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  • Sockanosset Training School (former): Primary Cottage - Cranston RI
    This stone cottage was one of a few such buildings at the Sockanosset Training School, and stood until the late 2000s, when the site was redeveloped. The building appears in the FERA record group (135-SAR), but was not among those built by the PWA, as it appears in an 1895 photograph linked below. It is presumably present in the archive because of some repair work at the time of the other work at the site.
  • Somerset Residential Care Center - Madison ME
    During the Great Depression the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) funded the labor for the construction of what is now known as the Somerset Residential Care Center, in Madison, Maine. When constructed, the facility went by a different name: the "town farm." Town farms were once the means by which rural towns in New England cared for or warehoused (depending on the local conditions) the elderly, the mentally handicapped, disabled, transients, etc. The community notes from April 11, 1935 notes that "Work started Friday forenoon on the two weeks' ERA project, painting and repairing the buildings at the Madison town farm. There...
  • South Cemetery Improvements - Wayland MA
    South Cemetery in Wayland, Mass. was improved by Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor. Work included the rebuilding of cemetery stone walls.
  • South Ferry (former) Facility Repairs - Boston MA
    Multiple New Deal agencies conducted improvement and repair work at the facilities at Boston / East Boston South Ferry facilities.
  • South Main St. Improvements - Barre VT
    In 1934 the Emergency Relief Administration (E.R.A.) conducted the following improvement work along a part of South Main St. in the City of Barre: The street was widened, curbings and gutters built, gravel sidewalks constructed and all banks carefully were carefully sloped and sodded. This is perhaps the best finished road work in the City. The W.P.A. removed disused street car rails in 1939.
  • South Main Street Bridge - Millbury MA
    Federal Emergency Relief Act funds assisted the town of Millbury in the construction of a South Main Street bridge. It is probable that the bridge spans the Blackstone River; the status of the structure is unknown to Living New Deal.
  • Spirit Mountain Road - Cody WY
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) constructed the first three miles of Spirit Mountain Road, west of Cody, Wyoming. Casper Star-Tribune: "Completion cf a three-mile road up the mountain that turns off the main highway about as many miles west of Cody will make this natural cavern easily accessible, and assurance is given that the work will be finished this year. Started and carried on first as a CWA project, it was continued last year under the ERA with good results, and when completed will stand an engineering achievement. Many difficulties were experienced on account of...
  • Spokane St. Bridge (former) Improvements - Seattle WA
    The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) worked to improve Seattle's former Spokane Street Bridge ca. 1933-4. The bridge has since been replaced.
  • St. Augustine Civic Center - St. Augustine FL
    "After withdrawing an application to the PWA, St. Augustine's municipal officials initiated the St. Augustine Civic Center project through the CWA. ... In 1935, residents and administrators celebrated the completion of the building under the FERA banner." (NRHP Nomination) The St. Augustine Civic Center is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • St. Croix Airport - Baring ME
    This small airport was part of a massive upgrading of the airports in the state after a January 1934 survey by Capt. Harry M. Jones with the intention of building a chain of airports in coastal towns, inland towns, and lake resorts. The airfield was originally built in 1935 by the Maine Emergency Relief Administration, a state division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. It built 1 NW - SE 2,300 x 300 graded runway. It was listed as Calais in the MERA report. "St. Croix Airport apparently was closed at some point between 1996-2004."
  • State Board of Health Laboratory Extension - Jackson MS
    The state health board of Mississippi was allocated $5,420.31 to erect an extension to the laboratory for the health department located at the Old Capitol building in Jackson. The new addition to the laboratory was completed in November 1934 with funding from ERA. The addition included a "new and modern animal pen, with a concrete floor" (Union Appeal, 1934, p. 1). The pen, and its "cyclone proof iron fence" was for animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, and white mice, used in the manufacture of serum. The laboratory tested animals suspected of rabies in order to provide anti-rabies treatments.
