Arkansas Sites

The Little Buffalo River Bridge outside Parthenon, Arkansas, which carries State Highway 327, was constructed with the assistance of the federal Works Progress Administration in 1939. The bridge is still in use today.

The bridge carrying Searcy County Road 55 across Little Creek, north of Leslie, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1940.

The bridge carrying Old Turner Road across Little Mulberry Creek, southeast of Mountainburg, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1940.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) had a great impact on War Memorial Park, including constructing "the original zoo buildings" at Little Rock Zoo.

The bridge carrying Doyle Thomas Road over Little Washburn Creek ENE of Dayton Township and northeast of Huntington, Arkansas was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1941.

Constructed in 1840, the Tower Building, "the only surviving remnant of the Little Rock Arsenal," was traded by the federal government to the City of Little Rock for 1,000 acres and the "condition that the grounds be 'forever exclusively devoted to the uses and purposes of a public park.'" The building remained vacant until the late 1930s when workers, sponsored by a grant from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) renovated the structure, leading to its opening in 1942 as the Museum of Natural History and Antiquities. (www.littlerock.org.) Workers. Workers installed new plumbing, lighting, and other improvements. (National Archives.)

"Plans were announced in 1939 for construction of the present courthouse by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. The new building was approved in the November 8 general election and a $90,090 allotment was provided. A new site was selected at 1 Main Street and three houses were sold and moved to make way for the new courthouse. ... The dedication ceremony was held on November 30, 1939. Congressman Clyde T. Ellis of the Third Congressional District delivered the dedicatory address. The building was lauded for its up-to-date fixtures and modern courtroom and jail." "The Madison County Courthouse is ......

"The McCrory Waterworks is a historic site located in McCrory, Arkansas. It contains an elevated steel water tower, built in 1936 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company in conjunction with the Public Works Administration, which provided $39,497 in aid for the construction of the waterworks, which included the water tower, tank, and water shed. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, as part of a multiple-property listing that included numerous other New Deal-era projects throughout Arkansas."

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) greatly contributed to the expansion of what was then known as the McRae Memorial Tuberculosis Sanitarium . "On January 1, 1930 the McRae Sanatorium for Negroes opened with 26 patients. Within a matter of days, the waiting list numbered in the hundreds. Dr. Browne, his family, the entire staff, and all the patients lived in one large building. Finally, in 1935 Dr. Browne secured funding from the Federal Works Progress Administration to build a new multipurpose structure at the sanatorium. The building, which was named for Miss Erle Chambers, contained a modern surgical unit, dining facilities,...

The bridges carrying Mill Creek Mountain Road over Mill Creek in Island Township, northeast of Lavaca, Arkansas, were constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1940.

This Moderne-style of Art Deco courthouse was completed in 1939 by the WPA. The architect was E. C. Seibert, whose firm helped design the U. S. Post Office and Courthouse located in downtown Texarkana in 1931. Seibert was mayor of Texarkana at the time he designed and supervised construction of the Miller County Courthouse.

The bridge carrying Mt. Harmony Road over Vache Grasse Creek, southeast of Greenwood, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1940.

The bridge carrying Milltown Road over Washburn Creek southeast of Greenwood, Arkansas was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1942.

"The Mineral Springs Waterworks is a historic site located in Mineral Springs, Arkansas. It contains a good example of a 1930s-era elevated steel water tower, built in 1936 by the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company in conjunction with the Public Works Administration as part of a project to improve the town's water supply. The tower was built to store water obtained from a nearby well. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, as part of a multiple-property listing that included numerous other New Deal-era projects throughout Arkansas. A new water well was drilled nearby in 1985;...

The bridge carrying Mockingbird Hill Road over Prairie Creek NNW of Huntington, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1940.

The historic water tower in Monette, Arkansas was constructed as a New Deal-assisted project during the Great Depression. "On Wednesday October 21, 1936, John V. Hancock started the pump to fill Monette’s new water tank.  Reporters for the Monette Weekly Sun noted that by 1:00 pm the 75,000 gallon tank was filled.  Built by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, the tank was the key piece in Monette’s new water system.  The PWA contracted with the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company to construct the tanks while the water distribution system was constructed by the V. E. Schevenell Company of Memphis, TN. ...

