Archaeology and History Sites

Tlingit craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored the Kadashan Red Snapper Pole in 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Seven of the poles surrounding the Clan House at the Chief Shakes Historic Site are reproductions of older poles, while two are originals. All were carved in 1940 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project. Part of the photographic material published on this page by the Living New Deal was provided by courtesy of Linn A. Forrest (1905-1986), a practicing architect who photographed the totem poles at the time of...

Tlingit craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored the Kicksetti Pole in 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Seven of the poles surrounding the Clan House at the Chief Shakes Historic Site are reproductions of older poles, while two are originals. All were carved in 1940 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project. A small copy of the Kicksetti Pole was sent to President Roosevelt in 1940 by the Tlingit carvers from Wrangell. Harry Corser describes the symbolic meaning of the Kicksetti Totem motifs in his 1910...

Tlingit craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored the Killer Whale Totem in 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Seven of the poles surrounding the Clan House at the Chief Shakes Historic Site are reproductions of older poles, while two are originals. All were carved in 1940 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project. Part of the photographic material published on this page by the Living New Deal was provided by courtesy of Linn A. Forrest (1905-1986), a practicing architect who photographed the totem poles at the time of their restoration,...

Tlingit craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored the Raven Pole in 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Seven of the poles surrounding the Clan House at the Chief Shakes Historic Site are reproductions of older poles, while two are originals. All were carved in 1940 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project. Harry Corser describes the symbolic meaning of the Raven Pole motifs in his 1910 volume, Totem Lore of the Alaska Indians. “The totem is surmounted by the Raven Creator. On the older poles he is...

Tlingit craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored the Sea Lion Prince Pole in 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Seven of the poles surrounding the Clan House at the Chief Shakes Historic Site are reproductions of older poles, while two are originals. All were carved in 1940 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project. Part of the photographic material published on this page by the Living New Deal was provided by courtesy of Linn A. Forrest (1905-1986), a practicing architect who photographed the totem poles at the time of...

 Tlingit craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored the Sea Serpent Pole in 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Seven of the poles surrounding the Clan House at the Chief Shakes Historic Site are reproductions of older poles, while two are originals. All were carved in 1940 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project. Part of the photographic material published on this page by the Living New Deal was provided by courtesy of Linn A. Forrest (1905-1986), a practicing architect who photographed the totem poles at the time of their...

Tlingit craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored the Sun Totem Pole in 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Seven of the poles surrounding the Clan House at the Chief Shakes Historic Site are reproductions of older poles, while two are originals. All were carved in 1940 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project. Part of the photographic material published on this page by the Living New Deal was provided by courtesy of Linn A. Forrest (1905-1986), a practicing architect who photographed the totem poles at the time of their...

Tlingit craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored the Three Frogs Pole in 1940. The restoration was part of a larger U.S. Forest Service program focused on the restoration of totems and Native cultural assets. Seven of the poles surrounding the Clan House at the Chief Shakes Historic Site are reproductions of older poles, while two are originals. All were carved in 1940 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project. Part of the photographic material published on this page by the Living New Deal was provided by courtesy of Linn A. Forrest (1905-1986), a practicing architect who photographed the totem poles at the time of their...

Between 1933 and 1939, crews of Civilian Conservation Corps workers built a trail from the Old Kasaan to the park, constructed a small park, restored traditional native houses, relocated totem poles from abandoned villages, and restored and reconstructed some of the poles. A registration form of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) describes the role of the CCC in the restoration of the Totem Park: “The U.S. Forest Service used the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program, to provide jobs in Southeast Alaska during the 1930s. The program was used to develop recreational facilities in Tongass National Forest, to...

Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Back Potlatch Ring Pole. The pole stands 15 feet tall. The flying groundhog was replaced with an eagle in 1939.

Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Bear Memorial Pole. The pole stands 20 feet tall.

Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of one of two mortuary posts, called Two Eagle Memorial Pole. The pole stands 15’ tall. The original, which has burned, belonged to the Eagle Leg House in Old Kasaan. It featured a frog carved on the front and two eagle figures at the top.

Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps restored the original Ha’u Pole. The Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation describes the significance of the figures represented on the pole: “Sources recount that a man from the Tlingit village of Kake carved this pole, as the owners were of Tlingit descent on their mother’s side. The pole belonged to the grandfather of Son-I-Hat who actually had the name “East.” The figures on the pole from the top are described as the “father of us all, ”Raven, killer whale, and Raven with a human figure on front, with Root on the bottom." Walter Young worked...

Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Killer Whale Grave Figure. The original, which no longer exists, was located on the roof of a grave house on the beach in Old Kasaan. This is the location in which it was originally photographed, before it was relocated to New Kasaan in 1940.

The Sitting Bear Grave Marker is a reproduction from an original totem from Old Kasaan, carved by native craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps. The totem was relocated on January 30, 1939 to New Kasaan at the Whale House site, where a copy was carved. Located at the west end of the village inside a small grave house, the original Bear Grave Marker stood on top of a grave.

Craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps restored the original Skawaal Pole. The Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation describes the significance of the figures represented on this pole: “This pole is about 50-feet high and was one of two poles which stood in front of Chief Skáwaal's Rib House. When the pole was moved to New Kasaan, the thunderbird figure at the top was replaced and the surface was carved down to solid wood during the CCC restoration. The carved figures below the ring appear the same for each pole: Raven with the moon in its beak; Raven holding his beak...

Standing in front of the Whale House, this 50-foot pole is a reproduction of an Old Kasaan original. The pole was carved in 1939 by James Peele. Chester R. Snow, a Construction Engineer for the Civilian Conservation Corps noted that the original pole was buried 10 feet in the ground. In Tlingit and Haida societies, houses typically have a post incorporated in the façade or standing in front of it. The Son-I-Hat Frontal Pole stands on the beach, in front of the  Whale House, which faces the water.

David Peele and craftsmen enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps carved a copy of the Spencer Pole. The Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation describes the significance of the figures represented on the pole: “The 40-foot Spencer Pole was raised by Kate Gamede, a Kasaan woman of Táas Láanas clan, as a memorial to her husband, a photographer from Victoria, BC. The image of Mr. Spencer appears at the top of the pole; below appear scroll patterns; Raven carrying the moon in his mouth; and Black Skin, the strong man, holding the sea lion. The last figure illustrates a story familiar to...

The Whale House at the Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District was built during the 1880s at Old Kasaan. Around 1904, Chief Son-I-Hat moved from the old village to a new site at Kasaan Bay called Kasaan or New Kasaan. The Chief also moved his Whale House and entrance totem to the new site. A registration form of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) describes the role of the CCC in the restoration of the Whale House: “It is not known if Son-I-Hat or one of his sons actually lived in the Whale House at Kasaan, however it...

The Claremont Inn was first built in 1804 and was located along the Hudson River, just north of where Grant’s Tomb stands today until its demise in 1951. For years, a succession of aristocrats lived in the house, including Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King of Spain and Napoleon’s brother. In the 1840s it was converted into a “road house” and in the 1870s, the building was acquired by the City as part of Riverside Park. The inn’s heyday lasted until the 1920s, with visitors and shoppers stopping at the inn for expensive luncheons. With Prohibition, however, the Claremont’s popularity declined. Only in the...

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 to Coastal archaeologists, provides a brief and accurate description of his excavations on St. Simons Island at the Airport (Site I), the Sea Island Mound (II), the Charlie King Mound (III), and Gascoigne Bluff (IV), with a progress report on Cannon's Point (V). Less well known are the further details of his work at Cannon's Point, of his two-month excavations at...

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 (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general...

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 (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general...

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 (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general...

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 (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general...

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 (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general clean-up)...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an exhibit for the Colorado State Museum in Denver. WPA workers built a model of the Union Pacific Stage in the Transportation series.

The Conference House (also known as the Billopp House) is located on the southernmost tip of Staten Island in the Tottenville neighborhood. "The Conference House, a grand stone manor house built in 1680, is named for the unsuccessful Revolutionary War peace conference that was held here on September 11, 1776 between the Americans and the English. Despite their negotiations to end the fighting, no agreement was reached and the Revolutionary War continued for another seven years" (www.nycgovparks.org). The house is now a historic landmark and a museum. The restoration of the house began in 1926 and continued through the 1930s....

