From April 1939 until May 1942, 277 men worked for the WPA at the Angel Mounds Site near Evansville, Indiana under the direction of Glenn A. Black, archaeologist for the Indiana Historical Society. During the project over 2 million artifacts… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps’ Indian Division (CCC-ID) did archeological excavation and stabilization work at several sites of ancient indigenous ruins across Arizona in the 1930s. A Navajo Indian CCC mobile unit was formed under a joint program between the Park… read more
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees from the Mt. Elden Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp near Flagstaff worked at Walnut Canyon National Monument from 1938 to 1942. One part of their work was assisting with the stabilization and restoration of dwelling… read more
The complex in Aztec Ruins National Monument consists of a “three-story structure [with] as many as 500 rooms, includ[ing] a great kiva [subterranean or partially subterranean Puebloan chamber used for religious ceremony] that is more than forty feet across.” The name… read more
“The park contains remains from a prehistoric communal dwelling constructed by the Salado people. The site was inhabited from 1225 to 1400 A.D. Irene Vickrey conducted the first formal archaeological investigation starting in 1935. Funding for her salary and her… read more
From Our Mark on This Land (2011): “If you have driven, hiked, or slept in the Chisos Mountains, you have experienced CCC history. In May 1933, Texas Canyons State Park was established; it was later renamed Big Bend State Park…. read more
The WPA financed Preston Holders “excavations of prehistoric and early contact Indian sites on the Georgia Coast, from Savannah to St. Simons Island, between April 1936 and February 1938… “Excavations on St. Simons Island and Vicinity, 1936-1937,” which is familiar… read more
Colonial National Historical Park (CNHP) was created by Congress and President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and consists primarily of the Yorktown Battlefield, the historic Jamestown Settlement, and Colonial Parkway. Several federal agencies participated in its development. The National Park Service… read more
Colonial National Historical Park (CNHP) was created by Congress and President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and consists primarily of the Yorktown Battlefield, the historic Jamestown Settlement, and Colonial Parkway. Several federal agencies participated in its development. The National Park Service… read more
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted work at Dinosaur National Monument at the site that is now a part of the Quarry Exhibit Hall near Jensen, Utah. Relief workers expanded the quarry face where abundant dinosaur fossils had been discovered… read more
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed the former Eastern New Mexico State Park, occasionally referred to as “Blackwater Draw Park”, ca. 1934-6. Flynn: “This CCC-built site was originally created to reforest 9,600 acres of that Dust Bowl area. Later the state… read more
Archaeological excavation and restoration of the prehistoric settlement at Wupatki began in 1933 under the guidance of Harold Colton, founder and director of the Museum of Northern Arizona. In the winter of 1933-34 Civil Works Administration (CWA) provided the relief… read more
Between 1935 and 1938, the WPA performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site. From the Bridger Valley Pioneer: One of the Valley projects funded by WPA was the artesian well in Fort Bridger. It still runs today,… read more
The Civil Works Administration (CWA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site. Casper Star-Tribune, 1934: “Dedication of the new traps today at the Izaak Walton league park… read more
Between 1935 and 1939, the WPA performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site.
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
The WPA performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site in 1937.
WPA crews rebuilt historic Fort Recovery between 1935 and 1939. The fort was originally built in 1794 on the site where Army General Arthur St. Clair was roundly defeated by the armies of a confederation of Miami and Shawnee Native… read more
WPA crews conducted restoration work at the site between 1935 and 1938. From the Library of Congress: “In 1937, the fort was restored as a WPA project. It has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, but today… read more
For two years, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), under the leadership of University of Texas at Austin archaeologists, excavated an area known as the George C. Davis Site (41CE19). The site yielded artifacts from the Caddoan Mississippian culture that existed… read more
“Kinishba Ruins was constructed by the Pueblo people and occupied as early as 800 until as late as 1400 A.D. Byron Cummings, director of the Arizona State Museum, and his students began excavation and reconstruction of Kinishba in 1931. In… read more
The work relief division of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) conducted “extensive repairs to the patio” of La Fortaleza, the 16th Century governor’s mansion in San Juan, capitol of the territory of Puerto Rico, ca. 1937. In 1940-1 the… read more
Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1939 by Executive Order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (which wikipedia incorrectly calls an act of Congress in 1938). The land was purchased and administered by the Bureau of Biological Survey (which… read more
The park features a Works Progress Administration (WPA) shelter protecting sandstone petroglyphs. The petroglyphs are thought to have been created by the Fort Ancient people. The WPA completed other work at the site.
WPA workers developed the Lincoln Pioneer Village and Museum from 1935 to 1936. Work also included landscaping and the building of cabins and a lake. From the State of Indiana’s website on the attraction: “The Lincoln Pioneer Village & Museum… read more
“The Boulder City and Overton Camps are probably best known for their involvement in salvage archaeology, most notably excavations at Lost City in the lower Moapa Valley. The rising Lake Mead threatened a number of important archeological sites along the… read more
According to National Archive files, between 1935 and 1938 WPA crews “landscaped the battleground, installed drains and built drives through the historic site.”
Multiple websites report an unusual WPA project that took place in rural Texas: “Archeological digs employed WPA labor, including [the] excavation at the site of the Odessa meteor crater in Ector County, Texas.” (Marist) “[I]nterest [in the site] swelled after… read more
“Opened and dedicated on May 16, 1939 at what was then known as “Mound State Monument,” built with labor from the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1999, The University of Alabama Museums began a comprehensive effort to rebuild and redefine the… read more
Numerous New Deal agencies had a tremendous impact on the development of Ocmulgee National Monument, the site of pre-Columbian southeastern settlement dating back millennia. “The largest dig ever conducted in this country occurred here at Ocmulgee and the surrounding area…. read more
The Works Progress Administration supported Paleontologist Roland T. Bird in the excavation of Sauropod footprints near West Verde Creek in southern Bandera County, Texas. The workers cleaned out the tracks and removed debris from the excavation area. The project number… read more
Formerly known as ‘The Indian Caves’ or ‘The Indian Ghost Caves’ around Billings, MT, this pre-historic site has become one of the most visited state parks in Montana. Artifacts dating back several thousand years were found here in 1937. A… read more
Declared in 1909 the Gran Quivira National Monument, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) repaired and stabilized this 17th century site between 1934 and 1937, renaming it the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.
Between 1935 and 1939, WPA crews conducted historic restoration and renovation work at this site, Casa-Torre de Ponce de León, built in 1521 for the notoriously brutal conquistador who died before ever occupying the residence. It is better known as… read more
WPA crews conducted extensive renovation and restoration work at this 18th century Spanish fort, including repair of the fortress walls, and cleaning, repairing, and lighting tunnels under the fortress, in order to facilitate tourism.
Between 1935 and 1939, WPA crews conducted extensive historic restoration and renovation work, including restoration of the fortress walls, at this site, a 16th century fort later used as a military site during WWII.