Out of the horrible American Great Depression came the optimistic government-funded Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that offered unemployed young men an opportunity to receive training and to earn money. One such CCC project was the construction of the Anvil Lake Campground Shelter in Northern Wisconsin in 1936.

In 1932, it was estimated that 20% of the American work force was unemployed. In response to these statistics, President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented innovative New Deal policies to improve the economy and to look after the welfare of Americans. One such program was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a work program for unmarried men ages 17-24 whose families received relief. After enrolling in the CCC, the men received food, clothing, shelter, education, job training, and thirty dollars a month allowance (twenty five of which went to the man's family). In exchange, the men worked on projects that helped to conserve the environment or to promote recreation. Over 75,000 men from Wisconsin worked on CCC projects.

The Anvil Lake Campground shelter, located above the southeast shore of Anvil Lake, is an example of the Rustic style of architecture common to parks and forests in the early to mid 1930s. The log building's massive chimney, interior stone fireplace, log bench, exposed rafters, roughly fashioned doors, and absence of decorative elaboration help it to blend in with its natural surrounding. The single level building, which contains a picnic shelter and bathhouse, was built by CCC enrollees from Camp Ninemile in Vilas County.

This recreational building emphasizes both the growth of the Northern Wisconsin tourist industry in the 1930s and America's blossoming interest in nature recreation. The shelter is located in the core of the Anvil Lake Campground of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The campground is seasonally operated and is open to the public.