This paper contains a brief description of the origin and history of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). The paper includes a description of the events during the 1940s that led to the formation of a conference on freshman English which would be sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English and would be held in the early spring. Following descriptions of the Council's Executive Committee meeting which authorized the conference and of the first CCCC convention in 1950, the bulk of the paper examines the course followed by the CCCC during the 1950s. The examination of the 1950s also points out some of the deficiences during those beginning years, especially the failure to develop a philosophical framework, but concludes by stressing the strength and vitality of the organization. (RB)