Appalachian State University Development - Boone NC

City:: Boone, NC
Site Type:: Colleges and Universities, Infrastructure and Utilities, Education and Health, Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Sidewalks and Stairs
New Deal Agencies:: Works Progress Administration (WPA), Public Works Funding, Work Relief Programs, Public Works Administration (PWA), Civil Works Administration (CWA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Description

Appalachian State University, then known as Appalachian State Teachers College (A.S.T.C), was substantially improved and developed as part of infrastructure and building construction projects on the institution’s campus. Numerous New Deal organizations, including the Civil Works Administration (CWA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Public Works Administration (PWA), provided labor or funding for the numerous projects undertaken at A.S.T.C. during the Great Depression.

At A.S.T.C the CWA: conducted landscaping work; provided office help and laborers; repaired buildings; and installed a chlorinator (presumably for a pool). The FERA: constructed a gymnasium and a library; repaired a basement at an unspecified facility; and constructed a hospital building (now Founders Hall). The WPA constructed faculty residences, dorms, sidewalks, and roads. The PWA provided funding for power and heating facility improvements, as well as a grant for the construction of a science building, now known as Smith-Wright Hall.

Source notes

Emergency Relief in North Carolina. A Record of the Development and the Activities of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, 1932-1935. North Carolina Emergency Relief Commission, State administrator, Mrs. Thomas O'Berry (pp. 531-2): https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/emergencyrelief/emergencyrelief.html (accessed Jun. 22, 2022)

"Boondoggling Boomerangs and Blesses," The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, June 04, 1939 (pg. 11): https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/651562494/

https://collections.library.appstate.edu/collections/university-archives-records-management-services/timelines (accessed Jun. 22, 2022)

PWA records

Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on June 22, 2022.