Virginia Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built some of the cabins at the Holiday Lake 4-H Center in Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest. The CCC also constructed the Woolridge Wayside picnic area nearby.

In 1934 the Federal Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funds to build a million-gallon water storage tank in Newport News, Virginia to replace the old water tank. The caption for the photo above reads "A million-gallon water-storage tank erected at Newport News, Virginia, to replace an old tank which had been condemned." The name listed for the project on the PWA docket records is "Newport News 60th Street Elevated Tank." Researcher Frank da Cruz has found that this water tank as well as others constructed by the PWA in the area at the same time, were "...financed by 25% to 45%...

Originally named Newport News Homesteads, "Aberdeen Gardens was a New Deal planned community initiated by Hampton Institue (now Hampton University), designed specifically for the resettlement of African-American workers in Newport News and Hampton. In 1934, the Hampton Institute secured a $245,000 federal grant to create the housing development. It was the only Resettlement Administration community for blacks in Virginia and only the second neighborhood in the nation for blacks financed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Subsistence Homestead Project. The Aberdeen neighborhood was designed by Hillyard R. Robertson, a black architect from Howard University. It became a model resettlement community in the United States. Charles Duke, a black architect, was name architect-in-charge...

The Abingdon Plantation Historic Site is the birthplace of Nellie Custis (1779-1852), granddaughter of Martha Washington and step-granddaughter of George Washington. Following the death of her father (John Parke Custis) in 1781, Nelly and her brother, George Washington Parke Custis, moved to Mount Vernon and were raised by their grandparents. The historic site is located between the two large parking garages at Washington National Airport, in between Thomas Avenue and West Entrance Road, Arlington, Virginia. A Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) report describes the restoration work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934-35: “They landscaped the grounds and built a twenty-car parking...

The former Abner Gap school in Bee, Dickenson County, Virginia, was constructed as a New Deal project. Known to be off State Highway 80, satellite views suggest the building is still extant. In 1940, W.E. French, who directed the Federal work programs in Dickenson County, reported that from December 1, 1933 to January 27, 1940, that $129,167.00 were spent on school projects in Dickenson County. Of this amount, the Federal government spent $162,968.00 and the county put up $56,699.00 of 25.8% of the cost. Among the jobs done were: ... new buildings at ... Abner Gap.

"During the 1930s, the Civilian Works Administration (CWA) made general repairs to the lodge and outbuildings and erected a new flagpole."

Built with funding from the Public Works Administration in 1939, Arcola School represented an upgrade in school facilities standards by providing a separate room for every grade. The four-room school replaced the one-room rural school school typical of rural areas. This was part of a larger school modernization effort across the United States. Arcola School was built during an era of segregated public schools and was the county's first elementary school for white students. From a 2009 nomination form of the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places": "This building was a school within the Loudoun County Public School System until 1977 and was then...

"The Quartermaster Corps of the Army designed and constructed this chapel at Fort Myer and also built the new entrance gateway to the National Cemetery. The chapel is used for religious services at the post and also for rites in the cemetery. It is a brick building with wood cornice, an entrance porch of four stone columns, and a wood spire which rises to a height of 97 feet. The gateway with its brick posts, wide iron gates, and iron lamps ties into the wall surrounding the cemetery. The chapel was completed in May 1935. The P.W.A. allotment for it...

Project cards in the National Archives index describes extensive work to be undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Arlington National Cemetery in 1938-41.   "Reconstruct and improve roads and streets in Arlington National Cemetery Reservation located near Fort Myer in Arlington County; Improve buildings, grounds and utilities of the Arlington National Cemetery by painting, brick and carpentry work, razing old buildings, grading, top soiling, seeding, planting trees, spraying and shrubs, setting and realigning headstones, rebuilding rubble masonry wall, rip-rapping streams, laying drain pipe; Improve and enlarge existing facilities and improve grounds at Arlington National Cemetery. The work includes installing...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)'s "constructive project work" in Russell County, Virginia included "Castlewood athletic field."

The former Atlantic Station post office was originally constructed as Virginia Beach’s Main Post Office in 1937. A Section of Fine Arts mural by artist John H.R. Pickett was installed in the post office in 1939. Unfortunately, the building was razed in 2009 after being purchased by Walgreens. The re-development of the property took place despite opposition by local officials, businesses and other citizens. A 2009 local newspaper reported: The 72-year-old Oceanfront post office faces possible demolition next year. ‘Walgreens has purchased that building,’ said Mac Rawls, chairman of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. ‘They are scheduled to tear it down – they’ve already...

Emporia, Virginia's historic Greensville County Auditorium was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building, located on Battery Avenue and facing Main Street, still stands today. According to a National Register of Historic Places registration form: "The two-story Greensville County Auditorium, located adjacent to the school complex, is constructed of brick laid in an unusual three-course Flemish bond pattern. The Neoclassical-style building has a large central recessed entrance flanked by two smaller entrances. Each entrance has a double door topped with a webbed fanlight. The imposing building has two Doric columns which support a wide entablature and...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded and provided labor for an improvement and beautification program in Norfolk’s Ballentine Park in 1937. The WPA allocated $12, 836 for the project with the city adding an additional $4,884. “The project call for the extension of drains, building of a culvert, excavation for a lake, the grading and building of walkways and the planting of shrubs and trees.” The efforts of WPA work crews resulted in a beautiful park that shared property with the old Ballentine School. In recent years, the vacant school building was demolished and replaced by new townhouses and lofts. Nonetheless, the...

