Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sites

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work along the railroad at what was then Fort Hancock, New Jersey in 1936.

The W.P.A. conducted development work at Fort Harrison in Montana. W.P.A. project info: "Construct building and improve grounds" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐91‐4 Total project cost: $591,019.00 Sponsor: Montana State Armory Board "Construct recreation hall and rest room" Official Project Number: 565‐91‐2‐15 Total project cost: $11,485.00 Sponsor: Montana National Guard "Complete construction of recreation hall" Official Project Number: 65‐1‐91‐81 Total project cost: $6,612.00 Sponsor: Montana National Guard "Construct facilities" Official Project Number: 65‐3‐91‐235 Total project cost: $14,654.00 Sponsor: Montana National Guard "Construct new kitchen and mess hall, and move temporary kitchens" Official Project Number: 865‐91‐8‐8 Total project cost: $1,735.00 Sponsor: Montana National Guard

Between 1935 and 1938, the WPA performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site. From Wikipedia: From 1928, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Macon Kiwanis Club raised funds to create a replica of one of the blockhouses to memorialize the fort. In 1933 the government began archaeological excavations at the Ocmulgee Old Fields, supported by workers and funding of the US Works Progress Administration (WPA) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. In 1936, one of the archaeologists, Gordon R. Willey, did enough work at Fort Hawkins to establish the original "footprint" of the...

This limestone baseball stadium, built by the Works Progress Administration in 1940, is currently owned by the city of Hays but operated by Fort Hays State University. It has been upgraded several times over the years and is now home to the Fort Hays State baseball team.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at Fort Heath in Winthrop, Mass. Project information: "Improve buildings, etc. at Forts Banks, Heath and Rice Wharf" Official Project Number: 165‐2‐14‐59 Sponsor: War Department

The PWA helped in the construction of the main school building, while the WPA was responsible for the school's football stadium, tennis courts and much of the surrounding grounds. "New Deal funding relating to Fort Hill was formally initiated in November 1934 and September 1935, respectively, when the PWA committed federal funds not to exceed $230,000. The project was labeled PWA Docket #7323. Other sources brought the total amount pledged for the school to $600,000... While the PWA's funding provided for a major portion of the cost of Fort Hill High School, it was a $60,000 WPA funding package that initiated the...

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve Peekskill, New York's Fort Hill Park and Depew Park during the 1930s. One project (involving either/both parks) was described by the WPA in its project rolls: "Work includes constructing comfort station, shelter building, and fireplace; performing masonry, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work; installing water pipe, drinking fountains, and edging around running track; painting and roofing; removing stone wall." WPA Official Project No.: 665-21-2-540.

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers repaired Boston's old Fort Hill Fire Station during the mid-1930s. The building was torn down in 1952 to make way for construction of the since-buried downtown freeway.

"The following work was done by the W. P. A.: At Fort Hill Wharf Disposal Station a sprinkler system was installed; fence, floor and ramp, and roof were built." The exact location of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal.

The WPA conducted extensive restoration work on this site. According to Frank Straus: “The second cycle began in the summer of 1936, when the Works Progress Administration rebuilt Fort Holmes, using an 1817 engineer’s detailed drawing and elevation of the original redoubt. The federal agency, operating with a workforce encamped on the northern side of the Island at the site of the current solid waste transfer station, raised a new blockhouse, re-dug the ditch, piled up soil for a new embankment, and lined the outward walls of the embankment with cedar logs to rebuild the palisade.”

Fort Humboldt in southwest Eureka, California, was a military outpost that helped secure northwest California for miners, settlers and the US government, from 1853 to 1867, when it was abandoned.  It began to be seen as worthy of recognition and salvage in the early 20th century as a triumphant landmark of Anglo conquest (a history much in question today by the region's native peoples). Works Progress Administration (WPA) crews of relief workers conducted extensive renovations to Fort Humboldt between 1935 and 1938.  This came after a concerted lobbying effort by local veterans' organizations, which had begun the restoration work on their...

The WPA restored this fort at some point prior to 1938. From Rhode Island: A Guide to the Smallest State: "he Works Progress Administration has restored the old fort, graded the land, and converted it into a park." The site is now the Columbia Park Playground.

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) worked to develop and improve Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania. Work, approved in the fall of 1940, included "improvements to the landing field, construction and improvement of buildings and installation of sewer and electric lines."

Between 1935 and 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site, a remote historic fort 68 miles west of Key West on Bush Key. In 1992, it became a part of Dry Tortugas National Park.  

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement and development projects at what was then Fort Kearny—now the site of University of Rhode Island - Bay Campus—in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The projects included: 1. "Access road Fort Kearney," WPA Project No. 165‐1‐16‐74; $32,970, sponsored by the War Department. 2. "Construct and improve buildings," WPA Project No. 165‐3‐16‐99; $7,208, sponsored by the War Department.

