Oklahoma Sites

Originally built as the community's high school, one of the facilities that makes up what is now Commerce Middle School campus was constructed as a New Deal project. The 136' x 103' structure, which features a gymnasium, was "initiated by the Oklahoma Emergency Relief Administration and finished by WPA labor." It is located along S Cherry St., as opposed to Commerce St.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community building in Goltry, Oklahoma. The status and location of this $8,247.78 project is unknown to Living New Deal.

"Built in 1940 by the WPA, this building remains a "Community Building" today. There's nothing more fun than driving through a small Oklahoma town, rounding a corner, and "discovering" a WPA-constructed building. In Oklahoma, a great many are built out of the red native sandstone. This Community Building is built of rusticated natural stone which projects unevenly, giving it an appealing look. There is a bronze WPA shield to the left of the entrance near the southwest corner, and another shield at the northeast corner. These read: USA / 1940 / WPA / Oklahoma. On the southeast corner of the building,...

In 1939 the Federal Works Progress Administration completed construction of this community building. Both the Waymarking site for this building and the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Survey make note of the architectural style of the building which is unique among WPA buildings. This WPA construction project provided employment for unemployed workers in the area and has remained a centerpiece of the city, hosting dances, concerts, wrestling matches, and other entertainment activities over the years. It now serves as the home of the American Legion.  

This WPA community building is still in use: "A single-story, modified-U-shaped...structure, the Wagoner community building is constructed of cut but unrusticated native sandstone laid in rough courses with deeply incised mortar... The style of the building is similar to so-called 'park' architecture, i.e. that found in most of Oklahoma's state parks and constructed generally by the CCC."   (www.okhistory.org) The c. 1941 building is still in use as a community building today.

This one-story red brick building was completed in 1939 by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The school has long been gone. The building which is located on Douglas Avenue in the northwest part of Clearview, is currently being used as the Community Center. A porch has been added to the front, and remodeling has been done on the interior, including adding dropped ceilings, a dining area and kitchen facilities. Portions of a rock wall can still be seen which surrounded the entire school campus. A concrete cornerstone on the southeast corner has raised letters on the south side reading "WPA". The...

This is a one-story native sandstone building with a gabled roof, built by the Federal Works Progress Administration in 1937.  On both sides of the walls flanking the entrance, a concrete panel shows the stamped WPA shield. The concrete lintel for these doors is engraved "OAK LAWN DIST. 273". This area may have contained more buildings in the past, but this classroom building is all that remains. This building is still in use as the local Community Center.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a community center in Strang, Oklahoma. Per The Daily Mayes County Democrat: "WPA assistance has been responsible for many community center buildings in this section of the state. Shown here is a native stone building at Strang which is used as a school gymnasium and community hall. Many large gatherings are held here which otherwise could not be accommodated in the Strang neighborhood." The location and status of the building is unknown to Living New Deal.

"Located on 3rd Street, west of Broadway, this rock-constructed WPA project was originally the Edmond Community Center. Its cornerstone is dated March 30, 1936. It later became the home of the Edmond Senior Citizens until 2005, and now houses the U R Special Ministries. A ramp, awning and building extension have been added to this original building."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

“The Purcell Community Hall is a single story rectangular building (51’ X 104’) and is constructed of dark red native sandstone laid in a cob web pattern.  The masonry is splendid…On the front a limestone frieze and water table line provide decorative relief, as does the segmental arch entryway… Reminiscent of a National Guard Armory, it has a style unlike any other civic center constructed by the WPA in Oklahoma...That it was constructed early in the life of the WPA program, when the skills of workers still lacked refinement, makes the structure even more unique...The Community Hall is notable because it...

A 1985 Oklahoma Landmarks Survey of WPA buildings documents a 1936 Administration Building built for Connors State College. The structure is faced with Oklahoma red sandstone as are many Oklahoma WPA projects. The survey describes the structure: "The Connor's State College Administrative Building is a single story, rectangular (45' x 116') structure constructed of cut and rusticated native sand stone randomly laid. The roof is hipped, with an intersecting central gable that is supported by an extended portion of the front facade. In this facade the principal single door entry is recessed behind an archway. There are other recessed entries at either...

The Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (a.k.a. Public Works Administration) provided funding toward the construction of Russell Hall at Connors State College in Warner, Oklahoma. The 2-story structure houses a dormitory and is designed in Georgian Style. It is located on the east side of the Connors State campus, a two-year community school. Given the time of its construction and operation, the dormitory possibly housed some of the students receiving flight training from 1942, during WWII, with actual flying at Hatbox field about 15 miles north in southern Muskogee. Russell Hall continues to be utilized as a dormitory.

"On the west side of the historic downtown area of Guthrie, this two-level viaduct takes W. Noble Avenue (State Highway 33) across the often-raging Cottonwood Creek. The upper level is one-lane each way, beginning at N. 2nd Street and ending at N. 5th Street. The viaduct is constructed of concrete and crosses several railroad tracks, as well as the Creek. A lower level is barricaded and no longer in use. It has a concrete roadbed and appears to only be a single lane, however, in the 1930s it was most likely a two-lane access. A pedestrian walkway runs along the north side...

The WPA constructed this annex to the 1920s Craig County Courthouse in the early 1940s, but it didn't remain connected to the courthouse for long. After WWII, the building housed a candy factory. The rear of the building was destroyed due to an electrical fire in 2012, but the remainder of the building, now privately owned, is still in use.

"Crescent City Hall is located at 114 W. Monroe in downtown Crescent, OK. This is a city with a population of approximately 1400, about 30 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. This is a red sandstone building, constructed in 1939, during the heyday of the Work Projects Administration. During the period 1935 to 1943, the WPA employed over 8 million people in the constructing of buildings, bridges and other structures across the United States. Most of these structures still exist today."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

This culvert is stamped with a Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) shield in the top of the curbing on either side of the road. The culvert runs north-south with the tunnel approximately 3 ft. high and 5 ft. wide. It crosses CR E1040 (Bramble Street). It is located southwest of town and handles water run-off. We did not see any creek nearby.

Waurika's Cy Sloan Stadium (formerly Harmon Park Stadium) was built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration, and it bears a WPA 1939 stamp. It has a current capacity of 1,300.

"The Daniel Webster High School is a two-story and basement structure which contains 15 classrooms, a library, 2 cafeterias, a lecture room, corrective gymnasium, girls' gymnasium, auditorium seating 400, domestic-science department, 2 manual training rooms, 3 laboratories, offices, swimming pool, dressing rooms. Another adjacent building houses shops, boys' gymnasium, and lockers. Both structures are fireproof. Exterior walls are brick with stone trim. Both buildings were completed in July 1938 at a construction cost of $662,855 and a project cost of $768,257." (Short and Brown) "Daniel Webster High School is a high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is part of the Tulsa Public...

This distinctive stone stadium was built by the WPA in 1939. A 1999 document from the Cherokee Strip Museum describes the stadium's origins: "This year we are celebrating the 60" anniversary of Perry Stadium, the home of Daniels Field. Men of the federal Works Project Administration (WPA) at an estimated cost of $100,000 built the sandstone structure in 1939. To those too young to remember, the WPA was an agency conceived by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help overcome the Great Depression. Originally the stadium included a baseball field as well as the football gridiron, but old age caught up with...

"These two game pens and one barn are located at the historic site of the Darlington Agency, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Agency was established in 1870, later owned by the Masons and operated as a children's home, and then in 1932, operated by the Oklahoma Game and Fish Commission (now known as the Department of Wildlife Conservation). It was operated as a bird hatchery and research station. "The pens consist of two very long buildings constructed of tan concrete block. They were built by the WPA with an appropriation of $79,855 from 1937 to 1939....

