The sign reads:
Camp F-6(Roubaix): 100 yards N of Lake entrance; W of road. Companies: 792—6/3/33 – 5/15/33 6/1/40; 10/1/40 – 10/11/40; 2759V – (Detachment from Park Creek) – 5/15/35 – 10/18/35.
The civilian Conservation Corps was a Federal work-relief program during the Great Depression. From 1933 to 1942. The CCC provided work for 31,097 jobless men in South Dakota – about 22,000 enrollees (single men aged 17-25), about 1,700 veterans, 4554 American Indians and 2,834 supervisors. The U.S. Army provided 200 – man camps, food, clothing, medical care and pay. and educational, recreational and religious programs. The Office of Indian Affairs provided similar services for units on Indian reservations.
The U.S. Forest Service supervised Camp F-6. The work of Company 792 included tree thinning, pruning and planting; fire prevention and suppression; rodent and insect control; grazing land improvement; and recreational development. Enrollees removed dead and diseased growth, built fire trails and removed flammable debris from hundreds of acres. They developed scores of springs, built stock dams and fences, and constructed Roubaix Dam along with a beach, swimming area, bathhouse and campground. The detachment of WWI veterans in Company 2759V built residences in Deadwood for the forest supervisor and assistant.
You’ll find this Historical Marker on US Highway 385 about 20 minutes south of Deadwood. Roubaix Lake is still a popular recreation spot in the Black Hills. The campground boasts 56 campsites.