  • State Capitol Historical Marker - Charleston WV
    The West Virginia historical marker program began in 1934 with the beginning research for the markers with the intention of placing markers around the state to encourage tourism. Dr. Roy Bird Cook, a Charleston druggist, a longtime commission member, and avocational historian worked on the project. 5,000 sites were collected with 440 markers selected by the commission for placement. Most of these along 44 state and federal highways. The money came from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In addition to the markers, a book of the 440 markers was published in a format easy to...
  • State Charity Hospital Improvements - Jackson MS
    State Charity Hospital Improvements in Jackson MS was built with federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) funds in 1935. $18,000 was allotted for the Charity hospital project. N. W. Overstreet was the architect for main building and nurses home renovations in 1934-1935. The hospital was constructed in 1912, closed in 1955, and demolished prior to 1962.
  • State Industrial Home (demolished) - Oakland CA
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) continued work at this facility from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). WPA project No. 65-3-2140, Approval Date 10-25-35, $1.045, "Paint Int. State Industr. Home. ERA" (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) Excerpt from Oakland Wiki: "The Industrial Home for the Adult Blind (sometimes the Industrial Home of Mechanical Trades for the Adult Blind) was established in 1885 at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Thirty-sixth Street, on the eastern half of the former Peter Thomson estate. The Home went through a number of changes, and then became the State-operated Orientation Center for the Blind in 1951. In...
  • State Penitentiary Improvements - Parchman MS
    Using ERA funds, Parchman Farm State Penitentiary was one of several state institutions to receive funding for repairs and improvements, 1934-1935. The Penal Board president reported many buildings in need of repair, including the farm's light plant. Specific repairs are not identified, but $10,401.20 was awarded. In January 1935, the facility built two new dormitories to house prisoners and several other buildings related to running the prison, although whether these were part of the ERA expenditure is not identified. It is unknown if those buildings are extant, although there are surviving buildings from that era. Alan Lomax recorded prisoners singing...
  • State School for the Blind Boys Dormitory - Jackson MS
    The boys' dormitory at the State School for the Blind was designed by architects Hull & Drummond in 1934 as part of a $220,000 project using state funds and ERA funds with WPA labor. The new brick 2-story dormitory was constructed to relieve crowded conditions at the school, and cost in excess of $40,000. An additional $3,587 was awarded in September 1935 in order to complete the dormitory. It was used in the Gilfoy School of Nursing after the school relocated in the late 1940s, and was demolished c. 2005 in order to build a parking lot.
  • State School for the Deaf Improvements - Jackson MS
    The State School for the Deaf, originally constructed 1906-1908, removed a wall and rebuilt one wing on the east wing in order to correct surface drainage damaging the wall. The project, financed by ERA and the state legislature replaced glass, plastered walls, and updated electrical and plumbing systems for a total cost of $39,938.25. The facility was demolished in 1951 following the construction of a new school.
  • Station 5 (former) Improvements - Asheville NC
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided labor for the renovation of Asheville's old Station 5 firehouse, in Biltmore Village. The building, which served as a fire station until 1975, is now privately owned. "Under project No. 11B-B4-24, the Biltmore fire station, just out of Asheville, Buncombe County, was completely renovated. The truck room has been enlarged to accommodate two trucks, the living quarters for the firemen have been replastered and redecorated, and the old and unsanitary plumbing has been brought up to date. These improvements were much needed to bring this fire station up to...
  • Steven A Bean Municipal Airport - Rangeley ME
    Steven A. Bean Municipal Airport (FAA LID: 8B0) is a town owned, public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northwest of the central business district of Rangeley, a town in Franklin County, Maine. It has one runway designated 14/32 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,201 by 75 feet (976 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending August 16, 2010, the airport had 12,350 aircraft operations, an average of 33 per day: 97% general aviation, 2% military, and <1% air taxi. At that time there were 6 aircraft based at this airport: 100% single-engine. This airport was originally developed...
