Cemeteries Sites

"During the 1930s, the Civilian Works Administration (CWA) made general repairs to the lodge and outbuildings and erected a new flagpole."

"In 1938, the Alton Cemetery Association made an initial offer to donate land for a national cemetery with a proviso that the government build a rostrum or permanent speaker’s stand for use on Memorial Day. Once the offer was accepted, Works Progress Administration laborers constructed a permanent rostrum. Between 1941 and 1942, the remains of 49 Union soldiers were removed from a nearby, but separate, section of Alton City Cemetery, and were reinterred on the federal land."

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted an improvement project at Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in Greeneville, Tennessee, providing work for about 35 laborers.

From the National Park Service: “One of the 14 national cemeteries that date from the Civil War, the Annapolis National Cemetery is the final resting place for many Union soldiers who died in the nearby ‘parole camps’ and hospitals of the Maryland capital” (see source note below). Maintenance ledgers (see image below for an example) show that the WPA did extensive work at the cemetery, such as installing utilities, realigning headstones, removing dead trees, and constructing a utility building. A superintendent’s lodge was built in 1871 and then replaced between 1936 and 1941 with the current lodge. It appears that WPA laborers...

Project cards in the National Archives index describes extensive work to be undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Arlington National Cemetery in 1938-41.   "Reconstruct and improve roads and streets in Arlington National Cemetery Reservation located near Fort Myer in Arlington County; Improve buildings, grounds and utilities of the Arlington National Cemetery by painting, brick and carpentry work, razing old buildings, grading, top soiling, seeding, planting trees, spraying and shrubs, setting and realigning headstones, rebuilding rubble masonry wall, rip-rapping streams, laying drain pipe; Improve and enlarge existing facilities and improve grounds at Arlington National Cemetery. The work includes installing...

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the land that is now Baltimore National Cemetery was once called the Cloud Capped Estate: "Conversion of the Cloud Capped estate to a national shrine was the responsibility of the War Department, with work accomplished under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era make-work program. The WPA undertook work at several national cemeteries during its lifetime in the 1930s and early 1940s. The Baltimore property—envisioned as Maryland's "Little Arlington"—was to accommodate 40,000 to 45,000 interments…Between 1936 and 1938, nearly $400,000 was expended on WPA improvements to Baltimore National Cemetery. Funds were spent on...

The Barton Heights Cemeteries in Richmond, Virginia are "encircled by a fence erected by the Works Progress Administration in 1935."

Text from the state historical marker reads: "Aurelius Delphus Bourland (1840-1904), a North Carolina native and a veteran of the Civil War, bought land here in 1873. A farmer and Primitive Baptist preacher, he first used this site as a family cemetery. The earliest marked grave is that of his grandson A. Delphus White, who died in 1886. In 1899 Bourland sold 2.5 acres, including the grave sites, to the residents of Keller (1.5 mi SW) for use as a public burial ground. Additional land was given by the families of Bourland in 1947 and A.B. Harmonson (1891-1967) in 1977. The...

The WPA allocated $3,161 for "cemetery improvement" near Carlton, Montana in August 1938. It is presumed that this site is what's presently known as Carlton Cemetery, which is located behind the Florence Carlton Church along Old U.S. 93.

Situated on the east side of Ocean Boulevard, in a little valley is the town of Cayucos’s only cemetery. The front of the cemetery is defined by a low masonry wall constructed by the WPA in 1940. It is made of light gray to iron-colored uncut stone laid in random courses. A few stones are arranged in odd patterns to provide visual interest. Approximately 335’ long, it is divided into three sections. Masonry posts topped with concrete balls are placed at intervals along its path. The cemetery improvement project began in the winter of 1940, but stalled for a time because of muddy...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Bessemer, Alabama.

The 1935 Town report mentions: Public Service Enterprises Fence Construction Centre Cemetery ERA Project ----- $563.69 employing 13 people WPA Highway Project $260.34 WPA Sewing Project $60.21 employing 2 people

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) conducted a cemetery beautification project in Boone, NC. It is unclear which cemetery was improved as part of this project.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) built an expansion to the Evanston Cemetery in Wyoming'. Regarding the City Cemetery, Evanston, Wyoming's website states: "The largest expansion of the cemetery took place in the mid 1930s, when the “New Section” was constructed as a WPA project." "The Works Progress Administration helped develop this section of the cemeterybeginning in 1938. WPA workers preparedthe ground, laid the irrigation system, andinstalled the landscaping. This was the firstsection of the cemetery to require flat grave markers to make it easier for cemetery custodians to maintain the lawns."

The Brigham City Cemetery grounds were improved by the WPA. "Major Cemetery improvements started after World War I when the existing roads were mapped out sprinkler systems installed, grave markers lined up and landscaping improved. Much of this work was accomplished by the Works Progress Administration, a federal assistance program established during the Great Depression. Since that time the Cemetery has been under perpetual care maintenance by the City."

The C.W.A., F.E.R.A, and W.P.A. conducted development and improvement work at Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Burlington, Mass. Work included construction of new roads and grading a new addition of land.

"The cemetery is located at the junction of Midway Road (County #13) and Seville Road (County #694), a short distance south of the intersection of Midway Road and US Highway 53... Some WPA funding in the 1930’s and 1940’s allowed the town to add a few improvements."

The Civil Works Administration conducted improvement work at Cardiff Cemetery north of Cardiff, Alabama. CWA Project No. 37-C-162: completed. Work began Nov. 23, 1933.

