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  • Abol Campground - Millinocket ME
    One of many campgrounds the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed in Maine, this one is located in Baxter State Park. "Set in a northern hardwood forest near the base of Abol Slide, Abol is the closest campground to Togue Pond Gate and a trailhead for Katahdin hiking."
  • Acadia National Park - Mt. Desert Island ME
    "Across the country, natural resources were being lost to poor conservation, heavy use, and severe drought. In Maine, one of the newer national parks was struggling. Even though Acadia National Park had been created 17 years earlier, it was still rural, small, and undeveloped. Most areas were overgrown and inaccessible, and the facilities were inadequate for the park’s large number of visitors. Superintendent George Dorr desperately wanted to develop the area and saw a huge opportunity in the CCC. He petitioned Roosevelt for a camp to be stationed at Acadia. His wish became reality when one of the program’s earliest camps...
  • Acadia School (former) - Madawaska ME
    The historic former Acadia School in Madawaska, Maine was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building "began as a high school and after several years it was an elementary school. At one time it housed 250 eighth-graders." It presently serves as a suite of medical facilities. The PWA provided a loan of $67,000 and a grant of $26,558 for the school's construction; its total cost was $97,295. Construction occurred between Aug. 1934 and Apr. 1935. PWA Docket No. ME 4758.
  • Aeronautical Navigation Improvements - Augusta ME
    "By January, 1937, the Works Progress Administration had supervised the painting of one hundred and eight town markers, airport symbols, and meridian markers throughout Maine." (Marker is for the capital of Maine, but work was spread throughout the state)
  • Airport - Belfast ME
    The W.P.A. developed what is now known as Belfast Municipal Airport, in Belfast, Maine. W.P.A. project info: "Construct municipal airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐120 Total project cost: $1,020,780.00 Sponsor: City of Belfast
  • Airport - Pittsfield ME
    From the Pittsfield Historical Society: One project that had far-reaching importance to Pittsfield was the construction of an airport. Mr. McDonough was an old baseball player and he urged many of the towns to build baseball fields. Our officials preferred and strongly recommended an airport and after several meetings in Augusta, a grant of $25,000 was made to Pittsfield for the survey and initial construction of two runways. Administrator Badger appointed Ralph Cianchette Foreman and work was started. As a result of this decision, Pittsfield was later designated an official landing field on the first Maine airway map, and when...
  • Airport - Princeton ME
    The W.P.A. worked to develop what is now known as Princeton Municipal Airport, in Princeton, Maine. W.P.A. project info: "Improvements to airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐52 Total project cost: $358,036.00 Sponsor: War Department "Make improvements to municipal airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐61 Total project cost: $417,070.00 Sponsor: Town of Princeton
  • Airport (demolished) - Farmington ME
    Multiple New Deal agencies worked to develop a former municipal airport in Farmington, Maine. The Farmington airport was initially a FERA/MERA project as part of a state wide airport building program. It was built as a North/South 2000x100' graded runway, open about June 15, 1934. W.P.A. project info: "Construct municipal airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐97 Total project cost: $622,000.00 Sponsor: Town of Farmington
  • Airport (demolished) - Van Buren ME
    The W.P.A. developed a former municipal airport in Van Buren, Maine. The location of this facility is unknown to Living New Deal.. W.P.A. project info: "Construct municipal airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐103 Total project cost: $950,000.00 Sponsor: Town of Van Buren
  • Airport (former) - Fort Kent ME
    The W.P.A. developed the former Fort Kent Municipal Airport. W.P.A. project info: "Construct Fort Kent Municipal Airport" Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐99 Total project cost: $486,000.00 Sponsor: Town of Fort Kent As of 2023, this airfield is in use. It was abandoned up until about 2019. While the field was abandoned, there were no facilities and only a dilapidated shed that had been used by a crop dusting company. The owners have started rebuilding the field and expect to have the field in good enough condition for the FAA to designate it as an emergency backup field.  The grass runway is now 2450’ x 85’ and is clear...
  • Androscoggin Swinging Bridge Restoration - Brunswick to Topsham ME
    A suspension bridge over Androscoggin River on Pedestrian Path in Brunswick and Topsham. Built in 1892 by John A. Roebling Sons Co. to allow mill employees in Bruswick access to housing in Topsham. The bridge was heavily damaged in the 1936 spring flood. The deck was destroyed, but the towers and the original suspension cables survived. The federal Works Progress Administration helped replace the span and resurfaced the piers that the towers stand on with concrete. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2006.
