The Civilian Conservation Corps was launched on April 5, 1933, to relieve unemployment by establishing camps where young men worked on forest and park conservation projects and on soil erosion problems on farms. Managed by Army personnel, enrollees were paid $30 per month, with $25 sent home, and also received housing, food, medical and dental care, and education benefits. The young men who served at Reelfoot Lake State Park and in 76 other CCC camps throughout Tennessee became part of the CCC legacy in the state. At Reelfoot Lake, Company 1453 moved from Tellico Plains to Tiptonville on November 25, 1934, with about 200 enrollees assigned to build a park around the lake under state and federal supervision and project superintendent William B. Connelly. Their work began with clearing dead trees, stumps, and vegetation that marred the lake view, and went on to include a permanent supply system for picnic areas, parking lots, and general land improvements around the lake. They cut and moved lumber, including some from the islands, to build docks, park stands, a keeper’s lodge, picnic shelters, and check-in stations. Company 1453 completed its assigned projects and disbanded in 1938.