The Moorefield School was built by the NYA in 1936-1937. A one story, Plain Traditional, stone school, it "features some Craftsman influences (Story, 1992). It currently houses the Rehobeth Baptist Church. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The old Moorefield (Independence County), AR, school building, which now houses the Rehobeth Baptist Church; the original Rehobeth Baptist Church of Moorefield, established in the 1820s, is believed to have been the first church in Independence County.

"The Mountain View Waterworks are a historic public water supply system in Mountain View, Arkansas. The facilities consist of a tower and well house, located at the junction of Gayler and King Streets. The tower is a metal structure with four legs, reinforced by diagonal latticework members, topped by a water tank with a bowl-shaped bottom and a conical roof. A large pipe connects from the bottom of the tank to the well house, a square fieldstone structure. These facilities were built in 1936-37 with funding from the Public Works Administration, and were still in use at the time of...

Rising 1,350 feet, Mount Nebo offers sweeping views of the Arkansas River Valley. In 1933, a portion of the mountain was chosen as a park site. Native stone and logs from Mount Nebo were used by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to construct many of the park's bridges, trails, rustic-style cabins, and pavilions. The park offers 34 campsites (24 Class B; 10 Hike-in Tent Sites) and 15 fully-equipped cabins for rent, complete with fireplaces and kitchens. Fourteen miles of trails encircle Mount Nebo and take visitors to the awe-inspiring Sunrise and Sunset Points, perfect places to take in the view. For...

"The Mulladay Hollow Bridge was built as part of the Works Progress Administration's Lake Leatherwood Recreation Area Project.  Its exact date of construction is not known.  The bridge is an excellent Arkansas example of a masonry, closed spandrel, deck arch bridge type built during the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Era:  1921-1939.  It is similar in design and administrative history (WPA, CCC, USRA) to the Milltown Bridge in Sebastian County (HAER No. AR-55), Cedar Creek Bridge in Conway County (HAER No. AR-31) and the Spring Lake Bridge in Yell County (HAER No. AR-36).  The Mulladay Hollow Bridge was constructed under...

The oil-on-canvas mural "From Timber to Agriculture" was painted for the historic Heber Springs post office, now municipal building. "Louis Freund was commissioned for $660 to create a mural for Heber Springs, Arkansas. He visited the town and decided to construct a scene that extolled the early, pioneer life of the community. He experienced a significant degree of difficulty modeling the oxen, being forced to revise them three times before the Section approved of their rendering. Further difficulties arose concerning the angle of the axe in the man's hand, claims that it appeared limp forced Freund to revise the figure a...

The Works Progress Administration built the National Guard Armory in Batesville in 1936. A 1998 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form describes the formal characteristics of the structure: "The 1936 National Guard Armory in Batesville was constructed in a vernacular Ozark stone style with Gothic Revival influences by local stonemasons hired by the federal government as well as National Guard unit members. The armory was a WPA project designed by Dutch architect Pieter Blaauw and is composed of Batesville sandstone obtained from the Maxfield Quarry on the outskirts of town. Each stone from the local quarry is hand cut. A barreled tarpaper roof...

Constructed of reinforced concrete and limestone “reflecting the native stone construction tradition" indigenous to the Ozark region, the two-story courthouse is a “restrained interpretation of the Art Deco style” (Story).

The bridge carrying Nickeltown Road over a branch of Prairie Creek in Prairie Township, north of Huntington, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1940.

"The Norwood School is significant as an example of rural educational buildings built by the WPA during the Depression.  Use of native stone was a typical construction technique and while many of these buildings remain, few retain this degree of integrity.  The Norwood School is the only building of its type documented by the Benton County Survey." The building is no longer a school. Current use unknown.

The “Nursing and Health Professions Building” is among the four remnant buildings, out of nine, that had been built on A-State Campus during the depth of the depression. In September 1933, the ASU Board of Trustee considered plan for four new structures including “Education Building,” “Power Plant Building,” “Armory-Gymnasium,” and “Common Building.” The Common Building was later named “State Hall” in the mid of the 20th Century, then recently called “College of Nursing and Health Professions.” Interestingly, uniquely and funnily, the Common Building was built in 1935 from the top down. It was built as six-story building, on the site...

The bridge carrying Old Rudy Way across a branch of Frog Bayou, in Rudy, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1940.

