• Cousins Hall Expansion (WTAMU) - Canyon TX
    WTAMU's Cousins Hall was expanded as a New Deal project during the 1930s. Construction was undertaken with the aid of Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds.
  • El Pueblo (WTAMU; relocated) - Canyon TX
    A former set of "Spanish-style cottages," known as El Pueblo, was created for married students at what was then West Texas Teachers College. The project, built in 1936, was enabled by Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds: a $27,400 loan and $11,105 grant. A 1936 article in the Canyon News newspaper says the cottages were "located on the northeast corner of campus and are situated in a semi-circle." Satellite imagery shows that the houses were located between Russell Long Blvd. and 2nd Ave.; and east of 26th St. Local sources (see Facebook link under Sources) state that each of the structures was...
  • Palo Duro Canyon State Park - Canyon TX
    "PALO DURO CANYON STATE SCENIC PARK. Palo Duro Canyon State Scenic Park, in Armstrong and Randall counties twelve miles east of Canyon on Texas Highway 217, covers 16,402 acres of scenic geological strata and formations that are estimated to be several million years old... As the Great Depression heightened in March 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the establishment of four CCC camps of about 200 men each to work in the canyon for a period of five months. The park acreage was increased to its present size to better accommodate the CCC crews, who built El Coronado Lodge and six...
  • Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum - Canyon TX
    "The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum opened its doors to the public in 1933. It was a hit with the public, who soon began donating artifacts to the museum from the area’s past in addition to their financial contributions. In 1941, Walter Irvin gave a Ford Model A (number 28 off the assembly line), in honor of his daughter, Miss Peggy Irvins. In 1958, Retta Carter Hubbard contributed Charles Goodnight’s silver-mounted saddle, which she received as a gift from the famed cattle rancher after her 1926 marriage to his foster son, Cleo (the saddle was probably made about 1905). In 1960, Topay...
  • Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum: Bugbee Murals - Canyon TX
    Harodl Bugbee completed two murals for the museum. "The Cattlemen" was completed with funds from the PWAP in 1934. "Ranch Headquarters" was completed in 1940 with support from the WPA Federal Art Project.
  • Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum: Mead Murals - Canyon TX
    Ben Carlton Mead completed two New Deal murals for the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. One, "Coronado's Coming" was painted in 1934 with funding from the PWAP. Another, "Antelope Creek Focus" was painted in 1940 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project.  
  • Post Office Mural - Canyon TX
    The Canyon, Texas post office mural "Strays," painted by Francis Ankrom, was sponsored by the Section of Fine Arts. The mural, which was completed and installed in 1938, went through multiple iterations of subject matter proposals and sketches before "Strays" was finalized. Project folders at the National Archives in College Park, MD show that Ankrom had sketched the following alternative ideas for the Canyon post office mural: "In Defense of the Mail," "Rout in Palo Duro," and "Onward Texas." These alternative visions are presented below.
  • Stafford Hall (WTAMU) - Canyon TX
    WTAMU's Stafford Hall was constructed as a New Deal project during the 1930s. Construction was undertaken with the aid of Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds.
  • West Texas A&M University - Canyon TX
    Then known as West Texas State Teachers College, the campus of what is now West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) was greatly impacted by the New Deal. Notably, multiple sizable construction projects were accomplished with the aid of Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. Many students were involved with various New Deal agencies: In the 1930s, "Frustrated by the parsimony of the Texas Legislature, WTSTC leaders turned to the federal government for help. By conservative estimates, approximately 25 percent of the student body worked for such New Deal agencies as the National Youth Administration (headed in Texas by Lyndon B. Johnson), the Civil Works Administration and...