Schools Sites

The New Deal federal Public Works Program and Federal Emergency Relief administration funded a number of municipal improvements in Franklin, NH, including improvements to schools and libraries, funds for public sewing and forestry projects, and surplus commodity relief. "1933 Parker Hancock School P. W. A. Project. Docket No. 3881 Grant From U. S. Government for Parker Hancock School By cash from U. S. Government $4.421 .74 To Resources and Liabilities $4.421 . 74 U. S. Government Bonds From U. S. Government for Parker Hancock School addition $28,000 . 00 TOWN LIBRARIAN There have been unusual repairs on the building and plumbing this year, and had it not been for the FERA...

The annual March 1933 to March 1934 town report notes: "REPORT OF CHIEF OF FIRE DEPARTMENT We were fortunate to get $700.00 C. W. A. money to lay a cement floor in the hose house and build seven fire dams." Rec’d from State, C. W. A. Drainage project, $91.44 15 employed REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS "Your school officials have organized and carried out one C. W. A. School Project under which during the last three months 14 class rooms in the different schools have been thoroughly renovated on the inside. Another project has placed several inches of gravel over the greater part of...

A municipal report from 1934 describes early New Deal work in Houlton: R.F.C. work included a High School lot project: "Mr. Brown approved the High School lot project for Houlton, and an allowance of $3,000 per month to carry on the work, the work to begin May 1st, 1933... The labor for filling, grading, landscaping, tree cutting and tree surgery on the High School lot kept some 100 men in two crews per week on half time employment for nine weeks. Besides the High School lot, the Chairman personally supervised the building of six small houses which were occupied when built by those unable...

Annual reports show that the town of Hudson was helped extensively by New Deal programs. In addition to work by the RFC and FERA (which included distributing food and medicine to school children), the CWA repaired and improved schools and libraries. From 1935 on, the WPA did extensive work on the town's infrastructure, including digging fire holes, improving town roads, and moth extermination. The WPA and PWA also improved local school grounds. The NYA also employed local school children for "various tasks around the school."

Useful work was accomplished in the small town of Kingfield (population 1,024 1930) by the New Deal. 1933 REPORT OF THE SELECTMEN OF KINGFIELD "Through the C. W. A., we have brought approximately $2000.00 into the town. This money was expended on the West Kingfield road where it was much needed. The work was not performed under the most favorable conditions, and we do not know just how the spring weather conditions will affect this work. However, we have placed from 6 to 12 inches of gravel, 16 to 18 feet wide, for a distance of approximately 2 miles. The money paid for wages...

The New Deal early on was involved in helping this small rural town (est. 1680) which only had a population of 569 in 1930. 1933 A few individuals are mentioned along with the town share of costs each for a PWA project and a C.W.A. road project involving a culvert. The school superintendent in a lengthy report gives a mention to the New Deal "The Federal Relief Program even recognizes the importance of adult education and guidance so we cannot consider curtailing the advantages for those who are immature in all respects." 1934 4 people and a few companies are mentioned in connection with a...

Throughout the lifespan of the New Deal, the citizens of Presque Isle Maine (population 6,695 in 1930) benefited from numerous projects from road construction, school repair, the airport, work relief, and a slaughter house. 1933 C. W. A. SPECIAL PROJECTS MATERIALS $1,398.90 1934 HIGHWAYS IN CONNECTION WITH ERA PROJECTS Raised at Special Town Meeting $2,004.02 Expenditures Materials, Cleaves Road $740.95 Materials Parkhurst Road $438.51 Materials Phair Junction Road $472.73 Materials Spragueville Road $351.83 MATERIAL FOR RELIEF PROJECTS Emergency Work Relief $915.71 C. W. A. Accounts $1,879.96 F. E. R. A. Accounts $1,106.96 Total $3,902.63 E. R. A. labor was used on Hall, Second, Dyer and Park Streets and on the Sidewalks that constructed in 1934. The...

"According to the Annual Town Reports of 1934-35 and 1936-37, the CWA, FERA and WPA were involved in numerous projects throughout the city. The dollar amounts are the share of the project that the city contributed and don't list the amount provided by Federal Relief agencies. "The town library which was a gift from the Carnegie foundation in 1903, owing to the thorough renovation which the building received in 1934 through a CWA project, no repairs have been necessary this year (1935), beyond the general upkeep. The school district received the benefit of Federal Labor and with a small expenditure of funds...

A small amount of Federal assistance was provided for this very rural community of 161 people (1930 population) 1933 ORDERS DRAWN FOR 1933 C. W. A. WORK Everett Day, materials for CWA work $ 2 58 Hutchins' Cash Store, dynamite, fuse and caps 20 08 Total $22 66 Report of the Superintendent of Schools "It is generally known, I think, that underweight children are receiving free milk at the hands of the Federal Emergency Relief during the winter and spring terms." 1934 ORDERS DRAWN FOR ERA WORK, Improvement of a school lot 6 men employed $158.65 Report of the Superintendent of Schools "There is available no Federal Free Milk this year but...

