Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area - Cabin Camp 1, Dining Hall, Prince William Forest Park, Triangle, Prince William County, Virginia

Significance: The Dining Hall at Cabin Camp 1 is the largest and most important building in the administrative group for the camp. It was built by the National Park Service with Civilian Conservation Corps labor as part of the development of Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA) in 1935-38. The RDA program was a New Deal initiative which repurposed underutilized agricultural land near urban centers into outdoor recreational areas. The five cabin camps at Chopawamsic were intended to serve social service groups in Washington, DC that offered group camping experiences to underprivileged children. Camp 1 was used as Camp Lichtman for many years, hosting groups of African-American boys from the Twelfth Street YMCA in Washington, DC. By the 1960s, Camp 1 was used as co-ed and integrated Camp Goodwill by Family and Child Services of Washington, DC.
Like the other historic Camp 1 buildings, the Dining Hall features rustic log and heavy timber construction representative of the National Park Service/Civilian Conservation Corps aesthetic of the 1930s. Characteristic features include waney-edge siding that retains the irregular profile of the log and is applied in vertical and horizontal sections. The porch has log posts and the roof was originally covered with wood shingles. A large stone fireplace with external chimney is located at one end of the dining room. The Dining Hall includes kitchen and pantry areas and it is grouped near the entrance to Camp 1 with the infirmary, staff quarters, administration building, craft lodge, staff bath house, and helps' quarters. These buildings served the approximately 100 campers in the four cabin units.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1810
Survey number: HABS VA-1494-A
Building/structure dates: 1936-1937 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 89000456