CCC Company 741 Powder Magazine Historic District

The CCC Company 741 Powder Magazine Historic District, located near Norman (Montgomery County), consists of two small stone and concrete structures originally constructed to store powder and blasting caps for use by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) while working on projects in the Ouachita National Forest.

The CCC was established in 1933 as part of a New Deal effort to provide jobs while accomplishing important natural resource conservation projects during the Great Depression. There were 106 CCC camps established in Arkansas.

Civilian Conservation Corps Company 741, the oldest CCC company in the Arkansas District, was formed on May 1, 1933, at Camp Pike and moved to Crystal Springs Camp on May 17, 1933. Four side camps were established from the Crystal Springs Camp, including Crystal Valley Camp near Norman, which the powder magazine structures were constructed to serve, probably around 1936. The company constructed the powder magazine and blasting cap magazine to store explosives for use on projects such as road and bridge construction within the Ouachita National Forest.

The powder magazine is the larger of the two buildings. It sits just north of Forest Service Road 177M, about 370 feet southeast of the smaller blasting cap magazine, which is a 10′ x 10′ square building. Both buildings are about five feet high with four-inch-thick concrete tops and concrete floors. The cut-stone and concrete walls are about one foot thick.

Though they are of simple, functional design, the structures are noteworthy for their association with the contributions of the CCC. They also are notable for their connection to Company 741, the earliest CCC company established in the state.

The CCC Company 741 Powder Magazine Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2007.

For additional information:
Arkansas CCC District, Seventh Corps Area. “Official Annual Arkansas District Civilian Conservation Corps, Seventh Corps Area.” Little Rock: District Headquarters, 1937.

Christ, Mark. “CCC Company 741 Powder Magazine Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places nomination form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online at http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/National-Register-Listings/PDF/MN0056.nr.pdf (accessed October 27, 2021).

Mark Christ
Arkansas Historic Preservation Program