"Davenport Cemetery is a Town-operated cemetery, 1.25 miles west of town off Route 66, on 3490 Road. The cemetery has graveled driveways forming a circle with north-south and east-west bisecting drives. At the center of the cemetery, at the intersection of these crossed drives stands a rock chapel, constructed by the WPA in 1939. This is a one-room chapel which contains wooden benches and an altar. An old upright piano stands at the front. The chapel has a north-south running gabled roof, with a rock gabled, recessed entrance. There are two wood doors. A chimney is constructed at the northwest corner. The...

This courthouse was built by the WPA in 1941. "This is a rectangular structure consisting of a central three-story unit and two single story wing units. It is constructed of rusticated and coursed native limestone... A concrete frieze along the top portion of the central unit adds decorative detail to the building. Unfortunately the building has been altered. A third story has been added the south wing... Seldom did the WPA undertake projects of this magnitude... Surely the structure is the most distinctively beautiful of any county courthouse built by the WPA in Oklahoma."   (Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory)

Beaver, Oklahoma's old sewage disposal plant was constructed during the Great Depression with the assistance of a federal Public Work Administration (PWA) grant. Construction occurred between 1938 and 1939. The exact location and current status of the facility is unknown to Living New Deal. PWA Docket No. OK 1274

This Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed bridge is located at the intersection of Coffee Creek and Douglas Roads, 2.5 miles east of Interstate 35, and 3 miles north of Arcadia Lake. The bridge traverses an unnamed creek which runs north-south along the roadway. The WPA stamp shows the year 1936.

Douglass Auditorium is a two-story native stone building in Duncan, Oklahoma that was constructed by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1936. It faces east and has five distinct bays, separated by projected stone pilasters with heavy stone caps. On the upper wall of the center bay is a stone panel which reads "19 DOUGLASS 36 / AUDITORIUM". Lower on that wall is an embedded bronze WPA shield showing the year 1936. A community center is located in the adjacent school and we believe this auditorium is used as part of that operation.

Douglass Community Center, formerly Douglass School, is is a one-story classroom building constructed by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938. It is located just south of the Douglass Auditorium. The school was an African American school during segregation and closed in 1968. It now houses the community center and is an active building. There is no WPA shield on the school itself, however, stamped in the sidewalk in front of the entrance is a WPA shield with what appears to be the year 1938. (The auditorium directly to the north is dated 1936).

This school near Muskogee was originally constructed in 1925. It was listed on the National Register in 1984 as "the only extant educational facility associated with Summit, an all-black town founded in 1896. Further, it was one of the few remaining schools in Oklahoma constructed as an all-black school during the era of segregation which retained its historic integrity."   (nr_shpo.okstate.edu) The WPA built an addition to the school in the late 1930s, which was "approximately 35' x 85' and finished with red brick laid in the running bond." (NRHP form) The building burned down in 1991.

"This is one-story native stone building once housing a Vo-Ed school operation. There is a wooden sign above a door which reads "HOUSE OF MANNA" and it is possible the building is being used in some way by the church. The Oklahoma Historical Society records show that this building was constructed with an appropriation of $19,779 in 1937. It was once enclosed by another building, which was removed in time past. The building is rectangular with a flat roof. The building appears to be structurally sound, however, it is not being kept up...A small concrete area set into the stone to...

This WPA building was originally constructed as the general Duncan Public Library. It now houses the Stephens County Genealogical Society Library. "This one-story buff brick building, located at 301 N. 8th Street, was constructed by the WPA, as were several local school buildings. A bronze plaque at the entrance show it was constructed in 1937, however, the NRHP nomination form shows 1939. The Colonial Revival style was used, in lieu of the typical native stone construction. The architect was Kenneth T. Price... The building was placed on the National Register in 1999 (#99001427)."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

"The Public Works Administration, one of the New Deal programs, was a large-scale construction effort which built dams, bridges, hospitals and schools. The Duncan Senior High School was PWA Project No. 8458 and was constructed in 1936. Facing 9th Street, at Ash Avenue, this is a two-story light-colored brick building, which currently houses Duncan Edge Academy. This is a school program for students who would likely not graduate from high school. Special attention is given to learning and health needs, and the issues related to difficult family situations. It meets in the mornings. Unlike many WPA projects where native rock is used,...