  • Appalachian Trail in Maine - Millinocket ME
    "As early as 1924, published accounts of plans for the Appalachian Trail called for it to extend to the summit of Maine's Katahdin. Later, although some (notably Myron Avery) urged that the Trail continue to Katahdin, the scarcity of existing trails, the lack of hiking clubs to assume the maintenance of the new trail, and the remoteness of the land along the proposed route combined to discourage an extension beyond New Hampshire's Mt. Washington. But, in 1933, following a two-year survey of possible routes, a location for the Maine section was developed by using existing trails and logging roads, as...
  • Appalachian Trail: Final Link - Carrabassett Valley ME
    The Civilian Conservation Corps completed the final link of the Appalachian Trail in Carrabassett Valley near Sugarloaf Mountain, on August 14, 1937. A plaque near the site reads: "In honor of the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps who, from 1935-1939, contributed greatly to the completion of the Appalachian Trail in Maine and who, on August 14, 1937, near this spot completed the final link of the entire 2,054-mile trail. Dedicated August 14, 1987 by the volunteers of the Appalachian Trail Club."
  • Aroostook State Park - Presque Isle ME
    "In 1938, the newly created State Park Commission (which had been formed in 1935) recommended that the State accept a gift of 100 acres of land near Presque Isle. This became Aroostook State Park, the first in the State Park system... On October 26, 1938, it was announced that WPA work on the State Park would begin within a few weeks; with Mr. C.P. Bradford as the engineer. $7,715 had been allotted and that the first work would be the building of a trail on the west side of the mountain, a ski and toboggan slide, a ski tow, skating rink...
  • Artic Brook Sewer - Bangor ME
    The Civil Works Administration (CWA) built the Artic Brook Sewer in Bangor ME. The 1934 town report notes: "The Arctic Brook sewer was enclosed from Broadway to Kenduskeag Stream, or a distance of 2600 feet, by a 36 inch sewer, at a cost of $51,530." According to earlier articles, during December, 169 men plus a foreman and blacksmith were employed on the project. A typical pay week would bring $2,153 to the men. "ARTIC SEWER JOB BROUGHT CITY $50,000 More than $37,600 Spent For Labor on First CWA Project" "Approximately $50,000 was spent on the Artic Brook sewer, the oldest CWA project, in point of...
  • Athletic Park - Lewiston ME
    Park improvements were one of many projects in the city that employed citizens in 1934 under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. According to the town report "Lewiston Athletic Park: General repairs and painting inside and out of the grand stand. Exterior covered with Setabs brick siding. Two bleachers demolished, rebuilt and painted. Erection of a 75 feet Flag Pole. Erected a chain link fence between the Athletic Park and the Junior Field."
  • Atlantic Hose House (abandoned) - Augusta ME
    According to the auditors report in the 1934 town report, the CWA was involved in reconstruction of the fire station known as the Atlantic Hose House. According to a 2016 city report, the building is currently in a severe case of decay. For a time it was used by the Cony High School athletic department across the street for storage and activities but has been empty for several years, and boarded up. The city recommends that it be razed due to its condition.
  • Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport - Auburn ME
    A 1940 Maine State Legislature report records the Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport was one of 6 airports considered important for national defense by the State Defense Commission in 1940 and that construction was undertaken by the WPA. Developed under FERA, it was originally built in 1935 to support recreational flying and consists of two 2,000 x 100 graded runways. "From late 1942, during World War II, the airfield was under the control of the United States Navy for use as a base for anti-submarine patrols by Squadron VS-31. It was commissioned on 15 April 1943 as Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Lewiston, and used...
  • Augusta City Farm/Poor Farm (demolished) Repairs - Augusta ME
    "During the winter of 1934-35, Augusta city officials called upon the ERA to assist in repairing the City Farm. This called for a tremenduous amount of material and labor but an agreement was made by the two parties whereby the City was to furnish the material and the ERA the labor. The project was started January 24, 1935 with a small crew of men and within a few days more men were added to make a crew of 21. This crew remained on the job until it was finished on June 6, 1935. The labor cost of this project was...
  • Augusta State Airport - Augusta ME
    Augusta State Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile northwest of the central business district of the state capital of Augusta, a city in Kennebec County, Maine. The airport is owned by the state of Maine, but managed and operated by the city of Augusta. It is served by one commercial airline, with scheduled passenger service subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 3,554 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 3,663 in 2009, and 4,300 in 2010. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems...
  • Babbin Farm - Caribou ME
    The Babbin Farm is an example of the work of the Resettlement Administration in getting families off the relief rolls and back to farming. An article in the July 1 1937 Bangor Daily News reports on two families, the Babbins and Holmquists who were helped. The article mentions that a million farm families were on the relief rolls as the depression came on. “It was during this crisis that the government came to the conclusion that in most cases a more ideal and beneficial situation exists when the farmer is helped to help himself himself than by parceling out of direct...
