which would require large crews in order to make use of the man power available.
Deciding on Road Projects
Several road projects were considered. Some of them had to be discarded as they were at too great a distance from camp to be practical without establishing spike camps, and it was not known at that time how much automotive equipment would be on hand by the time the boys arrived. A road leading from the Vya-Guana Valley highway into thy: Juniper Territory was the first selected. There were three reasons for this selection. First, the project was close to camp so that many men could get out on the job without much transportation, secondly, it opened up a territory that would furnish an abundance of wood for camp use and posts that could be used on other projects, and lastly, it made accessible a dam and reservoir site in Juniper Canyon, which was to be considered as a fifth period project. Another project, known as the East Canyon road, leading from the Vya-Denio highway through East Canyon and the Juniper Country to Massacre Lake, was chosen because it would supply an outlet for considerable hand labor and benefit a great number of stockmen who travel that way in tending their stock. It was expected at that time to use forty or fifty enrollees on the Poisonous Plant Eradication Projects, which had the strong support of cattlemen who had suffered loss from larkspur. The Rodent Control and Predatory Animal Control projects had been outlined by the Biological Survey and it was planned to use sixteen men on these projects.
Water For The Camp
Before the Superintendent left Reno to assume his duties in the field, he had had considerable discussions concerning the development of Swinford Springs, which was to be the source of the camp water supply. He was instructed at that time to take up this spring development as one of his first projects, in order to secure an adequate camp water supply and to satisfy Mr. B. F. Harriman, who had a State water right to the spring. He had consented to the use of the spring by the camp, provided that the spring would be developed to its maximum flow. It was believed that by developing the spring to this extent, there would be plenty of water for the needs of both Mr. Harriman and the camp. Also, as the development of this spring would require no transportation and a great deal of hand labor, it was chosen as one of the first projects to be taken up.
Buildings Erected
On the twelfth of May a contract was let to P. B. Harris of Cedarville for the erection of office, storage and shop buildings. These buildings were designed by the Superintendent to conform with the buildings erected by the Army, and afforded storage room for tools and other sma11 supplies, and office space in one building. The other building was to be used as a blacksmith and repair shop. Caulk, BF-1 at Board Corrals and Camp DG-7 joined in renting the Lauer Warehouse at the railhead, Alturas, California, for the temporary storage of equipment that would soon be arriving for both camps. On the fifteenth of May, Gilbert E. Wardwell, who was to be appointive Rodent Control Foreman, arrived and immediately began making a survey of the rodent ana poisonous weeds situation. Herbert L. Egner, appointive Engineer from Reno. Egner delivered to the Superintendent a Plymouth two-door Sedan for official use.
The Rest Of The Boys Arrive—Ready or Not
About this time, since the camp was far from being completed, the Army personnel made every effort to have the arrival of the company delayed, without success. The company arrived as scheduled on the morning of the eighteenth of May, under the command of Lieutenant Slusser. On the same train was the company which was to occupy Camp BF-10 under the command of Lieutenant Middlebrook. The Superintendent with four of the foremen, and Lieutenant Urbank, went to Alturas to welcome the boys. The enrollees were partly veterans, re-enlisted from the Spring Flat Camp, the remainder were recruits from San Francisco and other California cities. After a night ride in the train, the four hundred boys looked tired, dejected and hungry. Immediately after the detraining of the two companies, the lieutenants in command busied themselves to get hot chocolate and coffee, milk, sandwiches and fruit for the hungry boys, whose spirits rose when their stomachs were full. By the time the Forest Service and Army trucks arrived to transport them to their camps they were more cheerful. The boys were allowed Sunday, the 19th, in camp for recuperation. Monday and Tuesday the entire company under Lieutenant Urbank, was kept busy cleaning up and parking the grounds. On Wednesday the boys were turned over to the Superintendent.
Not Enough Equipment
The only equipment on hand consisted of forty-eight scrapers in the Alturas warehouse and an air compressor at the freight depot. Telegraphed authority enabled the Superintendent to buy locally what few tools the small town of Cedarville afforded. Shovels, mattocks, pitchforks were purchased in insufficient numbers but with borrowed army tools and other makeshifts, the boys were put to work grubbing brush, grading for buildings, and developing Swinford Springs. The carpentry forces of twenty-four men were not yet finished with camp construction and there was a great deal of confusion and disorder about camp. The mess hall, latrines and showers were unfinished but in spite of all the disorder and discomfort, the boys kept in good humor and conformed to the officer's orders. Without transportation the entire company had to be kept busy near camp and in a few days the flagpole was erected, the quadrangle covered with sod and the camp presented a very different appearance. Engineer Egner staked a part of the Juniper road and whenever the Army could spare a truck, a crew of men was sent out to clear the brush and get ready for the road equipment.
The Camp Improves
On May 27th, two Army trucks took ten enrollees to Alturas for the purpose of unloading and bringing back to camp four Ford trucks. There were two stakes, two dumps and one pickup. The crew helped Tom Quirk to load a caterpillar and trail builder onto a hired truck for delivery at Swinford Springs. Work conditions at camp were now greatly improved. Though the two stake-sides were inadequate for transporting one hundred sixty men, by making two trips with each truck, most of the men could be carried to their work. An Army truck was still kept in use whenever available. About this time arrangements were made with Camp BF-1 at Board Corrals, seventeen miles north of Swinford Springs, to assist them in building a telephone line to Cedarville, which was to be one of their major projects. Camp DG-7 would benefit materially by the construction of this line as it required only a short spur line to connect DG-7 with the main line. Foreman Tom Bellis with a crew of fifteen to twenty men, started work from the Cedarville end of the line, using an Army truck for transportation. Work was continued in this manner until the pole line was finished.
