The oldest building at the Peace Garden, the Historic CCC Lodge to undergo restoration

Friday, 02 October 2026 10:00

The oldest building at the Peace Garden, the Historic CCC Lodge to undergo restoration

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The CCC Historic Lodge was built during the Great Depression as part of a work project by the US government. It was completed in 1937 and will be celebrating its 90th birthday next year. The International Peace Garden is celebrating that milestone with some important restoration work.

The International Peace Garden will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of its earliest structure by giving it the face-lift it needs.

The CCC Historic Lodge will hit that birthday in 2027, and according to Peace Garden CEO Tim Chapman, this important structure needs some work.

“The lodge will be 90 years old next year,” Chapman explained. “Its bones are in good shape, but it needs some work. We want to make sure it is as up to date as possible.”

The lodge is not only historical for the Garden, but part of a larger story. The “CCC” in its name stands for the Civilian Conservation Corps. This was created in the depths of the Great Depression by newly elected US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Like other related agencies like the Tennessee Valley Authority, the CCC was created to give jobs to the great number of unemployed under the New Deal while developing key infrastructure. The CCC focused on areas like roads, bridges and parks, which is where the Peace Garden fit in.

As Chapman said, about 200 members of the CCC worked in the Garden from1934 to 1941. As well as the lodge, completed in 1937, they also built roads, fire pits and the lake later called Lake Udall. Although it was an American government project and therefore only worked on the south side of the area, they did use lumber from the Duck Mountains for the building.

“The lodge was meant to be an integral meeting place. It was the early days of the Peace Garden and they tried to involve both sides of the border.”

Chapman said the restoration project will include making the building more accessible, updating the washrooms and kitchen. New doors and windows are also planned. As they are looking to get a spot on the US Registry of Historical Spaces, they have to be careful they keep the original look. However updating washrooms and the kitchen is very important to help caterers and renters of the facility make good use of the building.

The lodge is definitely still usable, and Chapman said there are still groups who do. Weddings, family reunions, service clubs for meetings – there are many uses. He added it might have lost a booking or two to the renovated Willis Pavilion on the north side, but that just shows the need for work there.

“It is an important place in a lot of families’ histories,” he explained. “There are people around whose grandfathers and uncles worked on that building and remember. We want to honour them with this renovation.”

They are not sure what the cost is for the whole project is at this point, as contractors will have their estimates, and due to their funding cycle, some work might be left for the future. The hope is they can get started on part of it as soon as possible. If not this year, they will definitely move on it when spring 2027 comes.

They have made a good start on fundraising. Their annual Gala in the Garden, held on August 24, was a big hit. Chapman said everything went well, and he thanked all the volunteers for their work making it a success. They were able to raise a whopping $118,000 US ($165,000 Canadian) from the Gala, and the bulk of that will go to the Historic Lodge. This is a good nest egg for the project.

They will also be holding an open house in the building on Sunday, October 4. Chapman said this would be to try to help the fundraising for the work, but also to find out more about the history of that part of the park.

“We want to find out more, to connect the dots. There is a lot of knowledge that gets lost. We want to get some of those oral histories, not just of the lodge but also the other CCC projects. We want to save that history.”

He added the whole CCC is interesting, a way of keeping people employed during the Depression. It was a lifeline for people and also put much needed infrastructure in place across the US.

Overall, Chapman said they are looking forward to getting to work on the Historic Lodge. Not only is it celebrating an anniversary, it is also a moneymaker for the Garden, which makes it a priority.

“It’s important to keep those spaces up to date, the spots people connect to.”

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff

Read 6 times Last modified on Thursday, 01 October 2026 14:40

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