  • Bailey Hill Rd. - Farmington ME
    According to the town report, one of the several projects the New Deal completed in Farmington was work on Bailey Hill Rd. in 1939. WOODCOCK, OR BAILEY HILL ROAD Paid by town for materials, labor, trucks, arch culvert, etc. $3,049 24 Received from State, Special Resolve $1,974 50 Overdraft, no appropriation 1,074.74 Received from W. P. A. $6,105 23
  • Bald Mountain Fire Watchtower - Washington ME
    The Forest Service fire lookout tower on Washington Bald Mountain, built in 1918, was an enclosed wood type and was 55-feet high. It was replaced in 1934 with a 70-foot steel tower constructed by the Indian Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) out of the Passamaquoddy camp. The tower was dismantled in 2007.
  • Bangor Dam, Fish Spillway (demolished) - Bangor ME
    The Bangor dam "was built on the site of Treat Falls in 1875. It about 1,006 feet long with 800 feet of timber crib spillway and 200 feet of concrete spillway on the easterly end. The timber spillway being 2 feet lower than the concrete spillway was fitted with flashboards. The first fish way was built around 1923 between the timber and concrete spillways. The second fish way was constructed in 1936 with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) office funds."   (www.maineatlanticsalmonmuseum.org) The dam and the associated water works fell out of use in the 1960s and have since largely deteriorated....
  • Bangor International Airport - Bangor ME
     Created in 1927 as a commercial airport named Godfrey Field. In 1940 the Maine State Defense Commission considered 6 airports priority for use as military bases, Bangor being a key one. A 1940 Maine State Legislature report records that construction of the base was done by the W.P.A. and improved by FERA with  a 1400 x 100 gravel runway and a 1500 x 100 Gravel runway. "he airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Army Airfield. It became Dow Air Force Base in 1947, when the new U.S....
  • Baseball Field (former) - Vinalhaven ME
    "The Athletic Field at Vinalhaven may well be classed as a fine type of work project - a project on which the ERA, the town and private citizens cooperated to make possible work, health and pleasure. About thirty-five years ago Vinalhaven granite was being cut and shipped throughout the country, the harbor was crowed with fishing vessels, and baseball "fever" ran high. The use of a piece of swampy pasture land was obtained from the owner. Stumps were grubbed, open ditches dug and the worse parts of the field filled. A diamond and small bleachers followed. From time to time improvements...
  • Baxter State Park - Millinocket ME
    "Baxter State Park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park, located in Piscataquis County in north-central Maine. The Park was established by 28 donations of land, in Trust, from Park donor Percival P. Baxter between the years of 1931 and 1962, eventually creating a Park of over 200,000 acres (809 km2) in size."   (https://www.ohranger.com) During the 1930′s, the Civilian Conservation Corps workers from Camp Millinocket, camp Foster Field, camp Baxter Park, & camp Avalanche Brook on the south end worked on access roads in the Mount Katahdin region, including a gravel road from Lake Ambejejus northward between...
  • Bear Mountain Access Road - Waterford ME
    A crew from the Lewiston Civilian Conservation Corps Camp constructed a road to the fire tower on Bear Mountain near Waterford. The tower was built in 1934 and dismantled in the 1950s.
  • Beddington CCC Camp Co 1127 P64 - Aurora ME
    The current Deer Lake Campground in Township34 ME is the location for the Beddington CCC Camp. Excerpt from "Official Annual, 1937, Civilian Conservation Corps": "On May 1935, a cadre of men from Bar Harbor moved into the woods, thirteen miles off the Airline, a road running across country from Bangor to Calais, and pitched tents on the shore of Deer Lake, situated in Township No. 34. The construction began under the command of Lt. Tuttle, assisted by Lt. Wyman. From this cadre grew the 1127th Co., and near the latter part of July the Forestry department moved in under the supervision of...
  • Belvedere Road and Bridge Improvements - Damariscotta ME
    Nobleboro-Damariscotta Bridge and Belvedere Rd. were improved with WPA aid in the mid 1930s. The following information is from a 1937 municipal report: W. P. A. PROJECTS No Appropriations Expenditures: Nobleboro-Damariscotta Bridge Miscellaneous $14.00 Materials $236.04 Truck $17.22 Superintendence $92.80 Total. $360.06 Belvedere Road Miscellaneous $7.00 Materials $230.46 Trucks $292.32 Superintendence $82.00 Total Expenditures by Town $971.84 Receipts: Town of Nobleboro, A cost construction of Bridge ~ $180.03 "Note:—The bridge above referred to was totally unfit for travel, and with the co-operation of the Selectmen of Nobleboro and the Federal W. P. A. the project was completed. In the opinion of the Selectmen, the Belvedere road was one of the third class roads...