Municipal reports from 1933-1942 detail PWA and WPA work on several local cemeteries. In 1933, the PWA spent nearly $5,000 on the following: Fencing Blossom Hill Cemetery. Crematory Blossom Hill Cemetery. Drainage Blossom Hill Cemetery. Grading Blossom Hill Cemetery, Maple Grove Cemetery, Pine Grove Cemetery. Water systems Maple Grove and Woodlawn Cemeteries. The report states, "This work required a vast amount of time, as the federal government is very exact in detail and text." A 1939 report stated further that: "With the assistance of the WPA, the pond at Blossom Hill Cemetery was restored after many years of disuse. To further beautify this area, azaleas and rhododendrons were...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted a project which, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Dec. 1933, "at present is making possible a much needed road around the cemetery." Living New Deal believes this to be a reference to Cordova Cemetery.

A town report for 1938 says that the WPA helped in the reconstruction of the Curtis and Village cemeteries (located in what is now Chester, NH), in work that employed 30 men.

A municipal report of 1934 describes CWA work on a local cemetery: Cemetery Project US.Govt.Funds on C.W.A. Project Paid for labor $1,556.50 Stone furnished $57.00 Total $1,613.50 The town constructed a wrought iron fence, the CWA's share was the granite foundations for the fence posts and granite pillars for the entranceways.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve the cemetery in Lakota, North Dakota in 1936.

National Youth Administration crews conducted various improvements to the Minersville cemetery.

Per the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) supplied labor toward "the cutting of the brush and erection of a relief cabin at the cemetery" in Nenana, Alaska in 1934. It is unclear to which cemetery in Nenana the article was referring.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted work at what Living New Deal believes is Riverside Cemetery (a.k.a. Cody Cemetery) in Cody, Wyoming. Cassity: "At Pine Bluffs, the water main was extended about a half mile so that it would reach the cemetery; to do so, the CWA workers dug a five-foot trench and laid three inch cast iron pipe, refilled the trench, and then placed four hydrants in the cemetery"

Cemetery improvements were undertaken as a New Deal project, most likely by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

A local newspaper from 1939 explains that, "The cemetery improvement work started on August 28, 1938, with provision of rebuilding some 500 feet of rock walls and rock masonary entrance portals; laying 1000 feet of water mains; sodding and landscaping two acres of the area. Thirteen WPA workmen are currently employed, one of whom is a non-certitified foreman. Expenditures so far total $3,248 in federal funds and $355 in city funds." The WPA also built the town's swimming pool, and it is documented that the WPA demolished an old hotel building and was to use the recycled lumber to build a...

Federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor worked to improve the conditions at the Central Cemetery in Carver, Massachusetts.

Improvements were made to the Central Cemetery in Millbury, Massachusetts with Federal Emergency Relief Act funds in 1933. 282 Millbury locals were given employment in 1933 as a result of the federal E.R.A. The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a bridge at the cemetery in 1937.

From its origins in the 19th century, the cemetery in Cottonwood AZ was privately owned and run. A local committee was formed in 1937-38 to maintain the cemetery and it immediately sought federal aid from the New Deal.  Help came from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which fenced the entire site. We have no found a definite date for when the work was done. Notably, the WPA relief workers built a 4-5' stone wall along the front of the property and two entrance gates. The main entrance is notable for its a metal arch reading "Cottonwood Cemetery".   The wall, gates and...

During the 1930s, the WPA did extensive work in Keokuk. In addition to grading city streets and installing sewers, stop signs and stop lights, the WPA also built a high school athletic field and made improvements to the National Cemetery and Keokuk's riverfront.

"The City Section of Mt. Hope is located on the north side of Mt. Hope Avenue and also includes a portion of land south of Mt. Hope within the Mt. Hope Cemetery fence. This 30-acre site began to take form in 1834, the same year that Bangor was incorporated. Development continued during the Roosevelt Administration under the Works Progress Administration. Today, this section of Mt. Hope Cemetery consists of approximately 4000 lots and is maintained by maintenance crews that work for the Mt. Hope Cemetery Corporation."

"In the early 20th century, service structures including tool, well and oil houses were built and rebuilt. Civil Works Administration laborers did much of this construction during the 1930s."

The Works Progress Administration repaired the fence and entrance gate to the Columbia Cemetery. The gate is known as the Summer House.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided labor to improve Crownhill Cemetery in Amherst, Ohio in 1934.

"During the 1930s, the cemetery was improved through several Depression-era federal make-work programs. In 1934, the original tool house was demolished and replaced by a new brick garage-tool-comfort station erected by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) at a cost of $8,000. Another CWA project in May 1934 included repairs to the lodge, raising and realigning 912 headstones, and constructing a concrete driveway and walk. In 1936, a Works Project Administration project accomplished the realignment and re-setting of 402 headstones. The old flagstaff was removed and replaced with a new one in 1938 and in December 1939 a brick and slate-roof...

The WPA undertook work during the 1930s to improve Brooklyn, New York's Cypress Hills National Cemetery (the only National Cemetery in New York City). One $110,000 project entailed: "ehabilitate grounds and buildings which includes tree surgery, aligning, setting and resetting headstones, improvement to iron and chain link fences, laying concrete curb and other improvements to grounds and buildings ..." WPA Official Project No. 266-97-8000.

"Davenport Cemetery is a Town-operated cemetery, 1.25 miles west of town off Route 66, on 3490 Road. The cemetery has graveled driveways forming a circle with north-south and east-west bisecting drives. At the center of the cemetery, at the intersection of these crossed drives stands a rock chapel, constructed by the WPA in 1939. This is a one-room chapel which contains wooden benches and an altar. An old upright piano stands at the front. The chapel has a north-south running gabled roof, with a rock gabled, recessed entrance. There are two wood doors. A chimney is constructed at the northwest corner. The...

When the Civil Works Administration (CWA) was launched in November 1933, the Old Dover Village Cemetery received improvements. According to community notes in the Bangor Daily News, "road grading and widening at the Dover Cemetery, and construction of a new piece of road leading to the Bassett section."