Mississippi Sites

Ross E. Braught painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Waynesboro Landscape," in 1942 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the Waynesboro post office lobby.

The Magnolia post office contains three murals by John H. Fyfe, completed and installed in 1939 at a cost of $1,120.00 (Enzweiler, 1993). Under the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts program, Fyfe created "July 4th Celebration" also referred to as "July 4th Celebration at Sheriff Bacof's" in other sources. The local committee commissioned two additional murals based on their satisfaction with the first piece of art. "Cotton Harvest" and "Magnolia, 1880" depicted the cotton industry of Pike County. All three murals were restored in 1992 by Stewart-Treviranus Associates of McLean, Virginia. Fyfe also painted a mural fro the post office...

George Aarons' three cast stone reliefs, "Development of the Postal Service," were installed in 1939 in the then-new (and now former) Ripley, Mississippi post office. They were moved to the new post office in 1999 and installed on the back work room floor. As of 2014, access is "happily granted by the employees" (newdealartregistry.org).

PWA project x1333 for improvements to Canton Municipal Utilities was approved Sep. 16, 1938. A $31,500 grant and a loan for the same amount was awarded. Construction began Dec. 19, 1938 and was completed Jul. 28, 1939.

Stefan Hirsch painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Scenic and Historic Booneville," in 1943, in what was then the Booneville post office, with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural is viewable in the lobby.

Walter Inglis Anderson and his brother, James McConnell Anderson were commissioned in 1935 to create murals for the 1927 Ocean Springs Public High School as part of the Public Works of Art Project. “Ocean Springs: Past and Present” was a six-panel oil on canvas. “The Fish and Bird Mural” was a tile mural constructed in four sections. Both are in the Walter Anderson Museum of Art since 1991. Anderson’s murals were painted on canvas sheets and then glued to the wall of the school auditorium, flanking the stage. Two were 14 feet long horizontal panels and placed on the wall between...

A WPA project for $21,000 improvements at the Laurel Municipal Stadium included brick seats to accommodate 3,000, a brick stadium house, brick wall at the south end of the stadium, permanent parking space, brick walls, brick ticket booths and replacing wooden curbs with brick curbs. The facility remains in use.

The vocational building was constructed in Randolph during an expansion of the school in the 1930s. A teacher's house was also added, and is located behind the vocational building. A plaque on the vocational building shows it was constructed by the NYA in 1939. The school itself was demolished in 2009, but the vocational building remains in use as a community center and the site of annual community reunions.

A one-story Rustic building was originally constructed for residence at the Choctaw Lake Recreation Area. MDAH conjectures the agency as the Civilian Conservation Corps; Sanders defined the construction as by the WPA through the Soil Conservation Project, along with other buildings when the lake and recreation area were constructed. From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History: "This recreation area was developed between 1936 and 1938 by the WPA for the Soil Conservation Service. The property was later conveyed to the US Forest Service, USDA. It originally contained a dance pavilion, a lodge, a bath house, and cabins, but these structures...

The two-story jail was completed in 1936 for a total cost of $27,453. Public Works Administration provided a grant of $12,310 and Rankin County provided the remainder through a bond election. The project, W1159, was approved November 14, 1935, and bids advertised in November. Contracts were awarded December 14, 1935. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History documents N. W. Overstreet & A. H. Town as architects. The Jackson Clarion-Ledger (Nov 1, 1936) identified E. L. Malvaney as architect and I. C. Garbor and Sons construction. Construction began March 9, 1936 and was completed September 22, 1936. The jail was...

Two steel-reinforced concrete stadium bleachers facing each other are set in a man-made slope. The bleachers are supported at the rear by concrete columns attached with segmental arches.

A Rustic Style building with walls of vertical logs is conjectured to have been constructed by the Emergency Relief Administration. Similarly styled log buildings were documented as constructed in other areas in Mississppi.

The National Youth Administration built a recreational hall at the Naval Reserve Parkin Biloxi in 1938 as W.P. 4380. They also planted rose bushes, cedar trees, and dog wood trees and numerous flower beds along with the construction of the recreation building. The project employed 40 boys.

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation provided 22 loans to drainage districts in Mississippi in 1934, totaling $2,726,150. The Red Banks district received $26,000. From the Coldwater River, Byhalia Creek, Red Banks Creek, and a canal 11 miles long ran through the counties of Marshall and Desoto, and into the Pigeon Roost Creek and Pigeon Roost Drainage Canal.