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve the facilities at Fort Lafayette, located in an island off Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, during the early 1940s. One project involved "removing and replacing deck, sheathing, stringers, camps, bracing, fenders, and piles; improving baffles, painting, grading, filling," and performing other related work. "Upon the close of the War, Fort Lafayette no longer had a role in military operations, and fell in to a state of disrepair. In 1948, the Fort was transferred to the City of New York. It was demolished in 1960, and in its footprint was built a colossal tower rising...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted development efforts at Fort Leavenworth as part of multiple projects totaling more than $1 million. Projects included: Construct and improve buildings, structures, and facilities. Cost: $150,000. Sponsor: War Department ‐Q.M.C. WPA Project No. 113‐3‐82‐7 Construct and rehabilitate barracks and quarters and utilities. Cost: $355,045. Sponsor: War Department ‐Q.M.C. WPA Project No. 13‐3‐82‐7 Improve buildings and grounds. Cost: $424,649. Sponsor: War Department. WPA Project No. 165‐2‐82‐23 Improve roads and streets. Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Fort Leavenworth, U.S. Army. WPA Project No. 365‐82‐1‐1 Make general improvements to buildings, utilities, walks, and grounds. Cost: $45,230. Sponsor: Commanding...

Formerly known as the Army War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair is a U.S. Army post located at the confluence of the Potomac and the Anacostia Rivers. The site has been an army post for more than 200 years. During the New Deal, both the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made extensive improvements to the post. In 1933-34, the CWA did everything from sewer construction and building renovations to adding a bandstand and repairing the bowling alley. Records in the National Archives provide these details: "Building concrete coal bin & retaining walls, south of incinerator; Making necessary branch...

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at the former Fort Levett on Cushing Island in Portland, Maine. Project information: “Make general improvements to grounds” Official Project Number: 765‐11‐2‐3 Total project cost: $50,545.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Fort Williams, U.S. Army

The main campus of Fort Lewis College was moved to Durango, Colorado in 1956, but before then it was located at this site, 16 miles southwest of Durango on what was originally a military site, then a boarding school for Native Americans, then a high school, then a two-year college. Since the 1950s, this has been the site of the San Juan Basin Research Center and is currently connected to Fort Lewis College once more as an auxiliary campus used for agricultural research among other purposes. During the 1930s, New Deal programs contributed important resources to the campus: "Dean Bader faced...

Fort Loudoun was in operation from 1756 to 1760, when it was captured by the Cherokee. It fell to ruin until 1917 when it was recognized as an historic site. In 1933, the Tennessee General Assembly purchased the fort and created the Fort Loudoun Association, which managed it until the Tennessee State Parks purchased it in 1977. From 1935 to 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook restoration and archaeological work under the "Fort Loudoun Restoration Project," with plans to reconstruct the fort "as based on historical and archeological research." (wikipedia)

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) landscaped the Fort Mackinac Post Cemetery on Mackinac Island.

Landscaping of 40 acres in Fort Mason, San Francisco, San Francisco county. Planting trees and shrubs, seeding lawns. This project is a continuation of work begun under Federal Parks Project.--Mooser, p. 95.

Take up and relay approximately 800 lineal feet of railroad track serving Fort Mason, including new ties and ballast.--Mooser, p. 95.

From 1935-1941, the WPA worked on projects directly supporting the United States Military. In Wisconsin, the WPA along with the U.S. War Department worked on a $22,000 building project that saw them build 6 wood buildings and two stone gates in 1940 to 1941. The two stone gates are the only remaining structures that still stand today. This gate was called the Highway 16 gate as it was built just off of Highway 16 on County Highway A. This gate served as the main gate for Camp McCoy on a road which was created when the base opened in 1909....

This gate is an amazing engineering feet. It lays at approximately 250 feet long and is in very nice shape. This gate, once completed, was used as the post's main gate prior to the cantonment area moving to North of Highway 21 in 1942. Work on this gate started in 1940 and most likely was completed in 1941. The road, which is County Highway A has existed since the base opened in 1909. There is a historical sign outlining the WPA's contributions to then Camp McCoy.

Per a historical account of Fort McCoy, written as a result of the base's 100th anniversary, it was mentioned that the WPA worked on post during the construction of Highway 21 near the Fort. This construction resulted in many buildings and two stone gates. Per the 2009 report, the two stone gates were the only structures that remained. This stone gate is located on Ginger Road just off of Highway 21 going into South Post. This gate is still standing but it has degraded with time. Ginger Road leads to the current base housing unit for permanent Soldiers and families.