  • Street Improvements - Montpelier VT
    Montpelier's 40th (1935) Annual Report details many roadwork projects undertaken in 1934 with Vermont Emergency Relief Administration (VERA) funds. The 1936 annual report lists streets where VERA or Works Progress Administration (WPA) efforts were undertaken in 1935: Cherry Ave., Cliff St., Cross St., Corse St., Cutler Cemetery Road, North Franklin St., Gallison Hill Road, Gould Hill, Hill St., Marvin St., North St., Pioneer St., Pleasant St., Prospect St., Richardson St., River St., School Ave. Resurfacing was undertaken at "Berlin Hill," and construction on "Winooski Avenue." 1936 sites included: Berlin Hill Rd., Charles St., North Franklin St., Pearl St., Prospect St., Spring...
  • Streets - Calhoun GA
    In 1934 the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) completed a Civil Works Administration (CWA) project in Calhoun, Georgia: "work on the streets in Calhoun."
  • Sul Ross State University - Alpine TX
    The campus of Sul Ross State University was greatly developed during the 1930s as a result of efforts on the part of several New Deal agencies, including the Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Per the El Paso Herald-Post: A modern state institution of higher learning in the far-western "Big Bend of Texas,” Sul Ross State College faces its 20th anniversary in 1940 with a college plant and campus of first rank among state educational centers Opening of a new $150,000 PWA dormitory for women this year has brought...
  • Summer Hill Road Work - Maynard MA
    The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (E.R.A.) worked to improve Summer Hill Road in Maynard, Massachusetts, including the construction of a wall (no longer apparent), in 1934.
  • Summer St. Bridge Repairs - Boston MA
    A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: "Summer Street Bridge (over Fort Point Channel), approach spans chipped, cleaned and painted."
  • Summit Park Parking - Bangor ME
    Federal Emergency Relief Administration crews built parking for Summit Park in Bangor ME. Excerpt from Bangor Daily News: "ERA Workers Building Parking Space Near Old Water Standpipe" "One of the new ERA projects now under way in Bangor is a large parking place being constructed at Summit Park. Those who have driven to the standpipe during summer nights for a view of the city, have found it impossible to get a good parking place, and it is believed that the new graveled area will be one of great convenience to those who wish to view the surrounding country from the top of Thomas Hill. At...
  • Sunset Court (demolished) - Vincennes IN
    Pearl City was an area of Vincennes that was described by the newspapers in the 1930's at the time as an area next to the Wabash River that was filled with hovels made of crates and tin and occupied by barely recognizable humans living in squalid conditions after shell fishing by squaters declined. With labor supplied by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), 20 houses were constructed in a 4 acre area called Sunset Court. From the look of the photograph, the small houses can be compared to the popular tiny houses today. Still, considering that the people who moved...
  • Sweet Potato Starch Factory - Laurel MS
    The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided $150,000 to establish the experimental sweet potato starch plant, erected under supervision of Dr. F. H. Thurber, who designed the machinery. The experimental plant was leased to the Sweet Potato Growers co-op for the purpose of manufacturing sweet potatoes into starch, in cooperation with ERA, Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The plant was constructed in the former Wausau Southern Lumber Company sawmill at the end of South 4th Avenue. It operated from 1934-1945 and while produced significant amounts of starch, the demand was more than the output,...
  • Swimming Pool (former) - Ashland MA
    The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) and Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed a swimming pool for Ashland, starting in 1935. The pool was built along what was then municipal land along Granite Street, which no longer exists. A late-1800s map of the town suggests that the pool might have been located either along what is now Raymond Marcheti St. or at the approximate location of what is now David Mindess School. WPA Bulletin, 1937: Water, water everywhere but not a place to swim ... a paradoxical predicament provoking to Ashland residents will be solved next season when the Ashland WPA Swimming Pool...
  • Sylva G. Martin Community Center - South Miami FL
    Constructed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) in 1935, the Sylva G. Martin Community Center is a one-story masonry structure, built in a rectangular plan inspired by the simple bungalow. The high-quality stonework is its most notable feature with wall surfaces fashioned from local oolitic limestone, cut and finely laid in irregular courses. There are five bays across the front with a porch across three bays. A gable roof covers the main portion of the building with shed roofs over the front porch and rear. Four square piers of oolitic limestone support the front porch roof. The space between...
