Schools Sites

Public Works Administration project 1135 funded the Biggersville school administration building, attributed to Stevens and Johnson by MDAH. The project was approved 9/25/1935 for a $14,500 loan and a $11,863 grant. Construction began 2/10/1936 and was completed 7/8/1936 for a total of $29,050.

The Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works built a School Administration Building Addition in Oakland MS. The addition to the Oakland 1909 school was project 1317, approved 8/12/1938 for a grant of $19,018. Architect was N. W. Overstreet and A. H. Town. The first contract was awarded 11/4/1938 and construction started 12/21/1938. It was completed 9/9/1939 for a total cost of $39,807.

A former school / gymnasium building in Wheatland, New Mexico was constructed by the WPA. The buildings are not in use, and in a state of disrepair.

A former school building and gymnasium in Encino, New Mexico were constructed as a W.P.A. project. "The high school and gymnasium built by the WPA between 1936 and 1939 were recently torn down due to safety issues."

A New Deal agency, most likely the W.P.A., constructed a school and gymnasium in Folsom, New Mexico. The facilities are now privately owned.

This attractive stone school and gym were constructed by the WPA in 1939. The 1985 Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory described the structure while it was still in use: "Designed as a six classroom/gymnasium structure, the Tullahassee school and gymnasium is rectangular (160' x 49') in shape and is constructed of uncut and uncoursed native sandstone. The roof is gabled with one step, and an intersecting gable with valleys extends over the recessed entryway to the classrooms." The structure burned sometime between 2010 and 2013. As of late 2013, parts of the structure were still standing, while others were in ruin. The current status...

Project W1204 was approved July 21, 1936 in the amount of a $20,000 loan and a $17,590 grant. Construction began October 12, and was completed December 29, 1937 for a total cost of $41,043. Robert William Naef was architect. Both buildings replaced the school and vocational teacher house destroyed by fire in 1935,

Public Works Administration project 3003 was approved 12/28/1933 for a new home economics building, annex to the existing building, and alterations to the existing building in the Savannah community of Pearl River County. A loan of $10,000 and grant of $4,182 was awarded. Vinson Smith, Jr. served as architect. A. Ziegenfelder was the contractor for the one-story brick and stone trim annex and the construction of a brick veneer home economics building. Plumbing, heating, roofing and sheet metal contract was awarded to Hamilton Brothers in the amount of $2,167 and Clark and Griffith received $304.74 for the electrical work. Construction...

An article dated Jan. 11, 1934 speaks of New Deal assistance for the town, including the construction of a new athletic field: “Madison High School is to have one of the finest athletic fields in the state of Maine, thanks to the personal efforts of First Selectman James H. Thorne. Mr. Thorne saw the need of a modern athletic park at the local high school and through his efforts the Government has consented to forward more CWA funds to this town for the purpose of improving Alumni field. Several thousand dollars will be expended and about fifty men will be employed...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) provided labor to construct a cinder athletic track at Amherst, Ohio's old high school. The track is no longer extant. The former school building is located at the northwest corner of Franklin Ave. and Church St.

"The Alex school complex at 2nd and F Streets is the site of the Roy Peters Auditorium. This brick building was constructed in 1937 with an appropriation of $20,000. New aluminum and glass doors have been added, and windows on the south side have been bricked in. A brick extension has been added to the north connecting it to the school. Dr. Roy Peters, for whom the building was dedicated in 1998, was Superintendent from 1947 - 1961. Documentation for this WPA Project was found on the Oklahoma Historical Society's Landmark Inventory: (visit link)"   (waymarking.com)

FERA completed an auditorium on the site of Jay's Elementary and High Schools in 1935. Satellite images shows what appears to be the same auditorium still standing, but confirmation is needed.

WPA school auditorium in Willowbrook, CA. Exact address and current status unknown, but this may be the same Willowbrook school listed in the 1939 WPA Accomplishment Report for Southern California.