Road Construction
The caterpillar and trailbuilder was put to work on the Juniper road. The road grader assigned to DG-7 had not arrived so a grader was borrowed from the Washoe County Road Supervisor. By operating the caterpillar a double shift with two crews of enrollees, the work progressed rapidly. While Tom Quirk was directing the heavy grading with six enrollees under him, Al Agee was clearing right-of-way and building culverts and dips, with fifteen to forty enrollees. These culverts, designed by Mr. Agee and the Superintendent, were built entirely of rock and juniper timber. While their construction required a maximum amount of labor, material cost was nothing. During the construction in the month of June, four of the enrollees under Tom Quirk developed considerable ability in handling heavy road building equipment. A crew of forty to fifty men started work on the East Canyon road. All improvement on this road was done entirely by hand and consisted of removing rocks, large and small, some clearing of brush and light grading with pick and shovel. As soon as Foreman Harriman had the toad passable as far as the Juniper Country, he put part of his crew to work cutting posts which were to be used in culvert construction and fence building. Several of the boys developed skill as woodsmen, and learned to handle the crosscut saw and the axe in a very creditable manner. At the end of the quarter both the Juniper road and the East Canyon road were still under construction.
Pest and Goldbricker Patrol
The poisoning of the Oregon ground squirrel was the first work to be taken up by Gilbert Wardwell and his assistant, Mort Hulery, who arrived in Camp May 21st. The fact that there were many colonies of these rodents close to camp made it possible for these crews to work while there was insufficient transportation. As it was necessary for this work to be under the close supervision of a biological technician, it was not practical for more than eight or ten men to work in a crew. Each man carried a poisoned grain bag slung from his shoulder. The poisoned grain was shipped from the Government Bait-mixing Station at Pocatello, Idaho. Strychnine was the poison used, and it was necessary to exercise great care in scattering the grain because of the danger of poisoning range stock. A few of the boys, the "goldbrickers", were caught at different times emptying their bags behind a sagebrush in order to lighten their loads. These boys had to be dismissed from the poisoning crews usually to find themselves placed on K. P. or the pick and shovel crews. Ten enrollees undertook to search out the coyote dens but it was too late in the season to capture the pups as they had all left their dens. Several traplines were laid. Although it was considered too early in the season for successful trapping, several coyotes and bobcats were caught before the first of July. Two of the boys seemed to have a natural aptitude for this work.
Weed Control
Gilbert Wardwell undertook to eradicate poisonous weeds by the grubbing method but except in a few localities where the ground was moist, the plants had by this time begun to lose their blooms and dry out which made it impossible to carry the work on with success, though enough was accomplished to prove that if the work were started early in the season, it would be well worth the time and effort.
Fence and Cattle Guards
As the range began to dry up in the middle of June, the cattle started to drift down into the valley and encroach upon the camp property and also upon the fields of B. F. Harriman, whose fence had been cut when the road was built into camp from the county road. To conciliate Mr. Harriman and to protect the camp it was necessary to build eighty rods of fence and two cattle guards. This project was undertaken by Mr. Warawell and his boys when he had no means of transportation to other work.
More Equipment and Men Arrive
During the latter part of May and early in June before the storage and office buildings were completed, a "deluge” of small tools and equipment arrived. Arrangements were made with Paul Robinson's Transfer of Alturas to warehouse these shipments as fast as they arrived in Alturas. As soon as the buildings were completed at DG-70 the equipment was moved from the Alturas warehouse to the camp warehouse. On June 6th, Captain R. W. Cummings arrived at camp to replace Lieutenant Slusser who was being transferred to another camp. This was the first of several changes in the Army personnel. The entire personnel of the Grazing Division in the camp have studiously tried to avoid becoming entangled in the Army difficulties. On June 8th, fifteen L. E. M.'s [Local Experienced Men - FN] arrived from a Forest camp at Lemoille, Nevada. From among these men a blacksmith, a carpenter, a powderman, and two or three good woodsmen were secured.
Well Decisions Made
June 11th, Mr. G. A. Waring, Geologist, arrived from Jordan Valley, Oregon. Between the eleventh and the fifteenth Mr. Waring and the Superintendent visited five of the tentative well sites previously selected by the Superintendent, as being advantageous to the stockmen if water could be secured. All five of the sites were approved by Mr. Waring, who also recommended that at least two test holes for artesian water be sunk in Long Valley.
Camp DG-7 was very unfortunate in having two accidents with the same truck within two weeks. Both accidents occurred when the truck had been loaned to the Army for recreation. Fortunately, no one was hurt, though the truck turned completely over in both instances. Following these two accidents, a campaign was launched for safer driving, both during recreation and work hours. Since then, the boys have seemed to realize the importance of careful driving. Regulations on the care and handling of trucks have been carefully observed. The 30th of June found the camp well established, with pleasant reactions between officers, enrollees, and technical personnel.
PRIVATE PROPERTY. Possible foundation ruins.