Texas Sites

Among the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects identified as completed in an El Paso Times article from June 7, 1936 was the "repair of laterals roads and drainage ditches damaged by floods in Fabens area. $34,976.47."

In 1938, the Public Works Administration, which had dam construction projects along the Colorado River in Texas, proposed the establishment of a federal fish hatchery in the area to provide fish for the newly created lakes. Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson arranged an agreement between the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries and the National Youth Administration (NYA) to construct the hatchery. The NYA established a camp at Inks Dam in 1938 and began construction of the fish hatchery in 1939. Current programs at the hatchery include providing channel catfish for tribal fishery management programs in the Southwest...

"With its dependable water source, abundant fish and game, and natural beauty, the region of Central Texas around the Colorado River and present Inks Lake has been an inviting location for centuries, attracting Native American and German and Anglo settlers. In 1937 while running as a candidate for the surrounding Congressional district, Lyndon Baines Johnson promised voters that he would create a “Tennessee Valley Authority” type of transformation for the Colorado River, including dams for flood control and electricity, bridges and highways, and recreational facilities along the river. Johnson’s victory soon brought into being the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)...

The historic former U.S. Border Inspection Station in Laredo, Texas was built in 1943 with U.S. Treasury Department funds. The facility was in Spanish Colonial Revival style. The facility has been replaced, and Living New Deal believes the New Deal structure has been demolished.

The Texas Highway Department and the United States Bureau of Public Roads built the International & Great Northern Railroad (now Union Pacific) Underpass in 1937 to separate the grade between the railroad tracks and San Pedro Avenue in San Antonio, Texas.

On January 9, 1936, the Austin City Council adopted a resolution to request the Texas State Highway Commission to seek federal funds to separate the grade of Enfield Road from the International–Great Northern Railroad tracks. The Highway Commission with assistance from the United States Bureau of Public Roads built an underpass to take Enfield Road beneath the train tracks.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funding and labor toward the development of the Irion County Courthouse in Mertzon, Texas. It is unclear whether the WPA was directly involved in the building's construction or if it undertook landscaping efforts around the courthouse square. Per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "total cost of the building and landscaping will be $110,000." Irion County Seat Moved In Election By a vote of 453 to 222 nine more than a two-thirds majority, Irion county voted today to move its county seat from Sherwood to Mertzon. A $90.000 bond issue was voted in June and a $40.000 grant from...

Esther Hurwitz and the Irving Felicity Club led efforts to obtain this U.S. Works Progress Administration project for Irving. The Felicity Club, Dallas Co., the WPA, and various individuals funded the project at a cost of $1,852.52. The Dallas Co. Irving Fresh Water Supply Dist. #5 donated land for the building. Work began on the Irving Community Clubhouse in January 1936. On March 17, 1936, the Felicity Club presented the one-story brick building to the city. J.F. Woerner served as architect and Robert Gidley as landscape architect. Local men constructed the 50' x 25' structure, which had a small kitchen and a...

The historic J. Marvin Jones Federal Building in Amarillo, Texas was constructed as the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse with Treasury Department funds. The building, which was completed in 1938, houses multiple examples of New Deal artwork.

Artist Julius Woeltz painted six murals for the lobby of the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts program in 1940. The murals are titled: "Gang-Plow," "Harrow," "Coronado's Exploration Party," "Cattle Loading," "Oil" and "Cattle Branding."

J. P. Elder Middle School Annex (originally part of the North Fort Worth High School), was one of the school district's existing schools that received landscaping by the CWA/WPA during the New Deal. At this school, a lengthy sandstone retaining wall and a terrace were constructed by the CWA in 1935. The terrace included a fountain that had three cast stone lion heads. The landscape features were designed by Hare and Hare and constructed under the supervision of the city's park department.

The Jack County Courthouse was designed in 1939 by Wichita Falls firm Voelker and Dixon. The county applied for a grant in 1938 from the Federal Works Agency and received approximately half of the funding from the PWA, the rest of which had to be provided locally. Voelker and Dixon designed a number of courthouses and other buildings for Texas. The buidiling was completed in a "Modern Classical Style" which includes elements of Art Moderne and Art Deco, both popular at the time, with classical elements such as the pilasters (Smith, 2012). The three-story building (with an additional story in the...

The PWA constructed one building of the former James E. Guinn School in 1936-37. That building is now occupied by the Business Assistance Center. "The James E. Guinn School had its origins as the Southside Colored School, organized in 1894. Construction of a 3-story brick building began in 1917. The prominent architectural firm of Sanguinet and Staats designed this building. It was demolished in 1986. A second permanent building was constructed in 1927 and was designed by Wiley G. Clarkson. By 1930, the Guinn School was the largest black school in the city for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. An...

The Jasper County Jail in Jasper, Texas was built by the Works Progress Administration under project number 65-66-3047. The building is currently the Jasper County Historical Commission Office and Library.

