National Youth Administration (NYA) Sites

The National Youth Administration (NYA) project at Maverick built a community center and garage constructed of stone. The school district furnished $1,000 worth of materials and the NYA supplied $4,000 for labor and supervision. Forty-five boys were employed in the project. Only a few buildings and ruins are left of the community and the status of the center is unknown. The Texas Almanac for Runnels County historic map locates Maverick next to the Oak Creek, and Google maps shows ruins of the old school and other buildings in addition to the few remaining houses.

The Carson Community House was constructed as National Youth Administration project 5649 in 1939. It is a two story, brick veneer building, currently in use as a Masonic Lodge. It appears to be essentially unaltered, other than sealing of two upper windows. It retains the external double stairs to access the second floor.

The B. and P.W. Club of Oxford, the National Youth Administration and local citizens funded the construction of a community house for the use of Lafayette County. Home Demonstration clubs solicited funds from county communities to assist. The house was proposed to be located on North Lamar street, one block north of the courthouse. W. P. 5160 #896 for Oxford Community House, Lafayette County was constructed of 8 inch stone veneer laid random ashlar. Stone was quarried by NYA and the cypress shingles were cut at the Longview NYA sawmill. It contained a woodwork shop in the basement and was...

In 1939, a dead-end wall was constructed in Salina, Kansas in an area that now sits behind Salina Community Theater. The wall was built by youths who were employed by the National Youth Administration (NYA). The NYA was a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that focused on training, employing, and educating young people between the ages of 16 and 25. Chris Cotten, Parks and Recreation Director of the City of Salina, Kansas tells us that "n April 1939 the Salina Journal reported that 35 NYA youths, working part time and using rubble masonry, were hired to construct 'ten dead-end walls' on...

The National Youth Administration (NYA) project provided work for boys to construct a brick field house to house visiting athletic teams, football lockers and showers, stock rooms and athletic offices. The one story structure was located east of the tennis courts. It is no longer extant.

The voters of the City of Cuero passed a bond election for $16,000 to buy 210 acres of land in the mid 1930s. Some of the land was used for residential and commercial development, but the majority was used for a municipal park. The Works Progress (WPA) Administration built a lake, golf course, clubhouse, swimming pool, entrance portals and a baseball stadium between 1935 and 1937. Most material for development was furnished by the government with the city paying another $8,000 for some tools and supplies. The National Youth Administration (NYA) built a large shop, dormitories and other facilities for the...

The National Youth Administration built culverts on S. 1st St. in Merkel, Taylor County. A site marker reads, "Constructed by National Youth Administration 1940."

The Daniel Boone Homestead is a 579-acre park with multiple historic structures including the birthplace of famed pioneer Daniel Boone. The site is owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The National Youth Administration (NYA) played a key role in the development of the site. Over 100 NYA workers graded the landscape, built roads, trails, fences, and campsites, installed picnic tables and planted trees. They excavated the Daniel Boone Lake, constructed the Wayside Lodge, and a few of the most skilled workers assisted in the restoration of the homestead. Architect G. Edwin Brumbaugh and landscape architect Markley...

The National Youth Administration built this 1.5 story gymnasium for De Kalb High School in 1938. The gym remains extant.

"It is unknown when the first school was formed for this community, but in 1938 the National Youth Administration (NYA) constructed a stone school. The school in the community of Ida has been known as the Antioch, Center Ridge, Dill and Ida schools. This was one of 17 schools in the county to be constructed or renovated by the NYA or WPA during the 1930s. Ten years after the construction of this school, a plan was devised by the county to consolidate schools of less than 350 students to larger schools using buses. The students that had attended the Dill School...

This replica of a dog-trot style cabin (two rooms with a breezeway between them, sharing a common roof) on the grounds of the Witte Museum was constructed in 1939 through the efforts of the National Youth Administration. Thirty youth were involved in the project. The dog-trot cabin was very common in Texas and throughout the Southeastern U.S.. The cabin is situated perpendicular to the San Antonio River and features changing exhibits representative of the Texas Frontier in the two rooms.

