Ukiah Sites

This farm-to-market road in Mendocino County, constructed with federal assistance during the Great Depression, runs along Orrs Creek, providing a route into the town of Ukiah from surrounding rural areas. The route begins at State Street in downtown Ukiah and continues west and north to connect to Orr Springs Road.

The former post office in Ukiah CA was built in 1936 and inaugurated Jan. 30, 1937. The building's construction was funded by the Treasury Department, and is sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It is a typical single-story Moderne-style building of the 1930s, constructed 0f poured concrete, covering 11,200 square-feet.  It cost $72,315 (pressdemocrat.com).  This post office was taken out of service in 2012 and put on the market, despite considerable protest from the local community.  Local activists succeeded in having it placed on the National Register of Historic Places that year. It was still sitting unused behind a steel fence in...

The egg tempera mural "Resources of the Soil" was painted by Ben Cunningham in 1938. The mural depicts Mendocino County landscapes and people, including men working in a lumber mill, a man tending a vineyard, horse riders and harvest time in an orchard. When the 75-year old New Deal Ukiah post office building was closed in 2012, the mural was removed and sent to Chicago for restoration. It was returned to Ukiah in November 2016, where it is temporarily on display in the lobby of the city's Civic Center. "The mural eventually will be hung in the new Mendocino County Courthouse...

Almost a mile of State Street was resurfaced from Mill Street north to the city limits during the Great Depression with a federal grant of $7,500.

Todd Grove Park is a 16-acre park located on Ukiah’s west side, adjacent to the Ukiah Valley Golf Course. Amenities include groves of mature trees, lawns, walking paths, children's playground, picnic areas, and a bandstand. In 1940, Works Projects Administration (WPA) relief crews built a low, native stone wall around the park’s perimeter. The wall is 2’ high and 15” thick, made of rough stone bonded with thick cement mortar. At approximately 25’ to 28’ intervals, the wall is interrupted by 33”-high, 17”x17”-wide stone posts. Concrete stamps denoting “WPA 1940” are placed at intervals on each wall. A stone gate at the...

The Ukiah Municipal Golf Course, now known as the Ukiah Valley Golf Course, was constructed in 1935-1936 with federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds and labor. It is a full 18-hole course, designed by Paul Underwood. "he golf course has cost $28,000, of which WPA contributed $18,000 and the City of Ukiah $10,000. The city is to repay no part of the contributed sum received from the WPA and for its outlay the city has acquired 154 acres of land, a clubhouse valued at $3,000, golf equipment (including a tractor, mowers, hose and pipe) valued at $4000." Ukiah Republican Press, August 26,...