Cemeteries Sites

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve Michigan Cemetery along County Road 35 south of Michigan, North Dakota in 1936.

This manufacturing city on the Androscoggin River received Federal assistance for various projects, between 1933 and 1942. In 1933, part of the $281,433 spent by the Civil Works Administration in this city of 34,948 (1930 census), was assistance to the public library: "Miss Doris Linehan has done valuable work repairing books and filing documents employed as a federal CWA assistant." Report of the Health Officer, Robert J. Wiseman, Jr., M.D. CHILD HEALTH EMERGENCY RELIEF PROGRAM—The Child Health Emergency Relief Program was made possible thru an order of the Federal Government, with the cooperation o f the local physicians, five nurses employed thru the Civil...

"In 1939 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) fenced the Cemetery and installed the first rock gateway and cement markers to identify individual lots."

VA.gov: "The Soldiers' Lot occupies Lots 262 and 263 of Woodland Cemetery, covering less than 0.2 acres." NPS.gov: "In 1940, laborers of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a depression-era work relief program, erected an enclosing stone wall and post-and-chain fence around the perimeter of the soldiers' lot."

Mound City National Cemetery was improved as part of Federal Project F-87 by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA). The work done "included the resetting, realigning and cleaning of headstones ... as well as the filling-in of sunken graves."

You notice driving by – all the shady trees in the desert. In 1935, the board of trustees of the Village of Deming prepared a Works Progress Administration (WPA) proposal to continue a two-year project to improve Mountain View Cemetery, the village’s main cemetery located two miles east of downtown. It followed an earlier Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) project which built a five-room adobe caretaker’s house at the cemetery. The program over the first two years had changed the cemetery, as described by the local newspaper, “from an eye-sore of sand hummocks and unkempt grounds to a beauty spot ”(Deming Headlight,...

Multiple New Deal agencies worked to develop and otherwise improve Pueblo, Colorado's historic Mountain View Cemetery during the 1930s. "Major improvements to the Mountain View Cemetery began with 1933-1934, CWA Projects. The CWA crews enclosed the ornamental iron fence on Beulah, Sprague and Northern Avenues within a cobblestone wall, built four large arched entrances on Northern Avenue and cobblestone walls around the cemetery and orphanage properties. This work was done in conjunction with other CWA and WPA, street, sidewalk and sewer improvement projects. They also remodeled the Sexton’s home and provided a small addition that served as the cemetery office. WPA crews...

Big Timber's Pioneer newspaper reported in 1936 that the "improvement of Mountain View cemetery" southwest of town was one of several completed projects in the community that was attributable to the New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at Bremen Cemetery in Bremen, Indiana.

In 1935, the CWA and WPA were involved in cemetery work in the town employing 10 people. W. P. A. Hall project $2,625.36 W. P. A. Road project $223.46 W. P. A. Old Meetinghouse project. $42.64

Between 1935 and 1938, the Works Progress Administration funded a number of municipal improvements in the town of Danville, including upgrades for the local library, town hall, and cemetery; work on roads and forest sites; and support for a local sewing project. "1935 E.R.A. and W.P.A. Cemetery Projects 8 employed $382.08 Sewing project (W.P.A.) $46.89 1936 OUTLAY FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND PERM. IMPROVE. W.P.A. Cemetery ----- $1,334.96 W.P.A. Sewing -------- $106.62 Town of Sandown, for W. P. A., Sewing Project $10.00 1937 Town Warrant 11. To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $500. to purchase material for repairs on the town hall, to be used in...

The Peterborough town reports of 1937 and 1940 report WPA involvement in various projects: Water Main on Pine St. Sidewalk project #1314 24 men employed Library wall project #966 18 men employed Powers Bridge project #1194 31 men employed "In addition to Direct Relief and Old Age Assistance we have forty-two men on W. P. A. with a payroll of $2,000 a month. The total payments made by W. P. A. during the past year for the town of Peterborough were $19,122.50. This has been of great help in reducing the direct relief load. We also receive a considerable amount of food and clothing from...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted an improvement project at Nashville National Cemetery, providing work for about 35 laborers.

