Falling lumber prices during the Great Depression led several small sawmills in the Darrington area to suspend operations for a full year and laying off most of the town's workforce in late 1930. The town suffered outbreaks of scarlet fever and smallpox in 1931, followed by winter storms that damaged bridges and roads in the Sauk valley. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work program established Camp Darrington on in 1933 to provide employment for up to 200 men from northern Snohomish County. The townspeople established a local cooperative association in 1935 to create jobs, including 33 at an independent sawmill, and provide services at a shared cost.