The Civilian Conservation Corps, launched on April 5, 1933, sought to relieve unemployment by establishing camps where young men worked on forest and park conservation and soil erosion projects on farms under army management. They were paid $30 a month, with $25 sent home, and received housing, food, medical and dental care, and educational benefits. In Tennessee, the young men who served in this area and in 76 other camps became part of the CCC legacy. In July 1935, twenty-three black enrollees were organized into an advance cadre at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and sent to Counce, Tennessee, forming Civilian Conservation Corps Company 3459, TVA-P-11. Under the joint supervision of the National Park Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority, they worked to build a woods park near Pickwick Dam. About 1938, Company 3459 was transferred to Hamilton County to build Booker T. Washington State Park. The company became TVA-P-16 and remained there until 1940 or early 1941, when it was either disbanded or moved elsewhere. Late in 1940 or early in 1941, Company 4497, Tennessee SP-5, a black junior company, was sent to the site to finish Booker T. Washington State Park. Because of World War II, all CCC camps were closed, and none remained in existence by the end of 1942.