Connecticut Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.)’s Camp Hook was stationed at Squantz Pond State Park from May 24, 1933 to Oct. 30, 1935. Projects undertaken at the park included: foot trails along Squantz Pond construction of the Squantz Pond entrance road recreation area improvements at Squantz Pond gypsy moth removal tree planting

W.P.A. improvements to the Governor William A. O'Neill State Armory in Hartford, CT included the following projects sponsored by the Quartermaster General's Department: Paint Armory Official Project Number: 165‐15‐2072 Total project cost: $4,449.00 Repair and improve Armory building Official Project Number: 165‐15‐2100 Total project cost: $14,493.00 Paint interior of armory Official Project Number: 465‐15‐2‐75 Total project cost: $13,224.00 And this project, sponsored by the State Armory Commission: Construct hangar, office building, concrete walls, and steel roof Official Project Number: 65‐15‐7533 Total project cost: $91,967.00

A 1937 Hartford Courant article reported that the WPA contributed "to the improvement and enlargement of the barracks at Westport and Ridgefield." One source suggests that the former barracks was on East Ridge Road, and now houses the local police department.

A 1937 Hartford Courant article reported that the WPA contributed "to the improvement and enlargement of the barracks at Westport and Ridgefield." The location and status of this former barracks is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

Hartford Courant: "The cornerstone of the new $150,000 State Police administration building on Washington Street was laid Thursday in ceremonies In which Governor Cross, State officials, and officials of the Works Progress Administration took part." Among the remarks: "Now largely through the financial aid of the Works Progress Administration of the Federal Government, we shall soon have an administration building for the Department of State Police, which will be both pleasing to the eye and so designed as to enable our Stale Police officials to do their work under the most favorable circumstances. " WPA construction on this site included a "new barracks and garage."

"he historic Nature Museum features displays on forestry, flora and fauna native to Connecticut, local history artifacts, rocks and minerals, and insects. Programs are offered throughout the summer. The Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places." "The museum was built in 1934-35 by a crew of the Civilian Conservation Corps based across the river in American Legion State Forest, and was formally dedicated by Governor Wilbur Cross in 1935. It closed in the early 1950s, and was reopened in 1992 after standing unused for many years."

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted development / improvement projects at what was Stones Ranch Military Reservation in East Lyme. "Improve public buildings" Official Project Numbers: 465‐15‐2‐113 Total project cost: $12,687.00 Sponsor: Quartermaster General's Department, State of Connecticut Additionally, Stones Ranch was the site of one of the few Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) camps located on a military reservation: Camp Chapman, C.C.C. Company #177. Work included "recreation area improvements, road building, gypsy moth removal, and Dutch Elm disease sanitation."

Originally a long, low Art Deco structure, the building now used as Stonington Middle School (originally High School) was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project between 1936 and 1938. It was designed by S. Wesley Haynes & Associates, of Fitchburg and Hartford. The building has been recently altered, resulting of the reconstruction of the central bays. Unfortunately, the building has lost much of its character: its Art Deco detailing has been removed and been replaced with a poorly designed neo-traditional facade.

"The building is of fireproof construction up to the roof. With the exception of the portico, the exterior walls are of red face brick. The floor slabs are concrete of bar-joist construction, and the roof is wood covered with slate. The cupola is wood. Offices and a garage for the police department are in the basement. The upper floors provide quarters for the town clerk, the tax assessors and collectors, the town manager, a courtroom, council chambers, and drafting rooms for the chief engineer. The dimensions of the building in plan are 99 by 143 feet. The...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)'s Company #1193, Camp Britton, constructed the Stratton Brook Picnic Shelter.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) paved 34 streets in Hartford, Connecticut, including the 0.8-mile stretch of Summit Street from New Britain Avenue to Zion Street, as part of a $2.5 million, two-year paving project begun in 1937. The federal government contributed $1 million.

In 1933/4 the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) furnished the labor for construction of a new gymnasium floor at the now-former Talcott Junior High School in West Hartford, Connecticut.

The Timothy Ahearn Memorial in New Haven, Connecticut was created under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project in 1937.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) constructed Toumey Road; it shares the name of the C.C.C. camp which developed it.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) paved 34 streets in Hartford, Connecticut, including Tower Avenue, as part of a $2.5 million, two-year paving project begun in 1937. The federal government contributed $1 million.

Old Saybrook, Connecticut's Town Hall was originally constructed as the town's Main Street School; its construction was enabled by the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds during the 1930s. According to historicbuildingsct.com, a referendum approved the conversion of the historic school building into the town hall in 1999. The PWA gave the community a grant of $71,511, and the school project cost a total of $159,896. PWA completion documents declare that construction on the building began December 1935; the building was completed the following year. PWA Docket No. CT 1076.

"The new town hall is in the commercial center and opposite the post office. It provides quarters for the town clerk, the tax collector, the selectmen, the nurses, and a record vault on the first floor, and quarters for the police department and a jail in the basement. The building is semifireproof, the first floor being concrete and the ceiling beams and roof of wood. The exterior walls are selected common brick, windows, doors, cornice, and cupola are wood, and the roof is covered with slate. The over-all dimensions in plan are 84 by 38 feet....

The federal Public Works Administration (PWA) sponsored the construction of a new town hall for West Hartford during the Great Depression. The PWA provided a $134,782 grant for the project, whose total cost was $321,176. Construction occurred between Dec. 1935 and Feb. 1937. The building has since been ceded to private hands, where the old building makes up part of Blue Back Square. PWA Docket No. CT W1218.

