West Virginia Sites

"Pony Express and Rural Delivery" This bas relief, cast stone sculpture, unveiled in 1940 by Vincent Glinsky for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts is at the site of the former Weirton Post Office. The post office moved out of the building in the 1960s and it has remained vacant.

The historic Fayetteville post offices houses an example of New Deal artwork: the oil-on-canvas mural "The Miners," painted by Nixford Baldwin in 1939. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

New Deal mural entitled "Old Time Camp Meeting" painted by Robert F. Gates in 1940. Mr. Gates also painted a mural for the Oakland, MD post office.

This oil on canvas "Landscape at Frogtown" was painted for the Mannington post office by Richard Zoellner in 1942. It was a winner of the Treasury Section's 48-State Post Office Mural Competition.

The historic Mount Hope post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: the mural "Mining", painted by Michael Lenson in 1942. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Visions of the Development of Salem" painted in 1942 by Berni Glasgow.

New Deal mural entitled "St. Mary's and the Industries of the Region" painted by Alexander B. Clayton in 1939.

Edwin Dorsey Doniphan painted two murals for this post office under the New Deal. One is entitled "Past Visions the Future" painted in 1939 by Edwin Dorsey Doniphan. The gentleman in the mural is Mr. Calvin Hill who passed away in 2005. His oxen's names are "Pat" and "Star". The old tannery can be seen in the foreground of the mural. Another is entitled "Mill Point" painted by Edwin Dorsey Doniphan in 1939. The mill still stands on US 219 just south of Marlinton.

The historic Logan post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "The Letter," a sculpture created in 1940 by Gleb Derujinsky. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic Oak Hill post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: the relief entitled "The Colonial Mail Rider," created and installed by Henri Crenier in 1938. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.  

New Deal relief entitled "The Pride of Jackson County" installed in 1942 by Joseph Servas.

Vicken von Post Totten completed this plaster of paris relief, entitled "Pastoral of Spencer," in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the post office lobby.

New Deal relief entitled "Science and Industry," installed in194 by Reuben R. Kramer. Originally created for the Sixth Ave. post office, but moved to the "new" post office in 1986.

Albino Cavalitto created these wooden reliefs, entitled "Worker," in 1941, with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

New Deal project consisting of glazed terra cotta in three panels. Called "Springtime" by Lenore Thomas, it depicts a child swinging with parents on each side.The panels are approximately 3' x 5'.

In September 1935, the Public Works Administration (PWA) allotted $41,818 for the construction of faculty homes at Potomac State College (PSC), in Keyser, West Virginia. The allotment consisted of a $23,000 loan and an $18,818 grant. The Tri-State Construction and Building Company of Ashland, Kentucky, won the bid to construct the homes, and broke ground in April 1936. In its April 24, 1936 edition, the PSC student newspaper, The Pasquino, reported that “The homes will be built on the property of the school on the site of the old golf course. Three buildings will be erected on the site. One will...

In 1935, the Public Works Administration (PWA) awarded $41,818 for the construction of faculty homes at Potomac State College (PSC), Keyser, West Virginia. The current Farm Shop appears to have been the "tool shed" included in the original contract for those homes. The Tri-State Construction Company was awarded the contract to build the homes, and a report in April 1936 said that, “First signs of construction on the Potomac State faculty homes here are seen with the construction of a tool shed. Mr. Gates of the Tri-State Construction Company, Ashland, Ky., is here supervising the preliminary work” (Mineral Daily News and...

Potomac State College (PSC) in Keyser, West Virginia, received a great deal of aid from the New Deal’s National Youth Administration (NYA). As early as October 1935, 45 PSC students were in the NYA program (34 men and 11 women), with their financial assistance ranging from "thirty dollars, the lowest amount allotted any individual a term, to one hundred dollars" (The Pasquino, 10-9-1935). A year later, with NYA enrollment growing to over 50 students, Ernest E. Church, the president of PSC, summarized the arrangement: "The whole N.Y.A. program is to assist worthy students to secure a college education by providing necessary...

Work on Stayman Field began in December 1932 (before the New Deal) with funding from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). The initial construction was completed in November 1933. The stadium was named after Joseph W. Stayman, the president of Potomac State College from 1921 to 1936. In December 1933, it was reported that a crew of workers from the New Deal’s Civil Works Administration (CWA) had begun work on the expansion of Stayman Field, from its original “450 feet, by 270, to a long rectangle of 700 feet” (The Pasquino, 12-12-1933). The expansion facilitated better maintenance for the football field, and...

