Texas Sites

The Works Progress Administration built a High School in Cranfills Gap in 1939. The school had five rooms and a combination gym-auditorium. The structure had a concrete foundation, cut stone masonry walls, wood floors, metal roof, and ground improvements.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the High School in Haskell, Texas. A story published in the Abilene Reporter-News in 1936 provides details about the project: "Prepare to Build Haskell’s School HASKELL, Sept. 19. - Razing of ruins of the old Haskell high school building, burned March 20, will begin early next week and construction on the new $47,000 building replacing it will be started as soon as possible, Superintendent 0. B. were announced Saturday. The new structure, a one-story brick building, is being constructed through a loan and grant from the PWA. The building will contain eleven classrooms, a library,...

"President Roosevelt has given approval of Public Works Administration projects that may mean spending of $225,630 federal funds for school buildings in three West Texas towns, congressmen Informed constituents Tuesday. Projects at Big Spring, Roscoe and Rochester were approved. Plans were being made to begin construction of buildings in the latter towns, but Big Spring school authorities were uncertain as to whether the PWA grant could be accepted. Immediate action was promised In Rochester. S. H. Vaughter, School Superintendent, stated that approximately $28,000 obtained from bonds, was on deposit in a bank, and that use would be made of $29,880 granted...

A high school building in Monahans, Texas was constructed with Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $57,043 grant for the project, whose total cost was $127,845. Construction began in April 1936 and was completed in March 1937. The school, which was located on the west side of what was then known as S. Guadalupe (now S. Betty Ave.), south of W. Hayes (W. 6th St.), has since been demolished. The site is now occupied by the Jerry Larned Sports Center. PWA Docket No. 1203

A high school construction project in Leming, Texas was undertaken during the Great Depression with the assistance of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $25,200 grant for the project, whose total cost was $56,622. Construction began in Feb. 1936 and was largely completed in December. The exact location and current status of the structure is presently unknown to Living New Deal, though we believe it to be demolished. PWA Docket No. Tex. 1344

The community of Clint, Texas needed a new high school facility after a devastating fire in 1934. What became Clint's then-new high school building, constructed in 1936, was made possible with a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. The PWA supplied a $27,585 grant toward the eventual $63,606 total cost of the project. Construction occurred between March and October 1936. The current status of the New Deal building is unknown; the land on which the facility was built is part of what is now a much larger educational campus for the town of Clint. P.W.A. Docket No. TX 1037

A high school construction project in Leming, Texas was undertaken during the Great Depression with the assistance of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $6,000 loan and $2,333 grant for the project, whose total cost was $8,512. Construction began in Oct. 1935 and was largely completed in Mar. 1936. The exact location and current status of the structure is presently unknown to Living New Deal. A visit to Leming revealed one former school building that fit the architectural bill of a school constructed during that era, now part of a sheriff's annex at the southeast corner of U.S....

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funds to construct a new school building in Old Glory after the older school burned. Demolition of the burned school was included in the project. Salvaged bricks from the old structure were used, as well as new materials. The school district provided $25,784.75 and WPA provided $5,960. Project supervisor was W. R. Scott and employed 55 men for five months to construct the new building and adjacent grounds beautification. The new building was dedicated January 1938 and contained 11 rooms and a combination gymnasium-auditorium. The auditorium seated 500.An $8,000 bond issue was voted in...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Decatur High School and Gymnasium/Auditorium between 1938 and 1940. Three WPA plaques were found on this complex of buildings. One plaque found on entrance near the flag pole where it now says Decatur ISD Administration. One plaque found near tower entrance on the north side of the building. One plaque on the separate gymnasium/auditorium.

The Anson High School Auditorium was built in 1936 at a cost of $30,000, 45% of which was furnished by the Public Works Administration. The auditorium officially opened on December 31, 1936. It was demolished in 1997 to make room for the current auditorium complex, which also houses a band hall and offices.

Located behind the current high school in Gorman, Texas is a blond brick two story gymnasium that bears a Works Progress Administration plaque, dates 1935-1937.

This WPA gymnasium was constructed in 1938-1942. It is a stand alone high school gymnasium constructed of adobe. It is approximately 6,000 sq. ft. Perimeter walls are 30 ft. high and are 20 inches thick. The building contains a reinforced cast in place concrete grandstand that seats approximately 270 adults. Showers and dressing/locker rooms are below the grandstands. The style of architecture is reminiscent of Art Moderne. In 1983 operable steel sash windows were removed and filled in with cement masonry units. A metal hip roof was added on top of the existing roof in 1984. The building was given Texas Historic...

The Public Works Administration provided funding for the high school gymnasium in Martindale, Texas in 1939. The docket number was X2350. The gym's walls and roof trusses are still standing but the roof is gone. The gym and the 1921 schoolhouse next to it are now privately owned. An advertisement shows the school is available to rent as a bed and breakfast and indicates the gym may be remodeled into an event center.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a high school gymnasium in Rule TX in 1935. "Word has been received by Supt. U. U. Clark of the Rule high school that the WPA project of a new gymnasium has been approved at Washington and the money allocated. Work Is scheduled to begin In the next days. Mr. Sheppard, engineer of the government, has been appointed to supervise this work. The application for this project was put through the district office at Wichita Falls."