Groton, Connecticut's historic town hall was dedicated in 1908. The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied a $31,597 grant for a town hall improvement and possible expansion project, whose total cost was $70,301. Construction occurred between Jan. and Nov. 1937. The building has since been further renovated. PWA Docket No. CT W1261

The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) created a set of murals for what was then the Junior-Senior High School in Darien, Connecticut, now its town hall. "In Darien, approximately 11  artists, Robert Pallesen, James Daugherty, Arthur Gibson Hull, Remington Schulyer, Loran Wilford and William J. Schaldach among them, were employed to create artwork, most of which was done in the town’s schools (today’s Town Hall building was the town’s High School in 1934)."

Artist Walter Korder painted an extensive series of WPA murals for what was then Hall High School, and is now the Town Hall: "His 1,000 square foot mural covers all four walls of Room 312 and chronicles main events in the history of Connecticut and throughout the New England area... Korder completed the masterpiece in 1941 in what was originally a library when the building was known as Hall High School. The stunning detail and vibrant colors preserve a history that dates back to the Red Paint Man of Maine and the Algonquin Indians. “It represents things that are not always represented,” Slifka...

The W.P.A. removed unneeded trolley rails in Middletown, CT. Project information: Description: "Remove trolley rails for salvage purposes" Official Project Number: 265‐1‐15‐79 Total project cost: $8,298.00 Sponsor: City of Middletown

The W.P.A. removed unneeded trolley rails in Norwich, CT. Project information: Description: "Remove abandoned car rails" Official Project Number: 265‐1‐15‐76 Total project cost: $58,398.00 Sponsor: City of Norwich

The W.P.A. removed unneeded trolley rails in Waterbury, CT. Project information: Description: "Remove trolley rails and restore track areas" Official Project Number: 265‐1‐15‐75 Total project cost: $56,550.00 Sponsor: City of Waterbury

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)'s Camp Robinson, which housed Company #180, was stationed at Tunxis State Forest in Hartland, Connecticut. The camp was established June 13, 1933 and was discontinued July 18, 1941. Among other projects independently listed on other pages, work included: "12 miles of truck trails including today's ... Hall Road, construction of a house for the Forest Ranger, and miles of cross-country ski trails." The ski cabin and ski trail remain today. Other improvements included access roads and a cross country ski loop trail.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted a massive development / improvement program at what is now known as Tweed New Haven Airport. Official Project Number: 165‐1‐15‐30 Total project cost: $3,031,708.00 Sponsor: City of New Haven

"The Henriques room was originally the Academy library, and is now used for special gatherings and award ceremonies. Aldis Browne, graduate of Yale School of Fine Arts, worked for the U.S. Treasury Program during the Great Depression and completed the various murals painted on the walls. The murals represent the Coast Guard's history. The room is also filled with museum artifacts."

Multiple projects were "planned, staked out and supervised" by West Hartford's Engineering Department in 1935-6 utilizing Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) and/or Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor. One such project involved storm sewer construction "across the St. Joseph College property north of Asylum Avenue."

Multiple projects were "planned, staked out and supervised" by West Hartford's Engineering Department in 1935-6 utilizing Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) and/or Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) labor. One such project involved storm sewer construction along Vera and Jessamine Streets.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) paved 34 streets in Hartford, Connecticut, including Ward Street, as part of a $2.5 million, two-year paving project begun in 1937. The federal government contributed $1 million.

The Public Works Administration funded the construction of a water supply filtration system and canals in Hartford CT. Pictured are the filtration beds and canals. The exact location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal.

A waterworks improvement project was undertaken as a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project. The P.W.A. supplied a $256,500 grant for the project, whose total cost was $583,095. Construction occurred between May 1936 and Jun. 1937. P.W.A. Docket No. CT 1173

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) paved 34 streets in Hartford, Connecticut, including Wawarme Avenue, as part of a $2.5 million, two-year paving project begun in 1937. The federal government contributed $1 million.

"The Webster Hose, Hook and Ladder Company No. 3 is a unit of the fire department of Ansonia. Its new building is located in a residential area of the city. The first floor houses the apparatus and the second floor a recreation room, cardroom, and lounge. The building is two stories and a basement in height, 36 by 46 feet in plan, and is built of red brick with limestone trim and wood floor construction. It was completed in May 1937 at a construction cost of $25,830 and a project cost of $29,780."

"Financed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, work started May 24, 1935, on a project of grading Prospect Park, removing mud and silt from the Wepawaug River, and building riprap walls on the river bank. This work, completed October 31, 1935, stood the severe test imposed by the flood waters that rushed down the little river during the excessive rainfall which preceded the hurricane of September 21, 1938."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) paved 34 streets in Hartford, Connecticut, including Westland Street, as part of a $2.5 million, two-year paving project begun in 1937. The federal government contributed $1 million.

New Haven's historic Westville Station post office was constructed during the Great Depression with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses a New Deal mural inside, is still in use today.

Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Pursuit of the Regicides" painted in 1939 by Karl Anderson.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) paved 34 streets in Hartford, Connecticut, including the 0.7-mile stretch of Whitney Street from Asylum Avenue to Farmington Avenue, as part of a $2.5 million, two-year paving project begun in 1937. The federal government contributed $1 million. As part of this project the WPA also paved the entirety of South Whitney Street.

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted development / improvement projects at Windham Airport. "Improve airport" Official Project Numbers: 165‐1‐15‐159, 165‐1‐15‐83 Total project cost: $190,377.00 (per project) Sponsor: Town of Windham "Extend landing strips and runways, clear land, grade, drain and pave; install drainage and lighting facilities at Windham Airport." Official Project Number: 265‐1‐15‐67 Total project cost: $695,303.00 Sponsor: State of Connecticut, Department of Public Works