The Civilian Conservation Corps in Missouri tells the definitive story of one of the most ambitious and transformative New Deal programs—and the men who carried it out across the state and beyond. Created in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps put unemployed young men to work restoring forests, conserving wildlife, and building the foundation of Missouri’s state park system. Over the course of the program, 100,000 men served in CCC camps throughout the state, planting millions of trees, constructing roads, fire towers, picnic shelters, and park buildings, and battling fires and floods in some of Missouri’s most rugged landscapes. Drawing on extensive field research and visits to dozens of former camp locations and CCC project sites, this book offers a comprehensive account of how the Corps was formed, how its camps functioned, and how the men lived and worked day to day. Just as importantly, it examines the lasting physical legacy of the CCC—structures and landscapes that remain in use nearly a century later—and the personal redemption experienced by young men given purpose, discipline, and hope during one of the nation’s darkest economic crises.