On January 28, 1936, consideration was given to building a gym as a WPA project at Newcastle.  On February 2, 1936, the school board committed a matching $3, 800 to build the gym.  Local WPA employee A. C. Duckett was assigned as the project superintendent. The gym was demolished in 1993.  Alumni erected a pavilion in its location, and a monument to the gym, although they incorrectly list the construction date as 1931.  Rocks from the old gym building were preserved in the sidewalk leading to the pavilion.  The 1936 date is consistent with Mr. Wooldridge’s account of the construction, also...

The Bartlett Tribune and News reported in 1935 that Taylor, Texas's new $35,000 high school gymnasium was financed in part by a PWA grant and loan. The old high school and gymnasium are now part of the Taylor Resource Center, which serves seniors and other community needs.

The brochure A Guide to Depression Era Roadside Parks in Texas lists at #9 the Highway 16 Roadside Park as an existing Works Progress Administration-era roadside park. The park is located South of Fredericksburg in Medina County. A site visit in March 2018 revealed that the site is unmarked, but the construction materials are typical for WPA work of that era.  

Roadside park built by the National Youth Administration in Cooperation with the Texas Highway Department in 1936. The roadside park was along HWY-81 near the Lampasas River. When I-35 was built replacing HWY-81 the roadside park was destroyed. Located at what is now a pullout along the side of the I-35 access road, all that remains is the historic marker. At the same location is the 1936 Pink Centennial Marker to Bell County. From roadside study (link below): "One example, a park in Belton constructed in November 1939, employed 50 NYA youth in cooperation with the THD and was to “include picnic...

Several large highway and road development projects, which included improvement work such as street paving, were undertaken in Houston during the Great Depression and were enabled by federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. PWA grants covered nearly half the construction costs. Federal assistance to the city amounted to millions of dollars (not even adjusting for inflation). Work began as early as 1933 and would continue for several years. (PWA Docket Nos. TX 1292, 1312, W1041, W1333, W1958)

A state historical marker at the site reads: The first school in what would become the Hobbs community was known as Buffalo and taught in a tent on Buffalo Creek from 1887 to 1888. The Rev. Robert Martin erected a church and schoolhouse on the site with funds from his home church in Louisiana. By 1896 the school was named for Vachel Hobbs Anderson, postmaster at Roby, and had changed locations several times. J. W. Hale became county school superintendent in 1922. His efforts contributed to the voters' decision to consolidate the Hobbs, Dallas, Grady and Baird common school districts in 1924....

Built by the National Youth Administration, all that remains of the structures are rock wall shells. The Home Economics Cottage has a plaque, the vocational shop does not.

The North Texas State College's Home Management House was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. provided $11,250 for the construction of the building, which was located at the northeast corner of what are now S. Welch St. and W. Chestnut St. The building has since been demolished. "Home Management House was a two story, brick veneer duplex that faced west on Avenue A with West Chestnut Street on the south. The building was erected in 1938 and 1939 with PWA funding for about 45% of the cost of construction. The house served as the living quarters Home...

The Works Progress Administration built the Horace Mann School in 1939 under project number 665-66-2-48. The brick building had seven rooms and an auditorium when built. Grades 1-12 attended there until around 1949 when grades 9-12 were bussed to Palestine High School. Grades 1-8 continued to attend there. When Neches schools integrated in 1965, Horace Mann was vacated and all students, white and black, attended Clemmons (a previous all black school). Around 1980, the building was reopened for grades K-5. A new elementary/junior high school was built in 2009, and the Horace Mann School building was demolished in 2011. A paved parking...

The Haskell County Hospital in Haskell, Texas, was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. Hospital Near Completion HASKELL, May 13. - To be completed by June 1 Is the Haskell county hospital. It will have cost approximately $93.000. of which $50,000 was voted in bonds and the remainder was a PWA grant. This hospital will be the realization of efforts of several years. It will serve Haskell, Rule, Rochester and Weinert, as well as all the rural communities. Heretofore, it has been necessary to go out of the for hospitalization. A county board of directors will direct the hospital,...

A since-demolished hospital at what was then North Texas State College received an addition constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. provided $11,000 for the project, which was dedicated on April 27, 1937. The location was the northwest corner of what are now Union Cir. with S. Welch St. .

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the House Park football stadium in Austin. House Park was built between 1938 and 1939 and has served as the home stadium for several Austin Independent School District high schools. The project was part of a larger grant made by the PWA to the City of Austin on October 31, 1938. The grant, up $613,127 under PWA Docket No. Texas-2134-F., was to cover 45% of the costs of construction of school facilities, school repairs and additions, athletic facilities, and land acquisitions. The architects of record were Giesecke & Harris and the contractors were J. R. Blackmore & Sons.

