• Water Wells - Fessenden ND
    A water well construction project in Fessenden, North Dakota was undertaken during the Great Depression with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $29,700 grant for the project, whose total cost was $64,998. Work occurred between October 1938 and August 1939. (PWA Docket No. ND W1185)
  • Wells County Fairgrounds: Festival Hall - Fessenden ND
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed Festival Hall, an auditorium, at the Wells County Fairgrounds, located at the southeast corner of North Dakota Highway 15 and U.S. Highway 52. "Also constructed during the depression years was Festival Hall (1938). A WPA project, it was purportedly designed by Wells County agent and fair manager, E. W. Vancura. The main floor of the 136' x 44' building is comprised of a wooden-floored auditorium with a large stage at its north end and a very small stage midway along the building's west wall. The basement was designed to house industrial exhibits during the...