The Flood of 1927 brought many changes to Vermont, including the construction of several flood control dams built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC built one such dam at Wrightsville, in the northern part of Montpelier, Vermont and this project in turn required the relocation a cemetery in the effected area. The Great Depression provided the labor needed to do the job and some CCC workers became involved with the labor to move the cemetery. Construction on the Wrightsville Dam began in July 1933, and the Vermont Public Service Commission ruled the “remains of the dead…shall be removed by...

"Attention to the NBG continued during the Great Depression when the New Deal's Works Progress Administration funded additional workers to help care for the grounds and make improvements."

North Cemetery in Wayland, Mass. was improved by Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor. Work included reconstruction of the entrance and rotten stump removal.

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

"The WPA would later aid in ... Oak Ridge Cemetery" improvement projects.

The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at Tyler, Texas's Oakwood Cemetery during the 1930s.

Oakwood Cemetery in Parsons, Kansas was improved by work undertaken by the Civil Works Administration (CWA). "Plans of the commissioners call for employing ... 42 on work in Oakwood cemetery, mainly building a retaining wall."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a a 2,517-foot-long rock wall on three sides on the perimeter of the Oakwood Cemetery in Cisco, Texas. According to the Texas Historical Commission, "The general landscape of the cemetery is traditional with granite, limestone, marble, and sandstone grave markers with a prominent WPA rock archway at the southeast entrance.  More than six hundred burials are veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War."

The Shelter House/Chapel was constructed with native limestone in 1937 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) project and renovated in 1984. The one-story, asymmetrical Mission-style chapel now houses the cemetery office. Oriented west, the building features an L-shaped footprint. The facade, located on the west elevation, has a parapet roof with a bell tower capped with brick trim. Two angel sculptures sit on each side of the bell tower. Two replacement doors are centered at this elevation. An opening with a replacement window also is located at the main elevation near the southwest corner of the chapel. An...

In 1938 the W.P.A. improved the grounds of Framingham's Old South Cemetery, located on Winthrop Street. Town Report, 1938: Old South Burial Grounds This cemetery was regraded and walks and drives constructed throughout it. The old broken down wooden fence was replaced with a chain link fence and the stone wall along the front end and rear was rebuilt and repainted.

Excerpt from a 2014 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: "Originally designated as a pauper’s burial ground in 1839, little documentation of the historic layout of the Potter’s Field Cemetery exists prior to 1935. A 1935 map illustrates a grid imposed upon existing burial plots. This map was likely prepared as part of an effort to renovate and expand the existing city burial grounds, an effort that resulted in the creation of Oleander Cemetery. A 1939 City Ordinance formally establishes Oleander Cemetery by adopting the plat map and outlining rules and regulations related to the design and management of burial plots...

"The Philadelphia National Cemetery was established at its current site in 1885 in order to consolidate Civil War burials located in seven regional private cemeteries. The cemetery's first rostrum or speaker's stand for ceremonial use was built in 1888. The existing rostrum was built in 1938-39 as part of a Works Progress Administration project that funded a number of improvements to the cemetery's grounds and facilities. It takes the form of a semicircular Tuscan-order temple."

This is a small memorial building in Westernport, Maryland, in Philos Cemetery. A plaque on the building reads, in part: "IN MEMORIAM, LEST WE FORGET, This building is dedicated in remembrance of all those who took part in all wars to preserve the freedom and liberty for our country who now sleep in peace in Philos and St. Peter's Cemeteries…Erected in 1937 by WPA labor and funds collected over a long period of time by the Memorial Day Committee of the citizens of the tri-towns Piedmont-Westernport-Luke.  Sponsored by Potomac Camp No. 5 United Spanish War Veterans."

