How to Use
The design and construction of Camp Misty Mount demonstrated some of the most important ideas about outdoor recreation of the 1930s. Misty Mount and the other campsites that formed part of the Catoctin RDA were known as "organization camps," an idea borrowed from several state parks. The primary goal of these camps was to provide educational and charitable groups a place where children could have an outdoor experience. Many of the campers came from cities or from families with limited incomes, and therefore without such a program they were unlikely to learn about or even spend time in outdoor settings.
Camp Misty Mountís layout reflected how it served groups. It featured a central collection of buildings shared by all campers, including a dining hall, infirmary, and craft lodge. Beyond this hub were individual unit camps made up of several camper cabins, a lodge, a latrine, and perhaps a leaderís cabin. A network of hiking trails linked the buildings to miscellaneous sites, such as campfire rings, playing fields, and a swimming pool. These facilities and their arrangements were common to all organized camps built by the government.
While all RDA vacation spots shared a basic design, their exact layout varied. Plans took advantage of light, prevailing winds, and views from the cabins. Designers used the terrain to its best advantage in locating cabin foundations and the swimming pool. Trees slated to remain were boxed to protect them from injury during construction. Workers also took extra precautions to protect topsoil. At Catoctin, for example, the use of horses, rather than wagons or trucks, to haul logs to the sites helped minimize destruction of the landscape.
Albert Goodís Park Structures and Facilities, a book used in national parks, provided plans for the campís buildings. This guide called for "rustic" architecture, a style in which buildings used local materials, fit into the surrounding landscape, and appeared to have been built with traditional tools. At Camp Misty Mount one-story structures nestled into the natural profile of the land. Chestnut logs and waney board (random width, 1-inch thick poplar, pine, or oak boards with an exposed, wavy edge), wood shingles, and stone steps, foundations, and chimneys created a natural look. Features such as casement windows, braced posts, hand-wrought hardware, and interior roof trusses contributed romantic highlights.
The rustic exteriors called for in this guide perfectly fit the resources of the area. Fallen chestnut trees and other trees approved by the state forester for harvest provided wood for the log cabins. Some picturesque snags, or damaged trees, remained in place for aesthetic purposes and wildlife consideration. Since only 40 percent of the lumber was suited for planing into boards, designers used most fallen and cut logs in their entirety to build log cabins. Logs were pinned with poles from locust trees, and 4- to 8-inch by 26-inch roof shingles were made out of local red oak. Oak formed the interior tongue-in-groove floors, and chestnut, oak, or hemlock, and interior trim.