“WPA projects both directly and indirectly affected fish and wildlife. More than 300 fish hatcheries were built or enlarged nationwide. Creating fish hatcheries was important economically, as well as for sport fisherman….Some of the fish hatcheries established or improved by WPA were located in or near Cherokee, Durant, Lawton, Tishomingo, Krebs, Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City, and Mohawk Park in Tulsa. A fish hatchery is on the city lake at Holdenville in Hughes County, where the WPA built a caretaker cottage and office building. With few details of location given, fish hatcheries have been hard to locate 70 years later. At...

"This is an arch bridge constructed in 1941 as a WPA project. It spans the Tahlequah Creek and has a two-lane asphalt surface known as East Choctaw Street.   "The bridge is supported by concrete walls on either side of the creek. The sidewalls of the bridge have six concrete pillars on each side, connected with metal pole railing. One of these pillars is embossed with the WPA shield and reads 'WPA 1941.'"  

"This is an arch bridge constructed in 1941 as a WPA project. It spans the Tahlequah Creek and has a two-lane asphalt surface known as East Shawnee Street.   "The bridge is supported by four concrete pillars, two on each side of the creek. The sidewalls of the bridge have four smaller pillars on each side, connected with metal pole railing. One of these smaller pillars is embossed with the WPA shield and reads 'WPA 1941.'"  

In 1940 the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) supported the construction of Earlsboro High School in Oklahoma. According to the Waymarking site for this building, the town of Earlsboro had a population of 486 in 1940. Without the resources provided by the WPA, the town would not have been able to afford to build the school at the time. In the words of the Oklahoma Preservation Survey, "the WPA brought federal funds to help meet construction costs. Without this help Earlsboro would not have the facilities it has today. In constructing the buildings, the WPA hired unemployed residents of the...

"In 1936, Edmond was allotted $45,000 to build a National Guard Armory. The WPA built this sandstone building, designed by Colonel Bryan Nolan, on the southeast corner of Stephenson Park."

An electrical grid / distribution construction project was undertaken in Cushing, Oklahoma during the Great Depression with the assistance of a federal Public Work Administration (PWA) grant. Construction occurred between 1938 and 1939. PWA Docket No. OK 1345.

The historic 1936 elementary school building in Wyandotte, Oklahoma is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of 1st and School streets. The original eight-room structure measured 60' x 120'. The building, still recognizable, has since been expanded, and is still in use.

The Works Progress Administration built a school Gymnasium in Elmore City, OK. Contributor comments: "This gymnasium is located on N. Muse Avenue, on the north side of the Elmore City High School campus. It was built in 1938-1939. Much of the work had already been completed, before the WPA handled the completion of the construction. The gymnasium is a one-story red brick building with gabled roof. Entrances on the west and south are recessed under an arched opening. The windows are covered with wood boards, but the building is still in use by the school as a training room."

In 1937 the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed construction of this three foot high L-shaped granite rock wall that runs for hundreds of miles along the north and east sides of the Elmwood Cemetery in Woodward, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Historic Preservation Survey notes that construction of the Elmwood Cemetery entrance and fence "...created desperately-needed employment for jobless workers of this agricultural and railroad community during the Depression. Additionally, the project provided a much needed civic improvement to the community..." Finally, the Survey remarks that the architectural style of the wall is significant for its type, scale, workmanship as well as...

"The Enid Armory, located at 600 E. Elm Avenue is a two-story red brick building, constructed as a WPA project in 1936. At the time, it was the third largest armory in Oklahoma. It is the only armory built using red brick. This building has been used to train soldiers for World War II and Korea. It was targeted by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005, as one of the 58 armories to be closed within the next five years. Currently, a new Armed Forces Reserve Center is being built at Vance Air Force Base in Enid. This Center...