According to annual town reports,  federal assistance supported important improvements to the Pine Grove Cemetery during the New Deal. From 1935 to 1937 the Public Works Administration (PWA) was involved in work at the Pine Grove Cemetery, and in 1938 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) took over the job.

"The most ambitious efforts of the early 20th century at Pine Grove were undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s. Newspaper articles indicate that the WPA undertook a number of projects at Pine Grove: building concrete toolboxes (to provide a place to keep tools near active work areas), stripping and grading new burial areas, laying drains and gutters." "The Fieldstone Perimeter Wall built by the Works Progress Administration extends along the entire perimeter of the 152-acre cemetery, except for the section along Boston Street on either side of the main gate ... and the section along Gallagher Park...

A municipal report from 1936 explains: "The WPA is involved in cataloging all the graves in the Pine Hill Cemetery."

The Provincetown Advocate reported in 1937: "Work on the Provincetown cemetery is being resumed after a shutdown since last spring. Harry W. Jordan, WPA foreman, reports that 12 men started work last Saturday on a project to fill in and enlarge the Protestant cemetery. Also an addition of 150 feet is being made to the cemetery along its entire width. Working days of the WPA crew will be Monday, Wednesday and Saturday."

Quincy National Cemetery was improved as part of Federal Project F-87 by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA). The work done "included the resetting, realigning and cleaning of headstones ... as well as the filling-in of sunken graves."

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: "Several cemeteries were fenced and improved, such as that in Cody, and the old cemetery at Green River was removed and the graves transferred to a site at the new cemetery—all with CWA workers."

Rock Island National Cemetery in Moline, Illinois was improved as part of Federal Project F-87 by the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA). The work done "included the resetting, realigning and cleaning of headstones ... as well as the filling-in of sunken graves."

"Rose Hill Cemetery now encompasses 28 acres. Limestone walls along the north and west sides, and ditches throughout, were installed in 1936 as a Works Progress Administration project. Buried over time, the ditches were discovered and restored in 1993."

“This is a most unusual example of WPA construction - the use of petrified wood. We noted several buildings in this area of Oklahoma which used petrified wood. Apparently, the local topographical circumstances lead to availability of this type of preserved wood.   “This chapel is still in use and was constructed in 1935. In 1965, a carport facility was attached on the north to serve with cemetery maintenance.   “The chapel is constructed of native stones. The front of the building, however, has been overlaid with chunks of petrified wood. The centered entrance is recessed under a covered portico. The one-over-one windows (some...

"Rehabilitation of old Cemetery" occurred in November of 1935 thanks to $2,303 by the Works Progress Administration for this former gold rush town of 637 (1930 population). The cemetery was established in 1850 and is open and active for burials.

The Works Progress Administration built the wall around the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Construction in the area was authorized in 1938 and the project was completed in 1941. Two plaques at the cemetery entrance mark the work of the WPA.  

The federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at San Marcos Cemetery.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted numerous improvement and development projects at Santa Fe National Cemetery. "Improve cemetery" Official Project Number: 165‐2‐85‐143 Total project cost: $14,833.00 Sponsor: Commanding General, 8th Corps Area, U.S. Army "Develop landing area at airport" Official Project Number: 165‐3‐85‐144 Total project cost: $16,588.00 Sponsor: Commanding General, 8th Corps Area, U.S. Army "Construct landing strips at airport" Official Project Number: 165‐3‐85‐72 Total project cost: $56,513.00 Sponsor: Commanding General, 8th Corps Area, U.S. Army "Construct and improve buildings, facilities, and grounds at cemetery" Official Project Number: 265‐3‐85‐71 Total project cost: $44,900.00 Sponsor: Commanding General, 8th Corps Area, U.S. Army "Grade, drain, and landscape grounds and improve buildings" Official Project Number: 265‐85‐8000 Total project...

South Cemetery in Wayland, Mass. was improved by Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor. Work included the rebuilding of cemetery stone walls.