Eau Claire Senior High School was constructed in 1925-1926 to replace an aging structure on Lake and 4th St. The new high school had extensive basement renovation in the summer of 1938 carried out by the National Youth Administration (NYA), part of the Works Progress Administration. The work done to the structure allowed for a 20X60-foot room to be made to show films and slides. A steel backstop was added as well to create an indoor firing range for the High School .22 Rifle Club. The building now serves as the Eau Claire School District administrative offices.

The National Youth Administration completed improvements at the Ezel High School. A team of 18 NYA boys remodeled an old residence that was converted in the science building. The crew consolidated the foundation, added a sewer line to the street, and completed extensive interior and exterior renovations.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the National Youth Administration (NYA) completed work for the Fair Park in Tyler TX. This is the location where the East Texas State Fair is held. In 1940 many old buildings were demolished and replaced by WPA workmen, including the headquarters building. Ornamental fence set around the pavilion and ornamental spiral staircases was made by NYA shops in Marshall.

National Youth Administration (NYA) completed improvements at Fair Park in Childress TX. A small marker on the lake next to picnic table says "1937 NYA." On site are several picnic tables, a small amphitheater, and a fountain with a lighthouse in the middle. All items that appear to be created by the NYA.

The National Youth Administration built a rock wall and bleachers at baseball/softball field in Fair Park. The work was done in 1937-1938.

The Firehouse in the newspaper article below still stands, and is in fact the current Llano City Hall. Excerpt from The Llano News, 05 Dec 1940: "Specifications for the building were prepared by W. A. Burton, Llano architect and engineer. The building is a two- story of rock-face ashlar construction. The ground floor provided space for four fire trucks, a dressing room and bath for the firemen and a large office which served as a meeting place for the city council and the city's business. Upstairs there was a large combined assembly room and recreational hall for the members of the Llano Volunteer...

This station was NYA project Number 5403-Y-10.

The rock fire station was constructed as federal National Youth Administration (NYA) project 4686-Y-10 in May 1938.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out flood recovery work after the floods in Parkersburg in the spring of 1937. The WPA provided 700 workers (200 of which were National Youth Administration workers) and $ 31,000. The WPA crews assisted with evacuation efforts and the protection and recovery of property.

NYA plaque found at entrance of roadside park on TX-6 in Foard County, approximately 3.3 miles south of Crowell. Found a unique octagonal picnic table, a regular picnic table, and rock around garden at base of trees.

The Fort Worth Botanic Garden had its origins in 1912 when the park board purchased a tract of land southwest of Trinity Park and named it Rock Springs Park. In his 1909 park master plan for Fort Worth, landscape architect George E. Kessler recommended that the city acquire the parcel because of its natural flowing springs and dense stand of native trees. The park remained largely unimproved until 1929 when work began on the creation of a lagoon and an arboretum under the direction of landscape architect S. Herbert Hare and Raymond C. Morrison, the city’s forester. In 1930 Hare and...

"One of the primary goals of the Federal Art Project was to bring different kinds of art to the American people. Sculptor Kathleen Wilson was funded by FAP to create 12 three-foot statues representing historic priests. Local teenagers were hired with National Youth Administration funds to build the shrine structures for the “Camino de los Padres.” With the support of local Chambers of Commerce, the statues were placed along Arizona roadways. This statue with its stone grotto outside of Nogales has attracted much devotion since construction in 1939. Most statues have subsequently disappeared and many of those that are left...

The Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) and the National Youth Administration (NYA) undertook crucial preservation work at the Frederick Douglass home ("Cedar Hill") along the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington DC, where the great abolitionist writer and former slave lived and worked from 1878 to his death in 1895. The restoration work was focused on Douglass' papers, library and artifacts, and on improvements to the extensive grounds of the estate. An article published in the The Atlanta Constitution in 1939 reported that the WPA Historical Records Survey Project was “cleaning assembling, indexing and filing the valuable papers” of the late Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) at...

Text from the state historical marker reads: "The town of Godley began in 1886, as rancher and lumber merchant B. B. Godley donated land for a townsite and right-of-way to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. Predating the railroad town was the local school, as Johnson County Commissioners Court formed Godley Independent School District in July 1884. Dr. John I. Pearson was one of the earliest teachers. Godley College began in 1899 in a three-story frame building, becoming Godley High School three years later. A three-story brick building opened in time for graduation in 1916. Godley School experienced great growth...

