Tennessee Sites

This Gleason TN post office was constructed by the Treasury in 1940.

This New Deal Post Office in Jefferson City was built with Treasury Department funds in 1939.

The Lawrenceburg post office was completed in 1935 with Louis A. Simon as supervising architect and John W. Wolcott Jr. as architect. The original building is a "symmetrical five-by brick building" and has been extended with an addition that is in sympathetic design. Concrete American eagle medallions are inset above the windows on either side of the fanlight above the entrance doors. Replicas of the eagle medallions are also above 2 of the windows on the extension. Contractors were Forcum-James of Dyersburg.

"The Lenoir City Post Office is one of the state's most unadorned New Deal buildings as fa as its exterior style...the building's hipped roof, symmetrical five-bay facade, and understated classical entrance merely hint at Colonial Revival style" (Van West, 2001, p. 65). The post office contains the New Deal mural "Electrification" by David Stone Martin. Completed in 1940, this was "an appropriate location since TVA was then constructing the mammoth Fort Loudon Dam a mere couple of miles away" (Van West, 2001, p. 66).

The historic post office in Livingston, TN, was constructed in 1936 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

The post office's "blend of modernist elements with an overall symmetrical shape reminiscent of the state's other Colonial Revival post offices" (Van West, 2001, p. 69) is "considered one of the best examples of this design still extant in Tennessee (Davis et al., 2003, p. 2). It was one of some 200 post offices constructed by the Federal Works Agency in smaller communities across the nation during 1940.

The Ripley post office was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1937.

The Rockwood post office was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1937.

The Sweetwater post office was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1940.

The one-story brick Colonial Revival building has four original 32-light display windows, original paired eight-light wood and glass doors, with wooden surround and broken pediment over the door . The building has a brick parapet, stone cornice with ornamentation, and stone window lintels. Sometime between the 1960s and 1980s (records differ), a new post office was built and the facility was sold and converted to a furniture store.

The historic former post office building in Clinton, Tennessee was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1937. The building housed an example of New Deal artwork that has since been relocated.

Originally built as the Crossville, TN post office in 1937. It is now used as a private business. A mural originally painted for this post office has been relocated to the current post office on Old Jamestown Hwy.

The historic former post office building was a New Deal project, constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1937. The building is now municipally owned.

The old post office in Dickson was built with New Deal funds in 1936. It is now privately owned.

The historic former post office building in Erwin, Tennessee was constructed with Treasury Department funds. Located just down the road from the post office that replaced it, the building's cornerstone dates the New Deal post office to 1936. The building has been home to a florist for more than a decade, and it is also home to a sizable mural created well after the advent of the New Deal.

This New Deal Post Office in Johnson City was built with Treasury Department funds in 1937. The building is now home to the WJHL-TV studios. The Wendell Jones mural painted for this post office now hangs in the Sherrod Library at the ETSU campus nearby.

The historic former post office in La Follette was constructed ca. 1937 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Dahlov Ipcar's 1939 mural, "On the Shores of the Lake," painted with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

This building was constructed by the U.S. Treasury as the Lewisburg TN post office building in 1935. The post office has since moved to a new location, along with the New Deal mural was originally installed here.

This former Lexington Tennessee Post Office was built by the Treasury Department in 1937. It now houses the Beech River Heritage Museum and still contains a New Deal mural “The Progress of Power.”

This New Deal post office was constructed by the US Treasury Department in 1940. The post office eventually moved to a larger facility at 1601 Hillsboro Blvd. This building is still standing, though it's current use is unknown to the Living New Deal. The New Deal mural that was originally painted for this post office now hangs in the new post office.

The former McKenzie Tennessee post office was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1935. It now houses the Gordon Browning Museum.

The historic former Newport post office was built with Treasury Department funds in 1937. An example of New Deal artwork created for the site has since been relocated in the community.

A Classical Modern building, using brick, stone, and aluminum was constructed in 1936 to serve as the post office for Sparta. The building is currently home to the local newspaper, the Sparta Expositor.

Bertram Hartman painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "View from Johnson's Bluff," in 1939 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The building is now the Dayton Water & Electric Building.

"People of the Soil" Medium: Tempera on plaster

The historic former post office in La Follette houses an example of New Deal artwork: Dahlov Ipcar's 1939 mural, "On the Shores of the Lake," painted with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The former Greenville Tennessee post office and courthouse at 101 W Summer St. was built in 1904. In 1939, William Zorach installed two wooden carved reliefs depicting "The Resources of Nature" and "Man Power." The carvings were funded by the Federal Works Agency. After the old post office and courthouse became a private bank, the reliefs were moved to the current courthouse at this location.

This mahogany relief, "News on the Job", on display at the Decherd Post Office was completed with New Deal funds in 1940.

This 7' x 3' relief, "Wild Life" in the Rockwood library was completed in 1939 with New Deal funds.

The post office contains a mural by Carl Nyquist, installed in 1941, "Picking Cotton." The mural is 13 feet 6 inches wide and 5 feet high. "The mural, a reflection of the long, flat cotton fields of the area, is an outstanding example of representational art, from the light brown earth color to the clothes the people are wearing...Perhaps the mural's relationship to history can best be found in the clothing of the individuals. The long cotton dresses were still worn by women in the fields during the early 1930s. This appears to be the time depicted in the mural....

The Camden post office contains a 1938 Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural by John H. Fyfe entitled "Mail Delivery to Tranquility - The first post office in Benton County."

Horace Day painted this tempera on canvas mural, entitled "Farm and Factory," in 1940 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural was created for the historic former post office in Clinton, Tennessee; however, the work has since been relocated to the community's current post office.

Marion Greenwood painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "The Partnership of Man and Nature," in 1940 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Originally located in the town's New Deal post office, it was moved to this location when the post office moved.

This mural, "Retrospection", was completed with New Deal funds in 1938. When the post office is closed, the mural can be viewed through a glass door.

Anne Poor painted this mural, "Gleason Agriculture" under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1942. It was one of the last murals painted in Tennessee for the Treasury Section. "The theme of the painting is the sweet potato industry of Gleason. Workers are preparing baskets for shipping. At the extreme right of the picture is a generalized portrait of the late 'father' of sweet potato culture, Mr. W. R. Hawks. The picturesque building in the background is the Gleason railroad depot…. As a final tribute to sweet potatoes, the entire painting is framed with a border of lush green leaves...

The mural "Great Smokies and Tennessee Farms" was commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts for the Jefferson City, Tennessee post office. The work was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1941.

This 1940 mural "Electrification" by David Stone Martin was a winner of the Treasury Section's 48-State Post Office Mural competition.

John H. R. Pickett painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Coming 'Round the Mountain," in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The former US Postal Service facility located at 121 S. 1st St., is now located to the new facility at 557 E. Commerce St., Lewisburg, TN 37091. The mural was also relocated to the new facility.

This mural, "The Newcomers" by Margaret Covey Chisholm was completed with New Deal funds in 1940.

Minna Citron painted this mural, "Horse Swapping Day" in 1942; the project was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.