A small amount of Federal assistance was provided to this typical small New England community (1930 population 2,066). 1933 RFC loan 730.84 for Highways & Bridges Request for a C.W.A. loan for grading at the Factory, Center, and Westport schools. THE PRESIDENT'S CHALLENGE This crisis can be met, but not in a day or a year, and education is a vital factor in the meeting of it/ —FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. ***** "The most important question requiring an answer today at the hands of the American people is: What are we going to do about our public schools? Shall we maintain them on such a basis as will give our children an education...

1934 Under MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES, gravel for a C.W.A. project costing the town $113.00 is noted as part of their share, but no other details are provided in the annual report. 1935 Under MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES, 3 persons are listed as supplying food in connection with a F.E.R.A. project, and a lumber company is listed as supplying lumber for a C.W.A. project. Under SPECIAL RESOLVE MAINTENANCE, 13 people are employed on a C.W.A. project on Depot Street, the town share is $126.12. 1937 Under TOWN APPROPRIATIONS, $600 is noted for a Federal Project which went toward a new sewer and septic tank at the high school and the...

Sweetwater Reporter reported in Sept. 1938 that Albany, TX received $9,945 in PWA grants toward the improvement of the community's schools.

Much work was done by the New Deal in this small town of 1,018 (population 1930) The 1934-35 town report mentions E.R.A. and C.W.A. help on road work projects. Amusingly, the report of the school supervisor complains about all the Federal help for roads but nothing for the schools in town. The 1935-36 town report mentions $150 being raised in connection with a W.P.A. sidewalk project. The school superintendent wrote "On December 27th Mr. Crocker of the School Committee, Mr. Carson of the Board of Selectmen, and myself, went to Augusta and entered a project for school building improvement under the WPA. The project...

The second floor of the north wing of the Ben W. Murch Elementary School was added by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in 1933-34.  The school is an elegant two-story, federal-style building with a cupola over the central portion and two harmonious wings, north and south. The school was founded in 1930, but the DC school system probably ran out of funds in the Great Depression to finish the full plan, so the CWA was called upon to complete the job. Confirmation of this supposition is needed. Ben Murch School replaced an earlier Grant Road School, dating back to the 1860s.

"There is a Work Projects Administration plaque, dated 1938-1940, on the front of the building, and the school's cornerstone references the WPA and the dates 1939-1940. A Texas Historical Marker at the rear entrance (which is the main entrance today) elaborates: " 'Murphy was originally called Old Decatur after the hometown of founder C.A. McMillen. In 1888 the town was renamed Murphy after William Murphy donated land to build a train depot and a post office. The Federal Works Project Administration (WPA) built Murphy School in 1939, which because of consolidation lasted only until 1950. The city purchased the building and...

The Murray UT City Center (city hall and police station) occupies the former Arlington School building, constructed with the aid of the New Deal. The school was replaced at another site and the building renovated in the 1980s. Several school building and renovation projects were undertaken in Murray, Utah during the 1930s, with the aid of the Public Works Administration (PWA): a new  Arlington School, a two classroom addition at Bonnyview, finishing the basement into classrooms at Liberty, and an addition to the high school gymnasium.  The largest project was a new Arlington  School constructed on State Street in front of the older...

The Murray Common School was built in 1935 at a cost of $5,000, and was constructed in two months. The school building was still in use as a community center in 1972, however, the rock structure was demolished at some point after that. Workers from the Newcastle area were transported to Murray in a Ford Model T pickup truck owned by B. C. "Slats" Wooldridge. The project is not documented as to agency, however there was a CCC camp in nearby Graham which constructed other school buildings in the area.

The WPA improved the school grounds at the Muscatel Middle School.

Originally known as the Music and Speech Building, TWU's Music Hall was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. " called the Household Arts Building and the second major instructional facility on campus ... it currently houses the School of Arts as well as the music and drama departments." (www.twu.edu) "Among several new units constructed by the College of Industrial Arts is the music hall which is an addition to the front of the existing auditorium. The structure is 3 stories in height and contains 10 standard classrooms, 22 small classrooms, 19 practice rooms, and a small auditorium...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Myton Grade School in Myton NV for the Duchesne County School District. The school was designed by the architecture firm Scott and Welch. The contractor of record was Tolboe & Tolboe. The New Deal school, which was constructed c. 1939, has been replaced in recent years by a new structure at the same site.    

The Works Progress Administration built a high school serving Naco, Cochise County. The Naco School is still in service, but the exact location and condition of this structure is unknown to the Living New Deal.

A large allocation of WPA funds for school construction and improvement projects was issued in late 1938. Among the projects provided for in Montana was a new school building in Browning, Montana. The structure, which has since been extended eastward, comprises part of what is now Napi Elementary School.

"Napier School is a one-story 8-room school that is T-shaped. Vertically it is 186' and horizontally 153'. The main entrance is located in a slightly projected bay, with fluted pillars flanking the doors. A wide 4-step staircase with low side walls leads to the entrance. The parapet is stepped and a concrete belt course runs around the building just below the roof line. Today, on the front elevation, the brick is painted white below this belt course, and red above. Many windows have been bricked in. The ribbon windows which remain have the upper pains painted. The brick on the...