Completed in 1938 by the WPA, the addition is now the oldest part of the Sturgeon School, surrounded by the modern K-8 school.

This striking structure was built by the PWA for what was then the local high school. The building's historic landmark plaque: "Using funds from the Federal Public Works Administration and local tax dollars, this structure was built to provide space for school and community assemblies, performances and athletic events. Architects Voelcker and Dixon of Wichita Falls designed the auditorium with Romanesque influences in its arched window and entrance openings and its brick detailing. The 1937 Junior-Senior prom was the first official school function held here, followed later that school year by commencement exercises in the auditorium. It remains in use for...

The Works Progress Administration built a school auditorium and gymnasium in Gotebo OK in 1937. Contributor note: "This building is located on the west side of 10th Street, two blocks south of Pennsylvania in the northwest part of town. The Gotebo schools closed in the 1990s and consolidated with the town of Mountain View. There is a large school north of this gymnasium that stands empty. On the north side of this WPA building is a concrete block addition which currently houses the Senior Citizens, and it is possible that this auditorium is occasionally used for community events. A concrete block addition...

The Works Progress Administration built a combination auditorium-gymnasium for the school in Aguilar. The structure was built of native limestone. It is located at the south end of the educational campus in Aguilar that includes the elementary school, on the west side of Balsam Ave. south of E Cedar St, though it is unclear whether the facility is still in use.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) undertook the following project in Grovont, Wyoming in 1933/4: "At Grovont, in Teton County, the school district built a barn and fuel house to protect the students’ horses from rain and snow."

School building erected in 1939 in East Bernard, Texas. The structure is still used today. It includes beautiful wood floors and doors. A gym which includes fixed wood bleechers, wood floor, & a stage on one end. Band concerts and plays were held on the stage. Plays are still performed there.

Rock building behind the current Gorman High School. Has large window openings covered with wood panels. Not sure what this building was used for. It has a chimney at each end of the building. The entrance on the North side has a WPA plaque - 1938-1940

The Works Progress Administration built the Karnes City School Building in 1938-1940. On the SE corner of E Mayfield St & N Browne St is a beige brick, one-story building. It is surrounded by new buildings and it is part of Roger E. Sides Elementary School. It is unclear if the building is still used for instruction. It has a metal plaque to the right of the front door that reads "Work Projects Administration 1938-1940".

The WPA allocated $18,722 for the construction of a "school building and recreational facilities" in Plains, Montana. The location and present status of this building are unknown.

The fieldstone school was built in 1936 by the WPA, in part in an effort to help revive the town. The school closed in 1946 during a consolidation, and was later converted to a community center. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. From contributor Lindsay Penn: "In 1936, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Smithville Public School Building in Smithville, Arkansas. The WPA-funded stone building replaced a ca. 1872, one-room, frame schoolhouse, which had replaced the Solomon Schoolhouse (constructed ca. 1840) on land that is now part of the Smithville Cemetery. Smithville had served as the county...

The one-story stone school was constructed in the Plain Traditional style in 1938 by the NYA. The construction of the school was an economic and education boost to Stone County, one of the most isolated of Arkansas counties, with the lowest population in the state. In 1992, it was converted to a private residence.

This school was rebuilt 1938-1940, and closed after World War II when it merged with the Carthage school. As of 2010, the building was still standing and retained its WPA plaque. Google Earth images from 2012 suggest that the school may since have been demolished.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted improvement work at the former high school and grade school building in Ashland, MA, located along Central Street. Living New Deal believes this facility to be what is now known as the Pittaway School.

Among a set of 26 WPA projects approved for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in Sept. 1935 was "painting and repairing school buildings" in Millvale. The Federal government allocated $24,004 for the project and local sponsors contributed $6,061.

