The 1929 stock market crash helped trigger the Great Depression, leaving almost 18 million people unemployed and two million Americans homeless. In response, newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced emergency measures that included the Civilian Conservation Corps, which gave jobs to unemployed young men through work focused on reclaiming land and building parks. Almost 64,000 Hoosiers served at camps across Indiana, and from 1934 to 1942 Company 556 was stationed at Pokagon State Park. Before its work began, a temporary camp was built there to house and feed the CCC boys, with 12 buildings that included barracks, an administration building, officer's quarters, a recreation hall, the mess hall, and a bath house and latrine. Company 556 completed numerous projects at Pokagon State Park, including the County Road Bridge, beach, Saddle Barn, Spring Shelter, Toboggan Slide, Gatehouse, CCC Shelter, Beach Bath House, Group Camp, Park Office, campgrounds, parking lots, park roads, retaining walls, tree planting, erosion controls, trails, and water lines.