"Roosevelt is one of the original nine state parks constructed by the CCC in the 1930s. It opened in 1940 and is named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The site was selected because of its abundant natural springs." (McGinnis)

The Art Moderne vocational school was constructed as part of the Meridian High School Complex. Construction was completed by the National Youth Administration, and the engineers were Gardner and Howe.

The first Mississippi county approved for rural housing loans from the United States Housing Authority was Lee County. Loans represented 90% of the construction and 10% was locally supplied for the $790,000 program. "America's first 'economy wall' unit of brick residences have been completed under direction of the rural housing authority on Highway 78, three miles east of Tupelo..." (Housing Work, 1941). D. D. Smith Lumber Company constructed the brick houses, which were the first of the farm houses under New Deal work to be built of brick. The project authorized 300 rural homes to be constructed. The first home...

The former Salem High School (not extant) was constructed by the National Youth Administration (NYA). It served African American students. It was covered in a faux-brick design shingle, pier-and-beam construction, and had two classroom wings with a central auditorium.

The former vocational building for Salem High School for African Americans was a pier-and-beam wooden building with a pent awning over the double door entrance. It was constructed by the National Youth Administration (NYA) and contained a brick chimney, likely fitted for a wood stove vent. Historic photographs clearly indicate the NYA marker embedded in the brick chimney located next to the entrance doors. The building is no longer extant.

The Works Progress Administration approved a statewide sanitation program for Mississippi in 1935, totaling $390,115.40. The program focused on eliminating typhoid, hookworm and dysentery in 65 of Mississippi’s 82 counties by construction of sanitary toilets (privies) for homes and buildings without access to sewerage disposal. The project was projected to employ 14 workers in each county. The privies were constructed from concrete and wood, costing about $16 in materials for each privy. Property owners were to contribute the materials. Tallahatchie county was allocated $5,956.50. Federal work projects (CWA, FERA, and WPA) for community sanitation and drainage resulted in reductions of both...

"...the vast New Deal flood-control project (1938-42) that dammed the Tallahatchie River and created Sardis Lake, an artificial reservoir that covered hundreds of square miles in western Lafayette and eastern Panola counties. The dam itself was a giant, mile-long mound of earth, one of the world's largest, with sculpturally modernist steel and concrete elements framing the spillway and the water level control towers" (Hines, 1996, p. 112). Later, the Sardis State Park was added. The site was renamed the John W. Kyle State Park and Dam, though the name Sardis Lake is still used as well.

The Bay Springs school was Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works project W1052 for a $16,364 grant toward a total estimated cost of $40,743, approved 9/25/1935. Contracts were awarded 12/06/1935 and construction begun 5/5/1936. Construction was completed 12/29/1936. The one-story Colonial Revival style building was designed by architects Hull & Drummond.

National Youth Administration employed 40 boys to construct the 8-room frame building with sheet metal roof in the Broome community. The project was W. P. 5208, Application # 923.

A one-story brick veneer school was completed as Public Works Administration project 3900, July 31, 1935. An $11,500 loan and a $5,371 grant were awarded on March 21, 1935. Construction began April 16, 1935. The total of the project came to $18,711 at completion. The school contained 6 classrooms, a music hall, an office, and a 46 x 90 feet auditorium. The project employed an average of 25 men per day with an average weekly payroll of $600. Contract was awarded to M. T. Reed Construction of Belzoni. W. G. Eckles, State Director of School Building Service was the architect.

The Corinth High School was constructed 1938-1939 by Wessell Construction Company as Public Works Administration project W1250. Architects were Stevens and Johnston. The Art Moderne two story brick building was approved 6/22/1938 for a grant of $65,454 toward estimated cost of $145,454. Construction began 11/28/1938 and was completed 11/14/1939. It was expanded in 1954 to add an additional classroom, cafeteria, and band room. It remains in use as the Corinth Middle School.

The Civil Works Administration approved and funded a number of projects in Mississippi in late 1933, primarily school buildings. Approval for construction of a new school building in Cross Roads was authorized and construction was underway in September. By December 12, 3 men were employed for $230, and an additional 14 men employed for $982 by the 24th.

The Good Hope community in Leake County was awarded a $9,816 grant and a $12,000 loan through the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. Project W1062 was approved November 14, 1935. Construction started May 13, 1936 and was completed January 15, 1937 at a cost of $21, 816.

Pubic Works Administration project 2530 was approved 1/9/1934 for construction of a school in Houlka. The loan was $24,300 and grant $9306 for a total of $33,606. Construction began 6/16/1934 and was completed 1/191935 for a final total of $36,611. Edgar Lucian Malvaney was architect and the M. T. Reed Construction Company of Belzoni was the contractor. The one-story red brick Colonial Revival style building was undergoing renovation in July 2014 when it caught fire from a contractor’s spark and was destroyed.

