Rocky Ford Sites

"The stables, constructed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), are an important record of the federal relief programs administered on Colorado’s eastern plains during the Great Depression. The stables were one of a series of WPA improvement projects at the Arkansas Valley Fairgrounds that provided a significant source of employment. It is the best surviving example of WPA work in Rocky Ford. The WPA used adobe for many of its eastern Colorado projects as it was both inexpensive and labor intensive—a good fit with the agency’s objectives to ensure that most of the money went to labor rather...

"A project of the Public Works Administration (PWA), the Rocky Ford Post Office is associated with President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal legislative agenda. The federal government used the construction of new post offices to aid the economy through expenditures for materials and construction crews. The only PWA project in Rocky Ford, it provided the town with its first purpose-built post office. Designed by the U.S. Treasury Departments Office of the Supervising Architect under the direction of Louis A. Simon, the Neo-classically-inspired building is simple and restrained. It has been the only post office in Rocky Ford...

The mural "The First Crossing at Rocky Ford" hangs in the lobby of the historic Rocky Ford post office. "With the Great Depression, fewer people could afford to patronize the arts, severely impacting the careers of artists. The Treasury Departments Section of Fine Arts provided employment by sponsoring artwork in federal buildings. Many of the post offices constructed during the Depression were decorated with murals or other artworks commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts. Funds for artwork were based on 1% of the total appropriation for the buildings construction. Victor Higgins was hired to paint a mural above the postmasters...