The building plaque mentions that the structure was erected A.D. 1941 and built by the Work Progress Administration, Project No. 18286. A plaque on the Vocational Agriculture Building notes that the structure was erected A.D. 1940 by the National Youth Administration - 847.

The Itta Bena Grammar School is a one-story brick, five course common bond building in a standard T-shape constructed 1940 by the National Youth Administration, designed by architect Robert James Moor. It remains in use as of 2018. Itta Bena citizens met in May 1939 to discuss the proposed new elementary school building, and by September, the old building was facing demolition. The National Youth Administration covered the cost of labor for the school building. The $45,000 grammar school building was dedicated February 24, 1941, with an approximate cost of $25,000 to Itta Bena. The dedication ceremony, held in the...

The amphitheater, located on the campus of Southern Arkansas University, was constructed by the NYA in 1936-38.

The National Youth Administration project #872 completed demolition and salvage of the Farmhaven gymnasium and built a new gymnasium. The project employed 30 youth at a cost of $1,080.

The Coxburg community gymnasium was constructed 1936 by the National Youth Administration. The structure cost approximately $5,000 and was 80 x 100 feet. The gym was destroyed in 1952.

In the 1930s youths the National Youth Administration (NYA) hired young people to construct the stone shop building in Gypsum Hill Cemetery. The shop building bears an NYA plaque.

National Youth Administration built a picnic shelter and stone community building and did landscaping work in Hanna-Nuttman Park, Decatur, Indiana. The community building does not appear to be in use but retains the NYA plaque. The parks department did not respond to an inquiry through their web site about the status of the building (in 2023).

The National Youth Administration completed improvements in Harmon Park in Stamford TX. While the Park itself still exists, the only item that I identified as possibly being the work of the NYA is the rock pillar at the park entrance. It is possible that they planted the trees, or even dug the small duck pond. "HARMON PARK - Harmon park, improved during the winter and spring through A NYA project directed by Bernard Buie, is a popular picnic and outing site favored by school and church groups. It is a customary meal site for visitors to Stamford's annual Texas Cowboy Reunion and...

The National Youth Administration provided labor to beautify the park for African Americans in Belton in 1938. They constructed a native rock speaker stand and four picnic tables with benches. Twenty-three youth, including both White and African American, were employed on the work. The entrance gate was also made of natural rock, and a the park was surround by a low fence. Five natural rock flower beds were constructed. The speakers stand held a plaque indicating construction by the NYA. The park is located between N. Smith and N. Alexander streets north of the Harris Community Center (former school).

The National Youth Administration built the only health clinic on St. John island, to serve its 800 inhabitants.

"Heights Community Center was the first community recreation center in the city and has served generations of Albuquerque residents. It was constructed between 1938 and 1942 as a National Youth Administration Project, one of several New Deal programs active in Albuquerque during the Great Depression. NYA projects were intended to give youth thorough vocational training and revive their interest in education. At the time, it was considered the largest NYA project in the country. Much of the work for the center was carried out by volunteers using donated or salvaged materials. Several different civic groups in the Heights thought up the...

More than 100 National Youth Administration (NYA) workers operated over three shifts to renovate the athletic fields (including football and baseball fields) at Camden High School in 1936.

The rustic styled main building in Highland Park was built by the National Youth Administration (NYA) between 1937 and 1938. It houses the world's largest sycamore stump, a local tourist attraction.

Roadside park built by the National Youth Administration in Cooperation with the Texas Highway Department in 1936. The roadside park was along HWY-81 near the Lampasas River. When I-35 was built replacing HWY-81 the roadside park was destroyed. Located at what is now a pullout along the side of the I-35 access road, all that remains is the historic marker. At the same location is the 1936 Pink Centennial Marker to Bell County. From roadside study (link below): "One example, a park in Belton constructed in November 1939, employed 50 NYA youth in cooperation with the THD and was to “include picnic...

Built by the National Youth Administration, all that remains of the structures are rock wall shells. The Home Economics Cottage has a plaque, the vocational shop does not.