Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area - Cabin Camp 1, Main Arts and Crafts Lodge, Prince William Forest Park, Triangle, Prince William County, Virginia

Significance: The Main Arts and Crafts Lodge was used for various indoor camp activities by at Camp 1. 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 Main Arts and Crafts Lodge 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 porches have log posts and the roof was originally covered with wood shingles. The Crafts Lodge also features a local stone fireplace and small stone front wing, representing the most elaborate use of stone for a Chopawamsic building. It is situated on the west edge of the administrative grouping of buildings, closest to the cabin units.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1813
Survey number: HABS VA-1494-D
Building/structure dates: 1936-1937 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 89000456