- City:
- Southton, TX
- Site Type:
- Schools, Education and Health
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Started:
- 1939
- Completed:
- 1940
- Designer:
- Russell White
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
WPA funded two projects for the Bexar County Boys’ School in 1939. Construction of a greenhouse for the facility, which served as a “juvenile delinquent” training school was authorized in December 1939, with WPA funding $2,213 and Bexar County funding $968 and employing 30 workers. A workshop, 30×85 feet, “…for inmates at the Bexar County Training School for Boys” replaced a building previously destroyed by fire (Boys Home Gets $15,000 Shop, 1940). WPA funded $10,738.50 of the cost of the workshop and Bexar County funded $4,397.62. Plans were drawn by Russell White, Bexar County engineer. The workshop was constructed of hollow tile, stucco, and tile roofing and also contained two garages and a laundry. The greenhouse was 12×30 feet, and used for experimental gardening. The new buildings were formally dedicated July 9, 1940 and the Optimist Club and others provided equipment for vocational training. The status of the greenhouse is unknown, but the workshop was remodeled for use as a kitchen and dining room for the Lifetime Recovery facility located on the former school property. Although identified as a school, the facility was more accurately described as a detention center for juvenile males who had been arrested.
Source notes
Authorization to begin work on many WPA projects made. Corsicana Daily Sun, December 6, 1939, p. 12.
New bridge to be inspected. San Antonio Express, May 5, 1940, p. C11.
Boys' Home Gets $15,000 Shop: Dedication Ceremonies Next Week. San Antonio Express, June 12, 1940, p. 1A and 2A.
Betterments at Bexar County Boys' School. San Antonio Express, July 9, 1940, p. 14.
Heritage Buildings: The Workshop. Retrieved fromhttps://www.lifetimerecoverytx.org/campus-expansion.html
Site originally submitted by Susan Allen on July 22, 2018.
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