  • Bernard Lown Peace Bridge - Lewiston ME
    One of the 26 bridges in Maine that were destroyed or damaged by the 1936 flood and rebuilt by the US Works Program Flood Relief projects and were handled under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Public Roads, US Dept. of Agriculture. All bridges were placed under construction in 1936. In some cases, labor was provided by the Works Progress Administration. Work was completed in 1937 By Builder/Contractor: Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania The bridge is a metal 8 Panel Rivet-Connected Polygonal Warren Through Truss. Length is 723 feet. Formerly known as the South Bridge, it was re-named for Lewiston son...
  • Bert Berry Road - Embden ME
    An article in the Independent Reporter August 24, 1933 reports of 7 CWA projects for Somerset County, $7000 of which was for a third class road connecting Concord Township and Embden.
  • Biddeford Municipal Airport - Biddeford ME
    Biddeford Municipal Airport is a public use airport in York County, Maine, United States. It is owned by the City of Biddeford and is located two nautical miles (3.70 km) south of the central business district. It has one runway designated 06/24 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,000 by 75 feet (914 x 23 m). The airport was originally developed under a New Deal project by the Maine Emergency Relief Administration, the state division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in a state wide survey of airports by Capt. Harry M. Jones in January 1934. The airport was built with 1...
  • Bradbury Mountain State Park - Pownal ME
    Bradbury Mountain State Park is a public recreation area in the town of Pownal, Cumberland County, Maine, managed by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The state park covers 730 acres. The park was created in the 1940s as one of Maine's original five state parks after the land was acquired from the Federal government in 1939. This Park land was acquired by the Government under the Soil Conservation Land Utilization Program. Purchased from the owners in 1936 to 1938, it was developed by WPA labor in 1939. It is leased to the Maine State Park Commission and administrated by...
  • Brewer Municipal Auditorium - Brewer ME
    The Brewer Municipal Auditorium in Brewer ME was built with the support of the Federal Works Agency of the Public Works Administration in 1939. "Prior to the beginning of the 1939 municipal year all arrangements for building the auditorium had been made and ground at the site actually broken. This work was suspended during the winter months, but resumed as early in the spring as practicable and carried through to completion November 8, 1939. The building was built under the program of the Federal Works Agency of the Public Works Administration whereby financial assistance to the extent of 45 per cent of...
  • Brickett Place Garage - Stow ME
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a garage at the historic Brickett Place house in Stow. The structure still stands on the property. According to a 1982 Nomination Form of the National Register of Historic Places, "a garage, of CCC construction is located about 75 feet from the house." The house itself was used by the CCC in the 1930s.    
  • Bridgton Academy - Bridgton ME
    Bridgton Academy is an all-male college preparatory in Bridgton, Maine. Founded in 1808, the school sits at the northern tip of Long Lake in North Bridgton, Maine. The school has been NEASC accredited since 1934, making it one of the oldest accredited schools in the country. In 1933, the Civil Works Administration was involved in "repairs and redecorating at the Academy buildings." according to the town selectmen in the annual report. In the 1934 report it was noted that "Some of the projects at Bridgton Academy are completed while others are in the air and the probability is that a continuance...
  • Bridgton CCC Camp Co. 1124 - Bridgton ME
    The Civilian Conservation Corps built the Bridgton CCC Camp Co. 1124 in Bridgton ME. "History of the 1124th Company. Civilian Conservation Corps. On June 1st, 1935, Lt. J. L. Fearer arrived in Bridgton with a cadre of 23 men from the Rangeley Camp No. 2107, and Bridgton Camp No. 11005 was officially begun. For a time the Cadre was quartered in the "Exposition Building" of the Bridgton Agricultural Association. The members of the cadre worked diligently, and under Lt. Fearer' s direction civilian carpenters rushed the construction of the buildings. Lt. F. R. Blaisdell, Jr. was assigned to the Company on June 23,...
  • Broadview Park Housing Project - South Portland ME
    In response to the foot dragging by Portland city officials on the urgent need of affordable housing due to the influx of military related industry and basing personnel, the Federal Housing Authority of the Federal Works Agency ordered the construction of 550 units, of which 100 were built in Highland Park in South Portland. Designed by John Howard Stevens and John Calvin Stevens II, they featured Colonial Revival style, with a community center, school and playground.
  • Brunswick Executive Airport - Brunswick ME
    The Brunswick airport was originally built in 1935 by the Maine Emergency Relief Administration, a state division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration after a survey of airports in the state by Capt. Harry M. Jones with the intention of building a chain of airports in coastal towns, inland towns, and lake resorts. It built 1 NW - SE 1800 x 50 gravel runway and 1 E - W 1800x100 graded runway. Naval Air Station Brunswick was developed and occupied in March 1943, and was first commissioned on April 15, 1943, to train and form-up Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadrons...
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