Camp Nancy began as one of many logging camps established in the piney woods of East Texas during the early 20th century. First created in Nacogdoches County, it was moved to the Angelina County community of Dunkin around 1918. After the relocation, the Angelina County Lumber Company built offices, a commissary, a school, tenant homes, and boxcar homes for workers and their families. In 1922, the MacMillan Naval Stores Company contracted to harvest pine resin from the surrounding forests, and a turpentine operation was established. Unlike most logging camps, Camp Nancy lasted about 16 years, a longevity attributed in part to technological advances developed and used there. The Angelina County Lumber Company replaced ox and mule teams with four-line rehaul skidders, using the openness of the woods to speed logging and intensify the exploitation of the Southeast Texas forest. The company also carried out the first large-scale direct seeding effort in Texas to reforest cutover land, planting 100 pounds of longleaf pine seed in 1925. Logging operations moved to Tyler County in 1933. The next year, the Civilian Conservation Corps established a work camp at the site and continued reforestation, and in 1936 the site became part of Angelina National Forest; after the CCC camp closed, it was virtually abandoned.