The Fort is located on the West side of the island. Build rubble masonry walls, install irrigation system, excavation, weeding, seeding, and trimming slopes, transplanting seedlings.--Mooser, p. 94.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers "built a sandstone wall around the entire fort grounds and today the boundary demarcates the Fort McIntosh Historic District."

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at the former Fort McKinley on Great Diamond Island in Portland, Maine. Project information: “Rehabilitation of buildings including plumbing, heating, and electrical” Official Project Number: 13‐2‐11‐108 Total project cost: $40,000.00 Sponsor: War Department ‐Q.M.C. “Fts. Williams, McKinley, & Preble: Improve roads” Official Project Number: 165‐2‐11‐8 Total project cost: $189,576.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Fort Williams, U.S. Army

Clear and level an area of 1 1/2 acres for the enlisted personnel of Fort Miley to use as a drill field and baseball diamond. This will involve moving 900 cubic yards of dirt. Erect a backstop of pipe and woven wire. Erect a spectators' grandstand--Mooser, p. 87.

The W.P.A. conducted development work at Fort Missoula in Montana. W.P.A. project info: "Construct additions to buildings" Official Project Number: 13‐3‐91‐160 Total project cost: $103,566.00 Sponsor: War Department "Construct additions to buildings" Official Project Number: 13‐3‐91‐35 Total project cost: $125,000.00 Sponsor: War Department "Construct additions to buildings" Official Project Number: 13‐3‐91‐X Sponsor: War Department "Construct additions to buildings" Official Project Number: 13‐3‐91‐X Total project cost: $21,434.00 Sponsor: War Department "Reconstruct and improve buildings and grounds" Official Project Number: 165‐2‐91‐81 Total project cost: $72,084.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Fort Missoula, U.S. Army "Reconstruct, rehabilitate, and improve buildings and grounds" Official Project Number: 565‐91‐2‐14 Total project cost: $62,711.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Fort Missoula, U.S. Army "Reconstruct and improve buildings and grounds" Official Project...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted millions of dollars (not even adjusted for inflation) of improvement and development work at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. No aspects of the installation were left untouched: improvement and construction work involved developing "an auxiliary flying field," roads, sidewalks, electrical, heading, plumbing and sewer systems, and erosion control. All manners of facilities were built, refurbished, improved, or expanded. A captioned image in "The Dawn," a WPA publication, states that conducted "extensive repair work" at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey ca. 1936. Here is one typical project description, Official Project #765‐22‐2‐14: Improve buildings, including general overhauling of plumbing, heating, and...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve Fort Monroe. $53,924 was allocated for the project in November 1938.

The Works Progress Administration carried out historical restoration work at Fort Morgan, on Mobile Baywest of Gulf Shores. The fort was occupied by the Army in the 1920s and later fell into disrepair after it was vacated. In 1960 the fort was designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The WPA worked to improve the facilities and infrastructure at Fort Mott, southwest of Pennsville, New Jersey. The site is now a state park. These WPA projects were sponsored by the Commanding Officer, Fort DuPont, U.S. Army: "Improve cemetery road and dock road, including placing curbs, grading and paving roadway" Official Project Number: 765‐22‐1‐5 Total project cost: $12,198.00 "Improve buildings, grounds, and facilities" Official Project Number: 165‐2‐22‐215 Total project cost: $137,676.00 "Rehabilitate and improve buildings, facilities, and grounds" Official Project Number: 65‐2‐22‐365 Total project cost: $17,435.00

Fort Myer is a US Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. Along with many other military installations throughout the country, it received significant funding and improvements from New Deal agencies. One result was a new NCO housing area: "The NCO housing on Sheridan Avenue represents the effort to improve installations nation-wide. The Georgian and Colonial Revival elements of these buildings are typical of the construction on Army installations during this era."   (Fort Myer, Virginia: Historic Landscape Inventory) The “Microfilmed Index to WPA Projects” at the National Archives describes WPA work on the site in 1940-41: "Construct water and sewer lines, septic...

Originally known as the Arlington Cantonment and then as South Post, this area was a part of Fort Myer. In 1940, WPA labor was used to: "Construct, improve and rehabilitate buildings, including installing plumbing, heating and electrical facilities, public utility systems, water supply and purification, water and sewer lines, roads and walks at Arlington Cantonment, grade and drain grounds, perform incidental and appurtenant work." South Post has since been demolished and the grounds have become a part of Arlington National Cemetery, located directly adjacent to the rest of Fort Myer.

Waymarking: "The Yacht Basin was an undertaking of the WPA (Works Project Administration) that took two years to complete, employing local workers during the Depression. ... Located at Mile Marker 135 on the Okeechobee Waterway, 15 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, Fort Myers Yacht Basin is a well designed and protected marina. It is owned and operated by the City of Fort Myers."