The Industrial Consolidated School building was PWA project 3003 approved Dec. 28, 1933. Construction started May 22, 1934 and was completed Aug. 3, 1934. PWA supplied a loan of $10,000 and grant of $4, 182. The county voted school bonds to pay for the building, designed by architect Vinson B. Smith, Jr. Horace Stansel was the federal engineer for Mississippi projects. Contractor Pat Fowler delayed occupation of the building until the PWA portion of the funds were delivered.

The Kokomo Consolidated School building was approved as Mississippi project 8723 in 1934. Construction began in October and was completed June 23, 1935 at a total cost of $23,034. E. L. Malvaney was the architect of the Colonial Revival school, which was constructed by Currie and Corley builders and contractors.

The Public Works Administration project w1259 funded $7,363 of the cost of the Lake school. The project was approved 8/12/1937, construction begun 12/16/1937, and completed 12/15/1938. The building was a 1-story brick complex.

Mossville classroom building was constructed 1937 with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds as project W1072. A loan for $14,000 was combined with a grant for $11,454, approved 11/14/1935. The contract was awarded 2/10/1936, constructed begun May 7, and completed January 29, 1937. Architect was Edgar Lucian Malvaney. The building was destroyed 1943.

The administration building/high school for Nettleton was constructed with Public Works Administration grant W1137. The loan of $18,000 and grant of $14,727 was approved 9/25/1935. Construction began 2/1/1936 and was completed 10/22/1936 for a total cost of $33,230. The architect was John McGaughey Feemster. The building is still extant and in use as the Upper Elementary School.

The 1936 high school was designed by E. L. Malvaney, and constructed by Walter L. Perry Construction Company. Mississippi project W1034 provided a $40,909 grant and the city funded the remainder of the total cost of $92,437. Construction began March 25, 1936 and was completed January 20, 1937. The school was demolished at some point, but the concrete bas relief panels--found on many of E. L. Malvaney's Mississippi schools, were salvaged and erected at the back of the new school.

Raymond Consolidated School received a grant of $45,000 from PWA project W1172 to construct a new brick school building, approved 7/21/1936. The first contract was awarded 2/4/1937 and construction began February 10, completion October 16. The building contained a large auditorium, eight classrooms, and a heating plant. The architects were Hull & Drummond, with I. C. Garber constructing the new school. An addition was added, funded by PWA, for $20,000, March 1939. Originally constructed as Raymond High School, it remains in use as the elementary school.

The Rose Hill school was project W1230, approved 8/12/1937 for $7,940. The school was completed 4/29/1938 for a total cost of $17,923. The first contract was awarded 11/20/1937 and construction began 12/7/1937. Architects were Krouse & Brasfield and Builder/Contractor was Currie & Corley.

Utica High School was completed 1939 as part of Public Works Administration (PWA) project W1183 to construct new buildings and improvements for five Hinds County schools. A bond election for Utica was held October 29 and $27,000 were approved for issue to supplement the PWA funding to construct a new building and complete alterations on the old school. The total for all five projects was $337,746 with PWA contributing a loan of $151,986. The project was approved 6/22/1938, bids advertised in October, and the project completed 12/4/1939. The building was opened for dedication November 16, 1939. The Clarion-Ledger reported a...

Efforts to improve the school in Vancleave began in February 1936 when the new teacher’s home and addition to the agricultural building and general school repairs were undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for a cost of $7000. JohnT. Collins was the architect. In August, WPA employees used salvaged materials to rebuild the school. In 1939, application was filed for a PWA grant and a bond election called to finance the remainder of the cost of constructing a new school with light and water system. Architects were Carl Oschner and L. C. Winterton of New Orleans, and constractor was...

Public Works Administration project 4838 was approved 2/21/1934 for the construction of a school in Poplarville. The city received a loan of $14,100 and a grant of $5906. Construction began 6/18/1934 and was completed 12/14/1934 for a total of $19,891. The exact location of the school building is not specified. A number of Pearl River County schools were destroyed or badly damaged in Hurricane Camille in 1969, and there is no indication a school from that time period is still extant in Poplarville.

A Works Progress Administration project employed 25 workers to construct a new concrete school building at Kiln in 1936. WPA financed $15,790 for the new school and to construct additional classrooms from salvaged lumber when the old school was demolished. Four years later, WPA project 50,086 allotted $17,709 to complete construction on the school building, and to add an auditorium. The building became a parochial school and following Hurricane Katrina, was renovated for use as a church by the Annunciation Parish.