In April 1936, C.S. Liller, the janitor at Potomac State College (PSC), and three enrollees of the National Youth Administration (NYA), John Bright, Edward Furlong, and Joe Dickel, began planting larch and evergreen trees on the “Mineral Street slope of the Potomac Campus” (The Pasquino, April 24, 1936).  The president of the college, Joseph W. Stayman, contributed to the project, too, by driving the NYA men to Backbone Mountain to acquire more trees. Later in 1936, NYA students planted 15 sugar maple trees between the men’s and women’s dorms (Reynolds and Davis halls). This time, they were joined by Dr. Robert...

The Works Progress Administration built sidewalks on several streets in Kingwood. Work on Price Street was completed in 1937.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) repaired 69 public buildings in Parkersburg, Wood County. The projects were sponsored jointly by the City of Parkersburg and the Board of Education, and were backed by local organizations. The WPA provided the labor and part of the materials and equipment. The projects included the modernization of schools and city fire stations.

The historic Raleigh County Courthouse in Beckley, West Virginia was constructed between March 1936 and November 1937. Construction was enabled by a federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) grant; the P.W.A. supplied $114,545 for the project, whose total cost was $268,953. The Raleigh County Courthouse is in downtown Beckley on a 240' x 240'square lot. It is an Art Deco style building using steel joist construction and concrete floors. The exterior is pink and neutral color Indiana sandstone with terra cotta. The building is a three story I plan with full basement. The front façade has three divisions with 12 bays with the...

In 1936, the WPA constructed a massive retaining a wall along Richwood Ave. in the Woodburn community of Morgantown, WV.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Ridge State Fish Hatchery in Berkeley Springs, Morgan County. Pictured are the rearing pools built by WPA crews.

Ritter Park is a historic park founded in 1913. The Works Progress Administration carried out improvement work in the 1930s. The National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Ritter Park notes that Gus Wofford, a landscape architect who worked for the Board of Park Commissioners, is "credited with the park's two arched stone gates at the 10th Street entrance, a formal flower garden near 12th Street, footbridges crossing Four Pole Creek and related streams, tennis courts, a greenhouse, and picnic facilities. Much of this work appears to have been accomplished through the support of the federal government in the 1930s. The Works Progress...

The Works Progress Administration completed road and alley improvements in Mill Creek. The work included stone basing streets.

The Works Progress Administration completed road improvements in Beckley, Raleigh County. The work included “patching and surface treating, 17,000 yards of bituminous macadam streets.”

The Works Progress Administration completed road improvements in Big Sandy. The work consisted “Stone-basing one-half mile thoroughfare road, and ditching and shouldering of three miles.”

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of a Tuberculosis Hospital in Roney’s Point, Ohio County, in the vicinity of Wheeling. The 40-bed hospital opened in 1936. The cost was $188,000 which was covered in part by the PWA, the county, and the Anti-Tuberculosis League. The facility is currently abandoned. Project W. Va.-4047.

The Works Progress Administration built the Roosevelt High School in Parkersburg, Wood County. The project was completed in 1936. The building façade material is local stone. The exact location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal.

Sponsored by the US public health service, the Works Progress Administration built 1,097 sanitary outhouses in Wood County.

The Works Progress Administration built sanitary sewers in Barnesville, Marion County.

The Works Progress Administration built a sanitary sewer system in Morgantown, Monongalia County, in 1936.

The Works Progress Administration built a sanitary sewer in the Simpson Hill section of Pine Grove, Wetzel County.

A sanitary sewer construction project in Marmet, West Virginia was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $21,000 loan and $14,347 grant toward the $31,881 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between Mar. and Jun. 1936. PWA Docket No. W Va. 1021-R

A substantial sanitary sewer construction project in Parkersburg, West Virginia was undertaken with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA supplied a $78,000 loan and $62,946 grant toward the $139,961 eventual total cost of the project. Work occurred between Jun. 1936 Jun. 1937. PWA Docket No. W Va. 1030-R

The Works Progress Administration built sanitary sewers in St. Albans. The work consisted of the “construction of 42-inch storm and sanitary sewers, Ram's Horn creek.”

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements and repairs for the Highlawn School in Highlawn. The work consisted of “painting and repairing school building, grading and cindering yard and construction of new porch.” The exact location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration built “5,898 lineal feet of eighteen-inch sewer” in English, McDowell County.