In early 1938, the Houston County commissioners court began making plans for construction of the county's fifth courthouse. Community leaders led a successful campaign for a bond election of $120,000 to qualify for a Public Works Administration grant. In November 1938, the 1883 Victorian style courthouse was razed. Finished in 1939, the new courthouse was designed by Houston County native Blum Hester and constructed by Eckert-Fair Construction Co. of Dallas. The Moderne style building with Art Deco features is a reflection of popular architectural trends of the 1930s and is still in use for county government. The courthouse was designated a Recorded...

Denison benefited from three PWA school projects in the city at one time, including this Houston school, as well as a school for African Americans, and the "foundation for the high school annex."

The Houston Federation of Garden Clubs (HFGC) was founded by several Houstonian women in 1936 with the goal of building a garden center to hold their meetings and educational forums. That dream bore fruition five years later when Mayor Oscar Holcombe applied and was approved for fifteen thousand dollars in labor by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Originally, the HFGC ladies raised $1,100 through flower shows, fashion shows, and train trips east. The involvement of the whole city illustrated the extent of manpower for funding the garden center. In 1939, four-hundred volunteer garden club ladies along with sixty-five businessmen from...

Texas Woman University's original Houston Hall was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds ca. 1936-7. The building is since demolished; a building in the newer Lowry Woods Apartments complex on campus has also been given the name Houston Hall.

The Houston Ship Channel officially opened in 1914 after the 52-mile long waterway that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to a tuning basin at the Port of Houston was dredged to a depth of 25 feet. The depth of the channel was increased to 30 feet in 1922. In 1933, the United States Department of War and the United States House Committee on Rivers and Harbors approved a plan to increase the depth of the channel from 30 feet to 34 feet and widen the Galveston Bay section from 250 feet to 400 feet. The Public Works Administration provided $2,800,000...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the main part of the Huckabay High School. The two story, stone masonry construction building was built between 1938-1940. A plaque set on the front facade notes the construction dates and the involvement of the WPA.

The Works Progress Administration built bleachers for a baseball diamond in Cleburne. Corsicana Daily Sun mentioned the construction of the bleaches in 1938: "Cleburne, Johnson county—Con- truct soft ball field, bleachers, bowling green, walks and parkway and landscape in city park; federal funds $6,381; sponsor's funds $2,773; workers 59." They are now in front of tennis courts. Five tiers of rock bleachers with cement seating on lower four. Bleachers are on the corner of Hillsboro Street and Country Club Road.  

In the early 1930s, at a meeting of the Huntsville-Walker County Chamber of Commerce, it was suggested that a park be built around Huntsville. The Chamber of Commerce took the proposal to the Texas State Parks Board. The board required that the community provide the land for the park. Twenty thousand dollars in bonds would have to be sold by Walker County to pay for the land needed. In early 1936, the bond issue passed with more than four to one in favor of selling the bonds. From 1937 to 1942, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 1823(CV), an experienced company of...

Hurst School for grades 1-8 was built in 1940 by the WPA with $23,291 in federal funds. The building now houses the Hurst Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Small rustic picnic area along HWY 287 (now I-45 Business) in Corsicana, Texas. There are four picnic tables and four fireplaces. The 1936 County Historical Marker is also located here. The area is along a creek and one of the tables appears to have been buried in silt. There are two markers one giving information on who donated the land to the Texas Department of Transportation and another with information on the National Youth Administration. Donation Marker: "This site was donated for park purposes to the State Highway Department of Texas by Johnson-Wiggins Post 22 American Legion. Ray W. Morgan, Post...

Originally constructed as Hygeia Hall in 1936, what is now the Institutional Development building at T.W.U. was constructed with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The cost of construction was approximately $40,000. Hygeia Hall served as the "student health center and the infirmary. Students were generally admitted when their illness was deemed contagious enough that quarantine was needed."

Before the PWA addition, the (much smaller) building was an elementary school, first built in 1909-1910 as the A.J. Chambers School (for white students), then it became the East Eighteenth Street Colored School in 1931. The school was enlarged in 1936-37 as a PWA project, converting it to the I.M. Terrell High School. "Under the PWA building program, the building was significantly expanded in 1936-37 and became the new home of I. M. Terrell High School. The architect was Clyde H. Woodruff and the contractor was Harry B. Friedman. In 1955-56, fourteen classrooms, a gymnasium, and a cafeteria were added to...

"Within Davis Mountains State Park is the Indian Lodge, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the early 1930s. Indian Lodge has 39 rooms, a restaurant and a swimming pool (for Indian Lodge guests only), meeting rooms, a Texas State Park Store, and 24-hour staffing."

In 1930, the first major industry, Southern Alkali Corporation, came to Corpus Christi. The company needed a deep water channel to the plant site it chose. The Port of Corpus Christi Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners agreed to provide the mile and a half channel extension. It is referred to as the "Industrial Canal" and was completed in 1933. In order to pay for the dredging, the Commissioners borrowed from the Public Works Administration and issued revenue notes to repay the debt. Dredged materials from the channel were used for levees and to fill land that was then used...