The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake destroyed hundreds of schools throughout Southern California. Originally built in 1929, Naples Elementary School in Long Beach, CA, was rehabilitated by Watson L. Hawk in 1934 with Public Works Administration (PWA) funding. “On August 29, 1933, Long Beach citizens approved a $4,930,000 bond measure for the rebuilding of schools. Applications for approximately thirty-five schools were filed with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Public Works Administration (PWA); federal grants up to thirty percent of labor and material costs were obtained. To minimize costs, building materials were salvaged from damaged buildings, some schools were rehabilitated, and new...

According to a plaque outside its front entrance, the Napoleon Middle School Gymnasium was constructed in 1939 "from the proceeds of a parish wide bond issue and a P.W.A. grant."

Nathaniel Morton Elementary School in Plymouth, Massachusetts was constructed as the town's high school, part of a New Deal project. The federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied a sizable grant of $138,150 for the project, whose total cost was $327,666. Construction began at the end of Dec. 1935 and was completed Jan. 1937. The building bears a massive 'cornerstone' atop the main entrance that reads 1936. P.W.A. Docket No. MA W1050

The Works Progress Administration built several agricultural buildings, which included a chicken farm and hennery, at the National Training School for Boys in Washington DC, circa 1937.

The Works Progress Administration improved the Catholic chapel at the National Training School for Boys in the Fort Lincoln area. The work was performed circa 1937, and consisted of landscaping, cleaning, and installing a new roof. The school was closed in 1968 and the fate of the facilities is unknown.  

The Works Progress Administration built a road leading to the annex facilities at the National Training School for Boys in Washington DC, circa 1937.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) renovated several buildings at the National Training School for Girls in Washington DC, located at Conduit (now MacArthur Blvd) and Little Falls Road, NW.  The National Training School was a reform school administered at the time by the DC Board of Public Welfare (and not to be confused with the Nannie Burroughs National Training School for Women and Girls). In 1936-37 the WPA did extensive work at the school, including: "Painting and major repairs; improvements to buildings and grounds... Work includes flooring, painting, erecting a building for a chicken house, barn, implement shed, and quarters; installing equipment, electrical...

National Youth Administration constructed a vocational building that was used for youth education. The structure was completed in 1938.

Multiple New Deal agencies performed work in and around Natrona County High School in Casper, Wyoming, notably constructing athletic facilities. The Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) began construction of "a stadium for the athletic field at Natrona County High School in Casper," work that was completed under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.). Casper Star-Tribune: "CONSTRUCTION of Casper's new $48,000 stadium under the CWA end later the ERA during 1934 rounded out the athletic facilities of Natrona County High school to the most complete and finest of any school from colleges on down in the Rocky Mountain states, and further boosted Carper's eminence...

A colonial-style junior-senior high school was constructed in Orleans, Massachusetts with the assistance of PWA funds. Currently (2014) in use as Nauset Middle School.

WPA projects in Jefferson County, Florida included "five two-room frame school buildings for Negroes at Turkey Scratch, Bunker Hill, Lightsey, and Lamont." The locations and status of this building are unknown to Living New Deal.

PWA Docket No. Miss. 1245-F approved construction of a school building in the city of Oxford to house Oxford's "Negro Elementary and High School." The building is no longer extant.

WPA projects in Jefferson County, Florida included "two three-room and one four-room frame school buildings for Negroes at Monticello, a vocational school at Aucilla, three one-room schools for Negroes in various parts of the county, and five two-room frame school buildings for Negroes at Turkey Scratch, Bunker Hill, Lightsey, and Lamont." The locations and status of these buildings are unknown to Living New Deal.

The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) sponsored additions to multiple school buildings in Laramie, Wyoming, including to the Nellie Iles School. "A 1939 gymnasium addition funded by the Public Works Administration allowed the school to keep pace with physical education requirements in Wyoming schools."

A long, low Colonial Revival school with a portico and pediment. One of the last major commissions of its architects, William R. Walker & Son. Has served as a junior high school since Veterans Memorial was opened in 1955.

Located about nine miles east of downtown Miami, Oklahoma, the former Moccasin Bend school building was built by the WPA ca. 1937-40. Built of red native stone, the 70' x 30' building was located three miles west of Commerce. A building fitting much of the description given in the linked historical survey can be found using satellite imagery near given coordinates at the southwest corner of E 60 Rd. and S 530 Rd. Additional information is requested to confirm the identity of the building.

"This abstract mural by Rudolph Weisenborn, made in 1939, is a treasured New Deal artifact located in Nettlehorst Elementary School in Chicago." (Flynn and Polese) The mural is entitled "Contemporary Chicago." "Rudolph Weisenborns mural at Nettelhorst Elementary shows his interest in modern European painting styles such as Cubism. Fractured space, jagged lines, and vibrant primary colors convey Chicagos energy and modernity during the 1930s. On the left, an abstracted portrait of a sophisticated urban dweller is followed by forms of modern transportation such as small biplanes at Chicago Municipal Airport (Midway) and boats on Lake Michigan. The right half of the composition shows...