From 1934 to 1939, Sims was the site of a busy Civilian Conservation Corps camp in a wooded valley by the river, where boys of Company 978 from San Francisco, Oakland, and other Bay Area communities lived and worked. Camp Sims, like other CCC camps, was administered and built by the U.S. Army, while the Forest Service directed the work projects. In addition to firefighting, the camp became known for building the Sims, Bradley, and Sugarloaf fire lookouts, constructing part of the Everitt Memorial Highway, and building Panther Meadows campground. During the camp's busiest years, the rock-lined staircase led to the commanding officer's house and administrative building, and only faint traces of the CCC rock-lined pathway remain in Sims campground today.