The Barton Heights Cemeteries in Richmond, Virginia are "encircled by a fence erected by the Works Progress Administration in 1935."

Stretching from the Shenandoah National Park, VA, to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC, the Blue Ridge Parkway contains 469 miles of continuous scenic road. Not only did the Parkway create tourism revenue for nearby towns and cities, but it protects 88,000 acres of land and all the species living there, and preserves several historical buildings for the public’s education. The project was first envisioned in 1933 with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s visit to Skyline Drive, VA and Virginia Senator Harry Byrd’s idea to connect it to the new Great Smoky Mountain National Park. In November of 1933, Secretary of the...

Originally the Booker T. Washington High School for Coloreds, this Art Deco community center was constructed in 1936 with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a grant of $30,991 for the project, whose total cost was $75,760. Construction occurred between Jan. and Oct. 1936. Expanded in 1960, the building is listed on the National Register of historic Places. PWA Docket No. Va. 1098

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed Richmond’s Brook Field Park Swimming Pool in 1938. The pool was a segregated one, operating exclusively for the African American people of the city, as was normal practice in the Jim Crow era.   Made out of concrete, the pool’s physical dimensions were listed as 185 x 60 feet by 2 and a half to 11 feet deep. Like other WPA pool projects, the Brook Field Park Swimming Pool included the most modern equipment of the day, including a circulation pump and filter system as well as water treatment tools and a series of floodlights....

Researcher Frank da Cruz has found that construction of the Buckroe Elevated Water Tank in the 1930s was made possible by a 45% Federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. The water tank is located in the Fox Hill section of Hampton, Virginia, near Old Buckroe Road and Manilla Lane. As of 2017, the water tank is still in use, though it is evidently slated for demolition.

Newspaper articles from the 1930s report that a mixture of New Deal funds and private spending in the amount of $975,000 were used to construct the Bureau of Public Roads Research Center.  According to the Bureau of Public Roads annual reports, 1937-1939, the new research facilities were constructed on the "Abingdon Plantation," also known as "the old Custis Estate near Gravelly Point."  This area today is roughly where the Washington National Airport parking garages are situated.  A small green area between the two garages is a remnant of the plantation  (the CCC did historic preservation work here). A 1939 Evening Star article says...

South Boston, Virginia received a new school in 1939 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a grant of $43,200 toward the project, whose total cost was $109,128. Construction occurred between June 1938 and March 1939. After the South Boston high school on Peach Avenue was destroyed by fire on December 1936 the community immediately thought to seek the assistance of the Public Works Administration to replace the school. Charles Henderson (C.H.) Friend High School was constructed at 601 Marshall Avenue. It operated as a High School from the late 1930s until the 1952-1953 school...

James Madison University's Carrier Library was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $63,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $140,010. Construction occurred between Oct. 1938 and Sept. 1939. JMU.edu: The library building that is now known as Carrier opened in 1939. Originally named Madison Memorial Library, it was the first standalone library building on campus. The library was only two floors at the time. The first floor for non-academic books and magazines, the second for the main circulation desk and main book collection. PWA Docket No. VA 1255

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp Navy-1 was created at Yorktown, Virginia, on November 1, 1935, for the purposes of improving the Naval Mine Depot (a 20-square mile area that is now called “Naval Weapons Station Yorktown”). The camp housed Company 2305, one of several African American CCC units in the area. Prior to its involvement at the Naval Mine Depot, and prior to its re-designation as “Navy-1,” the same camp was devoted to soil erosion control along the York River and along Colonial Parkway. This work was part of a larger CCC project (involving at least 4 other African American companies)...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp NHP-1 was created at Yorktown, Virginia, for the purpose of developing the Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Battlefield, Colonial Parkway). Camp NHP-1 housed CCC Company 352, which had been formed at Fort Monroe, Virginia, on April 27, 1933. Company 352, along with four other African American CCC companies, developed Colonial National Historical Park. This work would continue until at least the end of 1941 – virtually the entire life of the CCC program. The CCC enrollees worked under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS), which had just taken over the job of caring for military and...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp NHP-2 was created at Yorktown VA for the purpose of developing the Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Battlefield, Colonial Parkway). Camp NHP-2 housed CCC Company 323, which had been formed in Fort Washington, Maryland, in Spring 1933, before moving to Virginia. Company 323, along with four other African American CCC companies, developed Colonial National Historical Park. This work would continue until at least the end of 1941 – essentially, the entire life of the CCC program. The CCC enrollees worked under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS), which had just taken over the job of...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp NHP-4 was created at Yorktown, Virginia, for the purpose of developing the Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Battlefield, Colonial Parkway). Camp NHP-4 housed CCC Company 1351, a World War I veterans company that had been formed at Langley Field, Virginia, on May 26, 1933. Company 1351, along with four other African American CCC companies, developed Colonial National Historical Park. This work would continue until at least the end of 1941 – essentially, the entire life of the CCC program. The CCC enrollees worked under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS), which had just taken over...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp NHP-5 was created at Williamsburg, Virginia, for the purpose of developing the Lake Matoaka area, part of the College of William & Mary campus. Beginning in 1934, Camp NHP-5 housed CCC Company 2303, an African American unit. 2303’s work at Matoaka State Park included “trails and bridges, a boat house, picnic shelters, and an amphitheatre seating 500 persons” (Dist. 4, Third Corps Area history, 1937). Today, it seems this area is no longer called “Matoaka State Park,” but is simply viewed as part of the overall campus and holdings of the college.    Company 2303 also helped four...