  • Teachers' Duplex Houses - Copperton UT
    Housing of teachers had been a long-term problem at Bingham High School in the remote mining town of Copperton, Utah. School district policy required teachers live within the boundaries of the school at which they taught and teachers could not rent the company homes in Copperton which were reserved for copper miners. A small apartment building had been previously built next to the high school, but the three-room units were inadequate for teachers with families. Thus in 1939 two duplex houses ($21,000 total) were funded as part of a $151,000 WPA application for improvements to the Jordan School District buildings....
  • Tennis Courts - Portland ME
    "In 1934 Federal CWA and ERA funds were used for construction of 2 tennis courts, constructed with a 3 layer bituminous construction, new to northern New England, with a tile underdrain and surrounded by heavy wire fence. This made a total of 3 tennis courts on Eastern Promenade. The current 3 courts were renovated in 2000 with a new surface and perimeter fence. They are in excellent condition and heavily used."
  • Thayer Memorial Bridge - Waterville ME
    "The Gilman Street Bridge, since named “Thayer Memorial Bridge” , which was undertaken as a C. W. A. project in 1933 was completed under F. E. R. A. early in 1934. Although the cost of this project exceeded the estimate by several thousand dollars, due to a sharp advance in the price of materials after construction started and to difficult working conditions because of extremely cold weather, it is a beautiful, well constructed and useful memorial to the vision and ability of the late Mayor Thayer to plan and bring to pass this project which will be an everlasting benefit...
  • Tibes Road Improvements - Ponce PR
    The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work in Tibes in Ponce.
  • Tomas de Castro Road Construction - Caguas PR
    The Civil Works Administration and the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Tomas de Castro Road in Caguas.
  • Tonkawa Public Library - Tonkawa OK
    In 1935 The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), a predecessor to the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA), constructed a one-story building that houses the Tonkawa Public Library. Years later another building was added to the original one-story building. The addition was constructed in a similar style as the original FERA building. The Library is still in use today. The Waymarking webpage for this site describes the building as "constructed of rusticated and cut native sandstone set in a random ashlar pattern....The original entrance facing West is centered in a projected bay, and is currently a fixed window. Above this original entrance is a stone...
  • Town Forest Tree Planting - Carlisle MA
    The Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) conducted tree trimming and tree planting work at Carlisle Town Forest in 1933-4. The Emergency Relief Administration and Works Progress Administration continued work at the site.
  • Town Hall - Thorntown IN
    "Thorntown acquired a new town hall, built with labor provided by the FERA." The cornerstone was laid July 20, 1935. The building is still in use.
  • Town Hall (former) - Blackstone MA
    The former Town Hall in Blackstone, Massachusetts was developed with the assistance of federal funds during the New Deal. While documentation is not entirely clear, writing suggests that multiple New Deal agencies were involved in the town hall building's initial conversion to municipal use and its subsequent expansion, including the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Public Works Administration, and the Works Progress Administration. The building has since been demolished and a new municipal complex built in its stead. PWA Docket No. MA X 1447.
  • Town Hall (former) Improvements - Millbury MA
    Improvements, including building painting, were made to the old Millbury, Massachusetts town hall (destroyed by fire in 1971) with Federal Emergency Relief Act funds in 1933. 282 Millbury locals were given employment in 1933 as a result of the federal E.R.A.
  • Town Hall (Old High School) - Wayland MA
    The historic Wayland Town Hall building was constructed as the town's high school during the Great Depression. It was built as a New Deal project, undertaken with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. supplied a $30,025 grant for the project, whose total cost was $105,871. Construction occurred between Nov. 1934 and Nov. 1935. The school, designed in Colonial Revival style, was occupied in Sept. 1936. Our primary photo, on display at Wayland Town Hall, shows the building amid extraordinary flooding of the Sudbury River after a historic hurricane in Sept. 1938. (The W.P.A. conducted extensive work helping this region...
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