Summary
According to the agency website:
To gain access to this historic State Forest, from Oxford, take State Highway 220 heading West. The entrance to the Forest will be located to the North. Look for the historic chimney and the State Forest sign.
Interpretive Sign at CCC Site:
This picnic area is located within the historic remains of a Civilian Conservation Corps encampment in McDonough State Forest. The site includes an accessible picnic table and a large interpretive sign with a map of the state forest that shows the way to Kopac Pond accessible trail.
Chimney at the site of former CCC camp:
McDonough State Forest has the distinction of being the first reforestation area in Chenango County, and soon after acquisition, the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) were dispatched to plant millions of trees, construct bridges, roads and ponds and conduct other forest improvement activities. The first Chenango County CCC camp was a tent barracks located near Steers Pond that provided temporary accommodation for 180 African American enrollees. A more permanent camp was established in McDonough in June 1933 and could accommodate 200 men. Camp # 3 was active through 1941 and during its eight year history 1,500 men passed through its gates. A stone chimney located southeast of Bliven Pond along State Route 220 marks the site where Camp # 3 once stood.