Camp Nancy
Zavalla, Angelina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Camp Nancy Camp Nancy began as one of many logging camps established in the Piney Woods of east Texas during the early 20th century. The camp was first created inNacogdoches County, but was moved to the Angelina County community of Dunkin ca. 1918. Once the camp was relocated, the Angelina County Lumber Company constructed offices, a commissary, a school and tenant homes and boxcar homes for workers and their families. In 1922, the Macmillan naval Stores Company contracted to harvest pine resin from the forests surrounding Nancy, and a turpentine operation was established. While most logging camps were short-lived enterprises, Camp Nancy existed for approximately 16 years. The camp’s longevity can in part be credited to the technological advances developed and implemented at the site. The Angelina County Lumber Company took advantage of the openness of the woods to replace ox and mule teams with four-line rehaul skidders. The efficiency of the skidders hastened the logging process, as well as the exploitation of the southeast Texas forest. The company then implemented the first large-scale direct seeding effort in Texas designed to reforest cutover land, planting 100 pounds of longleaf pine seed in 1925. The camp’s logging operations were moved to Tyler County in 1933. The following year, the Civilian Conservation Corps established a work camp at the site and continued reforestation efforts. In 1936, the site became part of Angelina National Forest, and once the CCC Camp closed, the site was virtually abandoned.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Camp Nancy began as one of the many logging camps that cut through the Piney Woods in the early 20th century, moving to the Angelina County community of Dunkin around 1918 with its offices, commissary, school, and boxcar homes for workers. Unusually long-lived for a logging camp, it also hosted a turpentine operation and pioneered new methods—replacing ox teams with cable skidders and, in 1925, undertaking Texas's first large-scale direct seeding to reforest cutover land. After logging moved on in 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps continued reforestation before the land became part of Angelina National Forest.
Why it matters
Camp Nancy captures both the ruthless efficiency that stripped East Texas forests and the early conservation efforts that began to heal them, a turning point toward the national forests we know today.
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Related events
- · Civilian Conservation Corps reforestation
Themes & tags
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