A state historical marker on the courthouse square has text that reads that "The present courthouse, constructed of locally made red brick, was completed in 1889.... An adjacent office building was erected by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1940 ..." There is a WPA plaque by the east entrance with the dates 1938 - 1940.

Houston, Texas's old Jefferson Davis Hospital was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. The PWA supplied a $1,003,500 grant toward the eventual $2,388,686 total cost of the project. Work occurred between March 1936 and December 1937. The facility was demolished in 1999. (PWA Docket No. TX 1014)

The New Deal Public Works Administration (PWA) constructed this school building for the community of Jermyn in 1936 at a cost of $50,000.  The project was supervised by W. J. Walker, PWA engineer, and completed by Gurley Construction Company. The school is no longer extant, though the exact date of demolition is unknown.  The entrance doorway and slab foundation remain.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completed reforestation and improvement work at the John Henry Kirby Memorial State Forest. The work included tree planting and timber stand improvement—a forest management method that supports tree growth. The CCC also built a residence, park roads and bridges, fire breaks, and a fire lookout tower. The John Henry Kirby Memorial State Forest was founded in 1929, when lumber baron John Henry Kirby donated 639 acres of land to the Texas Forest Service. When the land was deeded to the State of Texas, the forest on the property had been cut off. The CCC's work sought to remedy the impact of intensive...

Originally the City-County Hospital, this facility was constructed in Fort Worth, Texas in 1938-1939 in a design that reflected both Classical Moderne and Streamlined Moderne styles. Fort Worth architect Wiley G. Clarkson designed the building and the general contractor was Gurley Construction Company. It had a 185-bed capacity, with an isolation section for communicable diseases with 20 additional beds. It also had three air-conditioned operating rooms, a laundry, pharmacy, and X-ray room. Built during the era of segregation, it had separate entrances for whites and blacks on the front of the building. The cost of the PWA-funded facility was $475,000 (Project...

The plaque on the front of the John Twohig house gives a brief glimpse into the interesting history of this house which was moved by the WPA to its current location on the grounds of the Witte Museum: “In 1841, John Twohig – a San Antonio pioneer, Texas patriot, and prosperous merchant – erected this house on a site which was part of the Veramendi Palace within a curving bend on the San Antonio River at St. Mary’s and Commerce streets. Mr. Twohig’s house was unique in the community since few buildings in this area at that time could boast a...

The Johnson County jail in Cleburne, Texas, was constructed in 1938 through the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works by the architectural firm W. G. Clarkson & Company.  

A Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts-sponsored mural titled “Big City News” was by Jose Aceves and installed in the lobby of the old Borger, Texas post office in 1939. The mural, which measures 4' x 9',  is now housed in the nearby Hutchinson County Museum.  

Pritchett Field is a historic football stadium at Sam Houston State University. The first football game at Pritchett Field was on October 6, 1912. The Work Progress Administration constructed stone bleachers on both sides of Pritchett Field in the 1930s. In 1967, the stone bleachers on the east side were removed. Pritchett field is currently the home field of Sam Houston State women's soccer.

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) built the Josey Boy Scout Lodge in Huntsville in 1934. Huntsville native and self made millionaire Robert A. Josey donated $5000 for the construction of a Boy Scout lodge in 1933. "The material for the construction was donated by J. P. Gibbs of Gibbs Brothers and Co. and included treated logs and stones from local forests and quarries. Lewis. E. Meekins of Austin was hired as contractor to build the log cabin style lodge. The structure was designed by architect Mike Mebane and based on a scale model made by the Scouts themselves." The lodge has five rooms,...

Juanita Jewel Craft Park was originally called Wahoo Park and was purchased by the City of Dallas in1924. A Works Progress Administration (WPA) community building, retaining wall, landscaping, planting, walks and other improvements were executed 1936-38. The park was renamed for civil rights activist, civic leader, and Dallas City Council member Craft in 1974.

Oncell: "In 1934, as part of a local Public Works Art Project, three Houston area artists were commissioned to paint murals in the Houston Public Library (HPL) building.  The murals found on the first and second floors of the Julia Ideson Building now constitute the largest collection of depression-era murals found in the city of Houston. This triptych, or three piece set, found in our first floor hallway depict Spanish scenes and symbols painted by artist Angela McDonnell of Galveston.  In 1930, Miss McDonnell had obtained passage on a cargo ship leaving Houston and ended up in Barcelona, Spain. ...

The Frank N. Drane school was erected in 1930, though it received an east wing addition built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938. A plaque in the front hallway says, "This school is dedicated to the enrichment of life, the spirit of youth measured by progress, activity, friendliness, co-operation, idealism, and character and good citizenship." This school is now known as "Sam Houston Elementary," although the engraved former name still resides above the entrance. Formal Approval of WPA Project Received here late Tuesday / A crew of forty workmen began early Wednesday morning removing fixtures from the old junior...

