Penal Facilities Sites

The two-story jail was completed in 1936 for a total cost of $27,453. Public Works Administration provided a grant of $12,310 and Rankin County provided the remainder through a bond election. The project, W1159, was approved November 14, 1935, and bids advertised in November. Contracts were awarded December 14, 1935. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History documents N. W. Overstreet & A. H. Town as architects. The Jackson Clarion-Ledger (Nov 1, 1936) identified E. L. Malvaney as architect and I. C. Garbor and Sons construction. Construction began March 9, 1936 and was completed September 22, 1936. The jail was...

In 1935 F.E.R.A. and W.P.A. labor conducted the following improvement work at what was then known as the Reformatory (now Massachusetts Correctional Institution), in Framingham, Mass.: Roads and walks were constructed and grading done at the Reformatory Mother's Cottage and Junior Inmates' Home. Also, a clothes drying yard was graded and built. Maple floors were relaid in the corridors of the main buildings. The W.P.A. constructed facilities and conducted beautification work on the grounds as well.

The historic Renville County Courthouse in Mohall, North Dakota was built starting in April 1936 and dedicated on June 25, 1937. Its construction was enabled by a $51,650 grant provided by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The Moderne building, which was also built as a jail, is still in service. Construction is sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. PWA Docket No. ND 1027.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair work at the Richmond Penitentiary in the vicinity of Christiansted. The repair work included roof repairs after fire-related damage. Today, the facilities are vacant and in an advanced state of disrepair.

Excerpt from the National Archives and Records Administration, Neg. 17975-D: "Rikers Island Penitentiary. Description of work done by WPA. Erection of four single family residences; two single family residences; 5400 linear feet chain-like fence. Fence around entire institution, fence around baseball field; one concrete coping wall; piping in tunnel to the new proposed buildings. Erection of new hay and feed barn in wagon sheds on Riker's Island. Project No. 665-97-3-22. Social rehabilitation of Prison Inmates, Department of Correction, 2 Rikers Island."   Excerpt from the (1939) WPA Guide to New York City, Federal Writers Project: “The island is now entirely given over to the city's...

Located behind the Roberts County Courthouse, Sisseton South Dakota's former Roberts County Jail was constructed during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $11,200 grant; the total cost of the project was $42,800. Construction occurred between January and July 1934. (PWA Docket No. SD 2370)

Construction of the Roosevelt County Courthouse and Jail was undertaken as a New Deal project during the Great Depression. Sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), the building was actually a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied an $89,173 grant for the building's construction; total cost of the project was $197,381. Construction occurred between 1937 and 1938/9. P.W.A. Docket No. N.M. 1024-D.S.

The Rowan County Jail and Superintendent's Office was completed in 1938 with funding from the WPA. Both the jail and the supt office are constructed of local rock.  The jail has crenellations decorating the top giving the appearance of a formidable castle. The superintendent's office now houses a museum.

Rehabilitated County Jail.--Healy, p. 72. General rehabilitation of building with additional rooms on roof. Completion of unfinished work by S.E.R.A.--Mooser, p. 85. This Hall of Justice was built in 1912 and rehabilitated by the WPA in the 1930s. However, the building was demolished in 1968 and replaced in 1971, along with the neighboring coroner's office, with what is now the Hilton San Francisco Financial District.

"In 1936 the Works Progress Administration provided funds for the construction of jail designed by Albert Roller at 705 Front Street, at a cost of $190,000 and built to hold 68 men and 8 women. As completion of construction neared the jail population was "dropping away so fast the sheriff and aides are fearful there will not be enough left to make a creditable showing by the time the building is accepted" causing the Sheriff to consider staging a round-up in the "jungles," private bingo parties, or drafting prominent citizens to stand in for prospective prisoners to make for a...

The federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied funds to undertake this county project during the 1930s. The jail was added to the rear of the courthouse with PWA project Miss. 1287-F. The courthouse was remodeled, with an Art Moderne style. The courthouse and jail were demolished c. 1955. A PWA grant funded $24,545 and the work was completed June 21, 1939.

