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The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began to restore the foundation of Fort Rice and build replica structures on the historic site in 1937.  Located eighteen miles south of Mandan in Morton County, Fort Rice was originally built as an Army post during the Civil War. The WPA mapped out a program of improvement for both the site and the North Dakota State Park system more generally. “No structures remain but there are markers for the site and individual building locations. The main marker is enclosed in a stone shelter. Two replica blockhouses were constructed by the WPA in the 1930s, but they...

In February 1936, to complete the portion of Highway 101 between Cannon Beach and Manzanita, the Oregon Highway Department approved construction plans for a 1227-foot-long tunnel through Arch Cape. The federal Public Roads Administration provided critical funding for the project. At the time of its construction, it was the longest tunnel on the Oregon Coast Highway. Difficulties associated with the long bore through both the cape's sandstone and basalt stretched the construction project out over almost four years. The presence of soft sandstone required the construction of a timber lining to prevent a cave-in. Construction workers struggled with difficult conditions including exposure...

Neahkahnie Mountain rises almost perpendicularly, 1600 feet from the Pacific Ocean. This headland posed an engineering and budgetary challenge to the completion of the Oregon Coast Highway until funding was provided by the Bureau of Public Roads and labor was provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Improvements to this fourteen-mile section of highway between Cannon Beach and Manzanita took approximately eight years to complete. Just before the roadway's opening in 1941, The Sunday Oregonian referred to it as "chiseled on rocky Neahkahnie Mountain" and informed prospective motorists that they would be traveling over a road that "cost $100,000 a mile." The...

The public swimming pool at Rafferty Slough in Dubuque, IA was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937. Measuring 75 x 225 feet, the Dubuque pool was the largest and most expensive of a number of publicly constructed swimming pools in Iowa during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Over the course of its construction, the pool project secured employment for sixty-one laborers. The dedication of the pool culminated a total expenditure of $17,000 by the city of Dubuque with the rest of the funding coming from the WPA. The opening ceremony included public speeches, diving exhibitions, and swimmers performing...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed improvements in Brookdale Park NJ (Essex County) in 1937. Initial construction of the park began in 1928 following an Olmstead Brothers’ design. “The basic work was in place by 1930,” suggests the Essex County Parks Department. But hen the Depression hit, the work that was originally estimated to take only a few years was extended to many years. Construction became dependent upon labor available from the WPA and ERA agencies, who completed the major work by 1937. The result is one of the County's most beautiful parks.” The WPA provided most of the funds and labor...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) pursued a number of improvements at Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota in 1938. Initial improvement plans called for the “construction of a bathhouse, facilities for picnicking and camping and general recreation.” The WPA also built dams and other structures.  In what was then called Mounds Springs Recreational Reserve, “workers in the WPA (Works Progress Administration) built five structures: a latrine and the upper and lower dams on Mound Creek, which created Upper and Lower Mound Lakes. The rustic style of the structures features native materials such as locally quarried quartzite. Rustic-style architecture, as defined by...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and provided labor for an improvement and beautification program in Norfolk’s Ballentine Park in 1937. The WPA allocated $12, 836 for the project with the city adding an additional $4,884. “The project call for the extension of drains, building of a culvert, excavation for a lake, the grading and building of walkways and the planting of shrubs and trees.” The efforts of WPA work crews resulted in a beautiful park that shared property with the old Ballentine School. In recent years, the vacant school building was demolished and replaced by new townhouses and lofts. Nonetheless, the...

A public swimming pool in Adel IA was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935. One of the earliest municipal pools constructed in Iowa, the facility was around for a good share of historical events – war, environmental disasters, and cultural and economic changes. “When the pool was completed,” states Allison McNeal of the Dallas County News, “it was quite an attraction to residents including the fact that it had covered restrooms and a bathhouse, uncommon for the era.” The WPA project also provided unemployment relief for area residents. Over time, the pool faced a lack of upkeep as well as...

Oswald West State Park, known for its quiet, secluded beach and its picturesque trail system, was established in the early days of the Depression. At that time, it was known as Short Sands Beach State Park. A Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp was located within the park from 1939 through 1941. During those years, the CCC enrollees worked primarily on developing the park's trail system. The CCC Camp improved the park property as work on the Neah-kah-nie section of the Coast Highway (Highway 101) underwent construction. Before the nine-mile section of road between Cannon Beach and Manzanita opened, access to Short...

Development of Saddle Mountain State Park began with the arrival of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company #1258 in 1935. Over a five-year period, the CCC enrollees built the seven-mile access road to the base of Saddle Mountain, picnic grounds and a parking lot at the trail head, and the hiking trail to the mountain's summit. Saddle Mountain is a north coast landmark, known for its colorful wildflowers and rare plants, its basalt formations, and the impressive panoramic views from its 3290-foot summit. Access to these natural amenities still rely on the CCC-built zig-zag hiking trail that rises 1620 feet over a...