Camp Clearfork Historic District: "The ten buildings, one site and one structure that compose the contributing resources to the Camp Clearfork Historic District were constructed by members of the 741st Company of the Arkansas CCC District stationed at the Crystal Springs Camp that was located close nearby. This complex, constructed circa 1935, served as a public recreational area within Ouachita National Forest (ONF) as part of the CCC's emphasis upon recreational construction that began in earnest that same year. This complex, with its dam and lake, staff and caretaker’s buildings, cabins and bathhouses functioned purely as a recreational facility, as it...

Constructed by the 742nd Company of the Arkansas Civilian Conservation Corps District stationed at Mena Camp, this was "…part of a small public recreational complex within the Ouachita National Forest…" (Arkansas Historic Preservation Program). The site includes two dams, a bathhouse, and a picnic shelter, which remain in use.

The WPA and the CCC worked in Ozark National Forest, including building Lake Wedington and the surrounding recreation area and three natural stone cabins on White Rock Mountain. The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program further describes CCC activity in the area as follows: "The seventy contributing resources that comprise the Gray Spring Recreation Area/Forest Service Road #1003 Historic District (Ozark-St. Francis National Forest) were constructed in 1934-35 by the enrollees of the 748th Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Arkansas District, working out of their camp at Cass, Arkansas (located approximately five miles to the east of this district).  The Cass camp...

“V-CCC Company 1781 was assigned to Petit Jean State Park. Being a company of World War I veterans, most of the men were older with experience in construction work. The CCC worked at Petit Jean from 1933 to 1938. The first project was living quarters for the camp. Soon after, construction of Mather Lodge and the cabins began. Work was also started on the dam construction for the formation of Lake Bailey. Once the lake was complete, a water tower was constructed for Mather Lodge and the cabins. During the CCC’s tenure at Petit Jean they made great strides in...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the water tower at Mather's Lodge in Petit Jean State Park from native stone.

Plum Bayou was the first settlement in Arkansas and in the United States (Arkansas Historic Preservation Program). Resettlement Administrator Rexford G. Tugwell, was present at the opening dedication ceremony November 20, 1936. "Tugwell saw the Plum Bayou Project as representative of a new chapter in American agricultural history" (AHPP). Plum Bayou was available to 183 selected families, 30-40 acres per family. In addition to house, barn, and well, the homes were furnished with a refrigerator and had electricity (Hunter). The community added a community center, a school, gym, library, and vocational center. A few of the original settlers were able to...

This courthouse, designed by the firm of Haralson and Mott in WPA Moderne-Art Deco style, was built in 1939 with help from the WPA.

"In late 1937, Congress authorized $70 million for public works projects over a three-year period. The majority of those were post offices, and among four in Arkansas was a new post office for Berryville in mountainous Carroll County. The building was designed in 1938 and erected in 1938-9 by Linbarger and Fraser, Contractors, of Camden, Arkansas. Louis A. Simon was the supervising architect for the project, Neal A. Melick was supervising engineer, W.G. Noll was superintendent of architecture, and J.A. Ackerman was construction engineer. The new Berryville Post Office opened for business on August 31, 1939, leaving its previous location on...

The historic post office in Clarksville, Arkansas was constructed in 1935 with Treasury Department fund. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

The historic post office in Dardanelle, Arkansas was constructed in 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in use today.

The De Queen Post Office was constructed in 1940 with Treasury Department funds. The Waymarking site for the post office explains that: "The DeQueen Post Office ...has a similar look to many of the Treasury Department post office buildings. This is a one-story tan brick building which is square, with a hipped roof covered with composition shingles..." It also draws our attention to the concrete cornerstone to the left of the post office entrance that reads: James A. Farley Postmaster General John M. Carmody Federal Works Administrator W. Englebert Reynolds Commissioner of Public Buildings Louis A. Simon Supervising Architect Neal A. Melick Supervising Engineer 1940

Built in 1939 with federal funding. "In late 1937, the U.S. Congress approved a $70 million emergency construction fund appropriation to finance the building of post offices around the country. Among the projects was a $75,000 appropriation to build a new post office in DeWitt, the county seat for the southern district of Arkansas County in southeast Arkansas. The proposed site for the new post office was surveyed in November of 1937, but the first round of bids were rejected in December of 1938. The February 2, 1939, DeWitt Era-Enterprise announced that the successful candidate in the second round of bidding...