Using ERA funds, Parchman Farm State Penitentiary was one of several state institutions to receive funding for repairs and improvements, 1934-1935. The Penal Board president reported many buildings in need of repair, including the farm's light plant. Specific repairs are not identified, but $10,401.20 was awarded. In January 1935, the facility built two new dormitories to house prisoners and several other buildings related to running the prison, although whether these were part of the ERA expenditure is not identified. It is unknown if those buildings are extant, although there are surviving buildings from that era. Alan Lomax recorded prisoners singing...

Built through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1938 and 1939, this two story building is constructed of native limestone rock, with metal bars on the windows and doors. Has some cement ornamentation between the windows. Has a flat roof. Nice rounded entrance with rock benches on either side.

The concrete, one-story building was constructed in 1934 at a then-cost of $11,000, of which the county furnished $4,000 and the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) furnished the remainder. The structure was designed by A. H. Town and N. W. Overstreet. The building features typical Art Deco massing and vertical architectural ornamentation. It was designated a Mississippi landmark status in 2004.

A new county jail and improvements to the existing county courthouse were approved as PWA project 1272 July 23, 1938. E. L. Malvaney was architect for the two-story concrete Art Deco jail. Construction began 10/10/1938 and was completed 3/29/1939. PWA supplied a grant of $20,454 toward total cost of $45,577. Bonds were issued in the amount of $25,000 to contribute toward the cost of new jail construction and repair of the courthouse.

United States Penitentiary Terre Haute was built between 1938 and 1940. The Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce raised $50,000 to buy the land. The Public Works Administration largely funded the $3,000,000 cost for the facility. It took 125,000 person-days to build the main complex and another 25,000 person-days for the utilities and grounds.

The Works Progress Administration built a new county jail in Jasper, Walker County, circa 1937. The exact location and condition of the structure is unknown to the Living New Deal.

Washakie County's Courthouse and Jail in Worland, Wyoming was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration funds (PWA Docket No. WY 1006-D). The PWA contributed $51,750 in grant money for the $129,657 project. Construction began November 14, 1936 and the building was completed Nov. 4, 1937. The building was designed by J. G. Link of Billings.

The Works Progress Administration built the Washita County Jail in Cordell OK. Contributor note: "The former Washita County Jail is a one and two-story stucco building constructed as a WPA project in 1940 with an appropriation of $21,000. The two-story center section has a four-step staircase with masonry sidewalls, leading to a single metal door. Windows are metal casement. To the east and west are one-story stucco wings, with metal framed windows covered with metal bars. A bronze WPA shield is mounted to the right of the door. The building is currently painted a light cream with rust-colored trim. The window framing and...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out improvements on the grounds of the Whittier State School for Boys (renamed the Fred C. Nelles School for Boys in 1941). "The March 11, 1889 Act of the California Legislature authorized the establishment of a school for juvenile offenders. Dedication and laying of cornerstone was done by Governor R. W. Waterman on February 12, 1890. Officially opened as 'Whittier State School' for boys and girls on July 1, 1891. Girls were transferred in 1916 and only boys were in residence from then until the school's closure in 2004. Renamed 'Fred C. Nelles School for...

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of the former Windsor County Jail in Woodstock. The structure was finished in 1936 and it contains the courthouse, cell blocks, and the living quarters of the sheriff. The architect of record was Charles H Crandall of Randolph, Vermont. Docket No. Vt. 1024-R.

The city of Tupelo abandoned the old city jail following the 1936 tornado. The National Youth Administration remodeled the building the following year and established a woodworking and auto body shop for students in the building. It was destroyed by July, 2008.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted extensive improvement work at the former Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins, Wyoming. Located along W Walnut Street, it now houses a museum.

In 1939-1940, the City of Yuma secured New Deal funding through the National Youth Administration to put unemployed youth to work. The City of Yuma ran the former Yuma Territorial Prison as a museum from 1940-1961.