Among a set of 26 WPA projects approved for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in Sept. 1935 was "repairing plaster and and repainting interior of school building" in Tarentum. The Federal government allocated $1,478 for the project and local sponsors contributed $500. The location and status of the building in question is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) furnished the cost of labor for the painting of five schools in Hatfield, Massachusetts in 1934. Other improvements were made to all schools in the town that year, putting them in "first class condition" (Town Report). "Owing to the use of WPA governmental funds in the past few years," the town's Report of School Committee from 1939 noted, "our local maintenance costs have been held to a low figure." The exact facilities in question and locations of the five schools is not presently known to Living New Deal.

The Schulter school campus was a Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) Project in 1937 and consists of four buildings. This campus includes a Home Ec building, a classroom building with attached gymnasium, and a privy. All are constructed of rusticated native sandstone blocks. The campus is located on the west side of town at the intersection of Lavender Street and Flax Avenue.

PWA w1104 funded the addition of a five-room building for high school classes and a new gymnasium on the Leakesville school complex. The award for loan of $12,500 and grant of $10,396 was approved 9/25/1935. Construction began 1/6/1936 and was completed 10/12/1936 for a total cost of $28,841. The classroom building was constructed by Oden and Glen for the sum of $11,441 and the remainder funded the gymnasium. The gymnasium also served as a community center in addition to athletic events. The new classroom building was added to the east end of the complex and the gymnasium to the west...

Terry planned a bond issue vote in the amount of $25,000 to supplement a $40,000 allotment from the Works Progress Administration to construct new school buildings. The new buildings were needed as a result of the Rural Settlement Administration project established at Terry, which increased the number of students for the school. Citizens voted 167 to 0 to issue $25,000 to match a federal grant to erect a new school building. The buildings included auditorium, gymnasium, elementary, and high school. The gymnasium was opened January 4, 1940 and the new buildings were dedicated in September 1940. The buildings were destroyed...

The WPA allocated $3,465 for school construction in Bigfork, Montana in August 1938. Another article in the same paper in November most likely refers to the same school: "Work has begun on construction of a home economics cottage to house the department recently added to the curriculum of Bigfork high school. The building will be of logs. It is a WPA project."

The WPA allocated $5,452 for "school construction near Utica " in August 1938. There is no school in the community now, and it is unclear if the structure in question school still stands.

Annual town reports of 1933 and 1934 describe extensive work by Federal Agencies in repair of school facilities in this picturesque small coastal town. Until the construction of Consolidated School in 1939, most were the typical one- or two-room schools. 1933 The town selectmen in the Warrant said: "35 To see if the town will vote to authorize and instruct the selectmen and treasurer to make application for and borrow from the government under the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act funds for the construction of the school building proposed in Article 33." "SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT I herewith submit my annual report as superintendent of...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook a "school addition and improvements" project in Silverton, Texas, that was completed in December 1935. The location of the schools is unknown to Living New Deal.

"The Jordan School District Administration Building was built in 1935 as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. It was part of a $75,000 PWA project that also included rebuilding the fire-razed Highland Boy Elementary School at Bingham which included an auditorium." The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was also involved at this site. The current status of the historic building is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The historic Ausable Valley Central School District building between Keeseville and Au Sable Forks was, Living New Deal believes, originally one of several similarly designed school buildings built in the area as part of a New Deal project. Their construction was enabled by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA), which provided a $178,140 loan and $56,289 grant, which effectively covered the entire $230,491 total project cost. PWA Docket No. NY 2624

School District #42 is a one-story tan brick building with a flat roof. The double-door entrance on the west side is slightly recessed with curved brick walls flanking the doors. The building is in a severe state of disrepair. The original ribbon window units have been partially covered in the past with wood siding, but today, the siding is falling off and many windows are broken. The school is vacant and appears to have been for some time. It is located on the southeast side of town on S. Spiece, between Streets A and B. The building was constructed as a...

A grade school in Effingham, Kansas was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building now serves as the Atchison County Community Schools District Office. The PWA provided a $16,200 grant for the project, whose total cost was $35,896. Work started in Oct. 1938 and was completed in Mar. 1939. PWA Docket No. KS 1412-F