Sibley State Park, Kandiyohi County — Three quarters of a century ago a westbound train steamed into New London in Kandiyohi County. Most of the passengers who stepped onto the depot’s platform that day were unemployed World War I veterans.
They had just come from a Veterans Conservation Corps camp near Two Harbors. The 150 or so men were headed to nearby Sibley State Park. The VCC men were older than those who joined the similarly-monikered Civilian Conservation Corps, but just like the CCC were part of a national campaign to put millions of people to work on much-needed conservation projects.
By today’s standards the then 300-plus acre park wasn’t much, according to Park Naturalist Dick Clayton. But Sibley’s 3 Bear Camp, so-called because of the camp’s three furry mascots, was part of a national operation inspired by foreward-thinking conservationists, economists and military leaders. Both the CCC and the VCC were run jointly by the U.S. Army and the National Park Service, along with other state and federal agencies.
Clayton says that today’s park visitors are still benefiting from the legacy of those hard-working men and their visionary organizers. The most obvious legacy is what is probably the most spectacular group of hewn stone rustic buildings in Minnesota. All told, there are 10 small and large buildings made from pink and gray granite, white oak and red cedar. Remarkably, the granite was waste stone from quarries near Cold Spring and Rockville.
The buildings built by the VCC men, with the help of a few experienced stone masons and wood workers, became the inspiration for future buildings at Itasca State Park and even various national parks. The buildings, which are still in use, aren’t the only legacy left in Sibley State Park by the VCC.
“We still use a lot of the park infrastructure that they built,” Clayton said. “Their work was very high quality. They were proud of their work.”
Not only did the men of 3 Bear Camp build the stone and log buildings, they constructed barracks, a recreation hall which included a library, a hospital and other wooden, less permanent structures. For these men it was good to be back at work. The VCC camp story is told in words and photos at a park kiosk near Lake Andrew beach.
