Start Year: 1941

Once the home of Bishop William Hanby, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, and his son, Benjamin Hanby, a popular composer, in 1937 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) moved the Hanby House to its current location, to save it from demolition. Between 1941 and 1942, WPA laborers also performed structural renovation and historic restoration work at this site, now a museum.

The two-story Art Deco design high school was approved for $195,000 in Works Progress Administration funds, and the city provided the remaining $130,000 to construct the school (Watson, nd). The building still serves the community as the Moss Point High School.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) initially funded the project, but closed it due to lack of WPA labor in Biloxi (The Daily Herald, 1941). WPA expended $27,937 on the school construction. The design indicated eighteen classrooms, home economics, science and manual training facilities. In addition to the WPA funding, voters approved bonds for $47,000. The bids for building, plumbing and heating exceeded the funding available (The Biloxi Schools, p. 7-8). Additional funding was sought from the Federal Works Agency to complete the building, and it opened in September 1943 (Biloxi Schools).

The Shannon County Courthouse was designed by architect Dan R. Sanford of Springfield, MO. The Works Progress Administration completed the public building in 1941. The building was constructed after a fire destroyed the previous courthouse. A referendum was held on the question of whether to rebuild in nearby Winona, but voters chose to keep the county courthouse in Eureka.    

The county seat of Wayne county moved to this location when the construction of the Lake Wappapello Dam forced the movement of the entire town of Greenville, previously located along the St. Francis River. The building cost about $98,000.  Construction by the Works Progress Administration started in 1941 and was completed in 1943.      

The plaque on the front of the John Twohig house gives a brief glimpse into the interesting history of this house which was moved by the WPA to its current location on the grounds of the Witte Museum: “In 1841, John Twohig – a San Antonio pioneer, Texas patriot, and prosperous merchant – erected this house on a site which was part of the Veramendi Palace within a curving bend on the San Antonio River at St. Mary’s and Commerce streets. Mr. Twohig’s house was unique in the community since few buildings in this area at that time could boast a...

With WPA support, a school lunchroom was added to the Munday school for African Americans. Two women were certified to prepare and serve 40 meals a day, at a cost of five cents each. The school's PTA raised the money for the equipment.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) aided in the construction of the 16th Street underpass beneath Scott Circle NW.  A 1941 Washington Post article reported that: “First steps to remove one of the District’s worst remaining bottlenecks were underway at Scott Circle yesterday. The fashionable residential section resounded to the snorts of straining steam shovels and reverberations of air compressors as District and WPA workmen laid the groundwork for construction of the much discussed $400,000 automobile underpass.” The project was completed that same year.

The Manteo Fire Station was constructed with the assistance of WPA funds. The remaining money was raised locally by the Manteo Fire Department, which organized a series of dances. The downstairs was used to house fire equipment while the upstairs served as town hall. The building was remodeled in 1977 when it received its Tudor makeover. The Fire Department has since moved to another location, and this building is now privately owned.

In January 1941, the National Youth Administration began building a bathhouse with dressing and toilet facilities at Zaragoza Park as well as a chain-linked fence around the pool that was connected to the bathhouse. The City of Austin furnished materials for the project and the NYA supplied the labor.