“Camp Recovery” was the first Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Prince William County, Virginia. The former site of the camp is located at the intersection of Dumfries Road (Virginia Highway 234) and Hoadly Road (Virginia Highway 642), where Coles District Volunteer Fire and Rescue Station is now located. Camp Recovery encompassed a tract of 400 acres between Dumfries Road on the west, Hoadly Road on the north, and Independence Drive on the east. This area nine miles south of the city of Manassas, Virginia describes the general boundary area of Camp Recovery and its associated structures, none of which remain...

"The first CCC camp, appropriately named Camp Roosevelt, began operation in the late spring of 1933 on Virginia George Washington National Forest. On April 10 the first quota of 25,000 men was called, and on April 17, the first camp, Camp Roosevelt, in the George Washington National Forest near Luray, Virginia, was occupied. Gerald S. Wheeler was appointed administrator."   (www.foresthistory.org)

MP4 Camp Wilderness was one of 4 CCC camps in the Fredericksburg area set up to develop locations of major Civil War battles, Camp Bloody Angle (MP-1) was at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Camp Wilderness (MP-4) was at the Battle of the Wilderness, and Camp Chancellorsville (MP-3) was at the Battle of Chancellorsville. One camp was on private property centered between the other three. It was Camp Malcomb McArthur (P-69) along Catharpin Road. The Wilderness camp was established Oct 14, 1933 and was abandoned Apr 3, 1941. First, it was home to the boys of Company 282. On...

The Central Martinsville Station Post Office was constructed with New Deal funds in 1939.

In 1938 Hampton, Virginia's historic city hall building was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds.The PWA contributed $24,545 toward the project, whose final cost was $77,193. (PWA Docket No. VA 1074.). In 2006, the building was converted into Kingsway Apartments.

Originally the U.S. Customs House and Post Office, this imposing building was constructed in the mid 19th century by the U.S. Treasury Department. "In 1938, the building was renovated as part of a Works Progress Administration project to become Petersburg's City Hall, and retains that use today."

James Madison University's Cleveland Hall, originally known as Junior Hall, was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $83,000 grant and $55,632 loan for the project, whose total cost was $124,352. Construction occurred between Nov. 1935 and Oct. 1936. PWA Docket No. VA 1088

"In the early 20th century, service structures including tool, well and oil houses were built and rebuilt. Civil Works Administration laborers did much of this construction during the 1930s."

Colonial National Historical Park (CNHP) was created by Congress and President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and consists primarily of the Yorktown Battlefield, the historic Jamestown Settlement, and Colonial Parkway. Several federal agencies participated in its development. The National Park Service (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general...

Colonial National Historical Park (CNHP) was created by Congress and President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and consists primarily of the Yorktown Battlefield, the historic Jamestown Settlement, and Colonial Parkway. Several federal agencies participated in its development. The National Park Service (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general...

Colonial National Historical Park (CNHP) was created by Congress and President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and consists primarily of the Yorktown Battlefield, the historic Jamestown Settlement, and Colonial Parkway. Several federal agencies participated in its development. The National Park Service (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general...

Colonial National Historical Park (CNHP) was created by Congress and President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and consists primarily of the Yorktown Battlefield, the historic Jamestown Settlement, and Colonial Parkway. Several federal agencies participated in its development. The National Park Service (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general...

Colonial National Historical Park (CNHP) was created by Congress and President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and consists primarily of the Yorktown Battlefield, the historic Jamestown Settlement, and Colonial Parkway. Several federal agencies participated in its development. The National Park Service (NPS) provided general supervision of the entire historic site project after it was given responsibility for all historic battlefields by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed at least $600,000 (and probably much more) in funding. Relief agencies provided labor power: the Civil Works Administration (CWA) worked over the winter of 1933-1934 (probably for mosquito control and general clean-up)...

Colonial Parkway is part of the National Park Service's Colonial National Historical Park. It is a scenic 23-mile parkway that links together Virginia's Historic Triangle of colonial-era communities: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Different portions of the parkway were built between 1930 and 1957. In the 1930s, the US Forest Service and the National Park Service used Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers to built the parkway.