Mansfield State Historic Site – Mansfield LA
According to National Archive files, between 1935 and 1938 WPA crews “landscaped the battleground, installed drains and built drives through the historic site.”
McDowell House Restoration – Danville KY
“The Dr. Ephraim McDowell House, also known as McDowell House, was a home of medical doctor Ephraim McDowell. The home was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1966… The House was built in three stages. A brick ell was… read more
McLoughlin House – Oregon City OR
Restoration and preservation of the John McLoughlin House, dating from 1846, advanced in several ways during the New Deal era. The Civil Works Administration (CWA) funded local architects to document the house in 1934 as part of the first Historic… read more
Mission San Carlos Borromeo del rio Carmelo (Carmel Mission) Renovation – Carmel CA
The Carmel Mission chapel roof was rebuilt in 1936 by CCC craftsmen to enable the roof to be covered in clay tile. This was a correction to a restoration performed in 1882.
Mission San Jose Restoration – San Antonio TX
Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo was first established in 1720, moved to another site briefly, and then was reestablished at this location in 1740. The site is near a ready source of water, later known as the… read more
Mission Tejas State Park – Grapeland TX
Franciscan Monks established the Spanish Mission San Francisco de los Tejas in what is now East Texas in 1690. The monks were forced by the local Indians to abandon the mission in 1693. The monks burned the mission when they… read more
Montauk State Park – Salem MO
“Montauk State Park is located on 633 acres of land in the southern portion of Dent County, twenty-one miles southwest of Salem, Missouri. The outstanding natural feature of the park is a spring that forms an excellent trout stream near… read more
Morris-Jumel Mansion Restoration – New York NY
This house “was built in 1765 by Roger Morris, a British military officer,[2] and served as a headquarters for both sides in the American Revolution” (wikipedia). It was declared a national landmark in 1961 and is now a house museum…. read more
Newton Friends Meeting House Restoration – Camden NJ
Newton Friends [Quaker] Meeting House in Camden, New Jersey was the city’s first house of worship. According to the Federal Writers’ Project: “Built in 1801[?] on ground donated by Joseph Kaighn, was the first house of worship in Camden. It… read more
Norris Dam State Park – Lake City TN
“Norris Dam State Park is a state park in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park is situated along the shores of Norris Lake, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion… read more
Old City Gates Preservation – St. Augustine FL
“Sites of WPA projects to preserve historic shrines include … City Gates, St. Augustine, Florida.”
Old Court House Restoration – New Castle DE
“Sites of WPA projects to preserve historic shrines include … Old Court House, Delaware.” Now the New Castle Court House Museum.
Old State Bank Restoration – Decatur AL
The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funds for the restoration of the Old State Bank building on Wilson Street in 1936. The building then became known as Leila Cantwell Seton Hall, though that designation has been largely dropped.
Old State House Restoration – Boston MA
The W.P.A. conducted restoration and preservation work at the Old State House in Boston, Massachusetts.
Old Windmill Restoration – Eastham MA
The Old Windmill in Eastham, Massachusetts, which dates to 1793, was “restored by a Works Progress Administration Project in 1936.”
Peter Cooper Statue Restoration – New York NY
Formerly known as Stuyvesant Square, the park in which this statue sits was renamed Cooper Square after Peter Cooper, a 19th century industrialist and philanthropist. As the NYC Parks site documents: “Following Cooper’s death in 1883, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), the… read more
Portland Observatory Restoration – Portland ME
“Captain Lemuel Moody (1768-1846) ordered construction of this octagonal, 86-foot high tower to serve as a communication station for Portland’s bustling harbor. In 1807, ships entering the harbor could not be seen from the docks of Portland until they rounded… read more
Presbytère (Louisiana State Museum) Renovation – New Orleans LA
The former Presbytère or Rectory of the late 18th century St. Louis Cathedral is now part of the Louisiana State Museum complex, along with the old Cabildo Building. The Cabildo flanks St. Louis on the west and the Presbytère on… read more
Presidio De San Saba – Menard TX
In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) rebuilt a portion of the Presidio de San Saba, but due to poor workmanship, it soon fell into ruins. A WPA project rebuilt a portion of the fort for the Texas Centennial in… read more
Pueblo Bonito Restoration, Chaco Culture National Historical Park – Nageezi NM
“Pueblo Bonito, the largest and best known Great House in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, northern New Mexico, was built by ancestral Pueblo people and occupied between AD 828 and 1126.” (wikipedia) In 1936, the CCC Indian Division (CCC-ID) began… read more
Retaining Wall for Mission – San Luis Obispo CA