The Works Progress Administration built Karnack High School between 1938 and 1940. In 2016, due to low enrollment, high school students began going to nearby Jefferson Independent School District, and the school board moved Kindergarten through 8th grade and the central administration offices to the high school building. The building was renamed George Washington Carver Elementary School.

The Keller Recreation Center, also referred to as the Rock Gym, was constructed in 1933-34 by the Civil Works Administration. The structure is made of native sandstone and petrified wood, and cost $16,000. It included meeting rooms, locker rooms, two basketball courts, a stage and a fireplace for heat. The building was given a new purpose when bond issues in 1992 and 1995 included $3.2 million for renovations for the gym and adjoining Keller Elementary School. The campus became the Keller Independent School District Education Center. The building still hosts a variety of district and community events.

In 1934, the City of Kerrville donated 517 acres to the State Parks Board for development of a state park. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1823CV arrived in January 1935 to begin construction on project SP-58. The company stayed until May 1937. CCC work at the park included building the park roads, culverts, and other park infrastructure. the caretaker's dwelling, garage, a storage facility with water storage tank and entrance portals. The park was originally called Kerrville State Park. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Commissioners changed the name to Kerrville-Schreiner State Park in 1990. On February 13, 2004, the park...

The Texas Highway Department and the United States Bureau of Public Roads built an underpass in 1935 to separate the grade between the Texas & New Orleans Railroad tracks and U. S. Highway 77 in Schulenburg, Texas.

In 1931, Edwin Kiest, an influential Dallas businessman, made a gift of 247 acres of land to the City of Dallas for a regional park as a memorial to his wife, Elizabeth Patterson Kiest, who had died in 1917. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built several stone structures in Kiest Park including stone gates at three entrances to the park, a stone picnic shelter and a stone field house. The WPA also built a formal garden at the heart of Kiest Park. A pergola was built at the head of the garden in 1934 with WPA money. It fell into ruin...

Text From the state historical marker reads: In response to the East Texas oil field boom, yet in the midst of the Great Depression, Kilgore residents voted to support the establishment of a junior college in 1935. Classes were held in the high school until this building was completed in 1936 with financial aid from the Public Works Administration. Designed by the San Antonio firm of Phelps & Dewees, the Kilgore College administration building remains a good example of art moderne architecture. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1990

The Killough Massacre, believed to have been the largest single Indian depredation in East Texas, took place on October 5, 1838 in northwestern Cherokee County. The eighteen victims who were either killed or kidnapped included Isaac Killough, Sr., and members of his extended family. The Work Projects Administration erected a stone obelisk at the site in the late 1930s to commemorate the victims of the massacre. In 1965 a state historical marker was dedicated there.

The WPA provided labor for the construction of the Knox County Courthouse and a school in Benjamin, Texas. The courthouse, built in stone in the Moderne style by the firm of Voelcker & Dixon, was constructed at a cost of $95,337.

This structure was built under the Work Progress Administration between the years of 1935 and 1937. It is located in Koehler Park which is adjacent to Brackenridge Park, but most local people just think of this entire area as Brackenridge Park. In 1915 Emma Koehler donated 11 acres of land to the City of San Antonio for a park in memory of her husband, Otto Koehler. The pavilion is available for rental through the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department; it is a very popular venue for picnics as it is right on the San Antonio River and within...

"Originally known as "North Side School," the present brick building was a 1935-1937 WPA project. The school was named after John A. Kooken, a long-time superintendent of the Arlington School District. J. L. Hill was the first principal."   (https://www.arlingtontx.gov)

While the town of Kosse, TX no longer maintains a school (which was consolidated with Groesbeck's Independent School District in 1968), the town did receive a new school building with funding by the PWA. "Numerous jobs, ranging from skilled to unskilled laborers, will be opened with the Kosse high school project gets underway in December . The building of the high school as a PWA project for $42,000 will give all WPA registrees preference." (The Mexia Weekly Herald)

Among the improvements hoped to be undertaken in the proposed NYA project include 316 feet of cement sidewalk 4 feet wide in front of the cemetery, 2 large columns at the double gate, with an arched entrance; 824 feet of cement curbing for driveway, 824 feet curbing for flower beds, pruning trees and white-washing them along driveway, graveling all grave mounds, fixing markers and clearing and beautifying entire cemetery. Saw evidence of a rock wall, a rock building, columns at the double gate with a steps at the left side, and an arched entrance with name.

A historical marker at the school reads: "Citizens moved the Independence Hall schoolhouse to this site in 1890, marking the beginning of the Kyle Public Free School. The school grew steadily with the town, adding facilities to the campus, and by the 1930s the school board applied to the federal government for construction funds for a combination auditorium/gymnasium and a home economics cottage. Through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal agency active during the Great Depression, the U.S. government paid for about three-fourths of the cost, while Kyle voters approved a bond issue in February 1935 to fund...