Monument The writers of the first Indiana State Constitution are said to have worked in the shade of a large elm tree because of the hot weather in June 1816. The Constitution Elm is a five-minute walk from the original state capitol building in Corydon that was the official site of the convention. Dutch Elm Disease killed the tree in 1925 but the stump was preserved with creosote. In 1937, the Works Progress Administration built a shelter for the stump using local sandstone cut by Civilian Conservation Corps laborers. The history of the site is commemorated with a bronze tablet provided...

Cove Lake State Park, originally planned as Fort Mountain Park, was the third joint effort of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the National Parks Service (NPS). The initial 668-acre park was built along the banks of the lake created by the Caryville Dam (1936). The dam was built to minimize the flooding to Caryville from the Norris Dam (1933-1936) project down stream. Even with the Caryville Dam, some 70 structures including the First Baptist Church and a high school were demolished. In addition, Tennessee Highway 63 and US Highway 25 (Dixie Highway) required relocation....

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 Dey Mansion was originally constructed in the mid-18th century and was inhabited by the Dey family until 1801, when it was sold to a private owner. According the Dey Mansion official website, "In 1930, the now defunct Passaic County Park Commission purchased the Dey Mansion, together with several barns and 55 acres of land. A plan of restoration was developed under the direction of Charles OverCornelius who was a former Associate Curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a recognized authority on early American architecture" (passaiccountynj.org). The restoration was undertaken by the Civil Works Administration (CWA), which restored...

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 in 1909 by Earl Douglass, a paleontologist collecting for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. President Woodrow Wilson declared the original acre fossil site to be a National Monument in 1915 and President Franklin Roosevelt expanded the monument to its present size in 1938.  The monument contains over 800 paleontological sites. We are uncertain of the exact dates of the WPA work. UEN.org: "The...

"One of several small monuments in the vicinity of what is known as the “Battle Pass” in Prospect Park, the Dongan Oak Monument commemorates events which took place in this area during the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776. During this significant battle of the Revolutionary War, a large white oak mentioned in 1685 in the patent of Governor Thomas Dongan (1634–1715), was cut down by Colonial soldiers and thrown across the road to impede the advance of the British army."   (www.nycgovparks.org) In the 1930s, the sculpture was restored with federal funding under Karl Gruppe, "chief sculptor of the...

In 1936, Works Progress Administration (WPA) crews helped restore this pioneer-era cabin, dating to 1866.  The log and earth-covered cabin had been built by the Bennett and Drown families, who moved on to frame houses as time passed. The cabin was originally located near the old town cemetery,  just south of the town center of Midvale UT and hard by an ASARCO smelter (now gone). The Drown Cabin was restored again in 1999 and moved to a new site near the intersection of Center Street and 700W in Midvale.  It was still there in 2011 but we did not find it on a...

One of the original program markers from 1937, installed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. 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,...

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 government reduced the amount of acreage to 400. The CCC built a large bath house, other houses, camping areas and a lake. All but one long house near the highway remains and was most likely the home for the park manager. In 1951 the state deeded the property to Eastern New Mexico University in Portales and they later built a large...

The Eleanor Roosevelt Library is a room in the Whittemore House and Museum on 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW.  The house is the headquarters of the Woman’s National Democratic Club, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the DC Preservation League, the house’s “distinguished guests have included Eleanor Roosevelt, who delivered many of her radio addresses in the 1960s from the house’s library and hosted a women-only press conference in the house to combat the obstacles faced by female journalists.” The house was built between 1892 and 1894 but it is unknown to the Living New Deal...

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 labor to continue excavation and restoration.  Next came a Navajo Indian CCC mobile unit formed under a joint program between the Park Service and the Indian Service (later the Bureau of Indian Affairs) to do stabilization work on indigenous ruins in Chaco Canyon, Navajo, Tonto, Aztec Ruins, Montezuma Castle, and Gran Quivira national monuments, as well as Wupatki (Paige 1985, Ch...

"Sites of WPA projects to preserve historic shrines include ... Faneuil Hall, Massachusetts."