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was thoroughly restored in the 1930s under the guidance of Father John Hartnett, after a long history of neglect. A previous rebuild in 1868 had added wooden siding and a wooden tower in New… read more
Riverside Park: Firemen’s Memorial Restoration – New York NY
The Firemen’s Memorial facing Riverside Park on Riverside Drive at 100th Street, 1913. The NY City Parks Department website says[1]: The memorial exemplifies a classical grandeur that characterized several civic monuments built in New York City from the 1890s to… read more
Riverside Park: Grant’s Tomb Improvements – New York NY
A great number of improvements to the General Grant National Memorial (“Grant’s Tomb”) were undertaken by the WPA between 1935 and 1939. As the National Park Service’s David Kahn (1980) explains: “Thirty-eight years after the tomb opened, the initial restoration… read more
Riverside Park: Joan of Arc Statue Restoration – New York NY
“The Joan of Arc statue on Riverside Drive at 93rd Street, by Anna Vaugh Hyatt Huntington, dedicated in 1915. In 1939, the statue was repatined, its broken sword restored, and its staircase repaired. As noted in references below, this was… read more
Rock Creek Park: Fort DeRussy Improvements – Washington DC
The Works Progess Administration (WPA) did landscape cleanup around Fort DeRussy in Rock Creek Park. Crews removed underbrush, poisonous plants, and dead trees from the old earthworks, which were then (and are now) heavily forested. Fort DeRussy is a Civil… read more
Rock Creek Park: Improvements – Washington DC
The New Deal contributed substantially to the betterment of Rock Creek Park in the 1930s. This involved a number of federal agencies. Rock Creek Park is a key greenway in the District of Columbia and, at 1750 acres, is almost… read more
Rock Creek Park: Pierce Mill Restoration – Washington DC
The National Park Service, which took over command of the Capitol Parks system in 1934, restored the old Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park in 1935-36 with the aid of a grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA) of $26,614… read more
Rockingam Meeting House Restoration – Rockingam VT
The Works Progress Administration restored the Rockingam Meeting House in Rockingam. It was nominated the the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
Rockingham Restoration – Kingston NJ
The W.P.A. conducted restoration and preservation work at Rockingham, the house at which George Washington “wrote his farewell address to the army.”
San Diego Adobe Chapel Restoration – San Diego CA
This chapel was originally a house, built in 1850, and converted into a chapel in 1858. In 1937, San Diego's streets were realigned and the chapel was bulldozed. The WPA rebuilt the chapel that same year on an adjacent site,… read more
San Jose de los Jemez Mission: Site Improvements – Jemez Springs NM
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completed improvements at the San Jose de los Jemez Mission in Jemez Springs NM. The San Jose de los Jemez Mission is a mission compound for the Jemez Pueblo, established by the Catholic Church and… read more
San Juan National Historic Site: Casa Blanca Historical Monument and Museum – San Juan PR
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
San Juan National Historic Site: Castillo de San Cristóbal Restoration – San Juan PR
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.
San Juan National Historic Site: Castillo San Felipe del Morro Restoration – San Juan PR
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.
Saratoga National Historical Park – Stillwater NY
This park commemorates the first major American victory of the Revolutionary War in 1777. “Establishment of a national park to commemorate the Saratoga battles, authorized by Congress in 1938, came about largely due to the direction provided by President Franklin… read more
Saxman Totem Park – Saxman AK
In 1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps developed the Saxman Totem Park. The program was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service effort to employ Alaska Natives and conserve totems and Native cultural assets. Many of the poles that the CCC recovered… read more
Saxman Totem Park, Dogfish Pole (Chief Ebbits) – Saxman AK
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) relocated the Dogfish Pole, also called the Chief Ebbits Pole, from a village in Southeast Alaska to the newly established Saxman Totem Park. The totem was erected in 1892 in memory of Chief Ebbits, head chief… read more
Saxman Totem Park, Giant Rock Oyster Pole – Saxman AK
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) relocated the Giant Rock Oyster Pole from a village in Southeast Alaska to the newly established Saxman Totem Park. The CCC set up a totem restoration project in 1938 and Tlingit carvers enrolled in the CCC lead… read more
Saxman Totem Park, Kats and His Bear Wife Totem – Saxman AK
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) relocated the Kats and His Bear Wife totem from a village in Southeast Alaska to the newly established Saxman Totem Park. The CCC set up a totem restoration project in 1938 and Tlingit carvers enrolled in the… read more
Saxman Totem Park, Memorials Of Eagle Tail House – Saxman AK
The Moon Raven Pole & Sun Raven Pole are two memorial poles that flank the stairs that lead up to the Clan House at the end of the Saxman Totem Park. The Sun Raven Pole is a memorial for Reynold… read more